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Sometimes after these cut and paste sessions she goes to the Great Pacific Coffee Company for lunch with the other members of the work party.
She likes to laugh, admits to owning a huge collection of pins which she keeps in some semblance of order, each affixed to folded cheese cloth in a series of drawers in several venerable jewelry boxes. On Tuesdays, she attaches chosen pins to her jacket shoulders, sometimes one at a time, but more often than not in clusters that run around her shoulders - lizards at the nape of her neck and that sort of thing. She's threatening to buy a new wallet to replace the one that she has been carrying for several decades.
I have to admit, it does look a bit disheveled. There are no pictures in the rumpled plastic sleeves and no papers in the leather pockets. But it has one endearing element, a wide center pocket, on which the zipper still works perfectly and Bebe keeps full of change.
"They don't make wallets with change purses any more," she said.
So you get the idea, Bebe knows how to hold onto things that add a little zest to life. This month she shared a little story for our society newsletter that captured my fancy. I told this story with the girls in my reading class at Little Beginnings Day Care and they liked it so well, I decided it needed a larger audience, so I will share it here.
Adopting Times Two by Bebe Mackenzie.
"In the early 1980s we lost our beloved dog. One of our friends knew of a beagle who was scheduled to be put to sleep on a Monday morning. We decided to go see the little dog and possibly adopt her.
"Her temporary family lived in Fenton. We drove there and saw the doggie - a spayed female beagle - and it was love at first sight.
"We learned her name was Smokey. She was a bit chubby (ahem) but friendly and frightened. We were given her papers, rabies and other medical information, and her owner's name. She came with food dishes, water dishes and her precious blanket.
"We got her home, and in the excitement of being uprooted and brought into strange surroundings, she immediately wet all over the dining room floor. That was the first time and the only time. She was housebroken.
"A few days after we got Smokey, I called her former owner just to assure her that Smokey was already a much-loved addition to our family. She turned out to be an English war bride, who had no relatives in the United States. She was a widow, had sold her home in Manchester and moved into an apartment at Gambrill Gardens in Ellisville where pets were not welcome.
"Her name was Mary and she had nieces and nephews on her husband's side of the family. They were not really close to her so we "adopted" Mary.
"I told her she could visit Smokey if she wanted to. She said she didn't drive. From her tearful sounding voice, I knew she'd like to see her beloved Smokey, so I arranged to pick her up and have her spend a day with Smokey. That was the highlight of her day - and ours!
"For many years dear Mary spent holidays with our family. Everyone loved her. We just sort of adopted her. As her health deteriorated, her husband's nieces and nephews became more attentive. I believe there were dollar signs in their eyes, but Mary was not wealthy, she barely made ends meet. The dear lady went into a nursing home and we heard nothing about her until her obituary appeared in the newspaper.
"Our beloved Smokey lived with us for about 10 years. She was a spoiled darling, created no problems. She loved to eat lettuce, of all things. She developed a heart condition and we had her put to sleep. She has remained a wonderful memory and is always remembered with much love."
Pauline Masson can be reached at paulinemasson@att.net or 636-257-0988.
