Old Betty from the Land of Crisco
There are some people you meet in your life, who you just can't forget, Ms.Betty was one of those women. She was a crazy, vivacious woman with a sense of style that would make anyone stuck in a time warp drool. The first time I saw her, she was wearing ruby red heels, that looked just like the pair, Dorothy wore in the Wizard of Oz, with a hot pink romper, that would have made barbie green with envy. Her makeup was just as wild, false lashes so long, they could passed for a plant. She must have taken a few pointers, from Mrs.Tammy Faye Baker herself.
As weird as Ms.Betty was, the one thing I will never forget, was that bubbly personality of hers. She was the most vivacious 75-year-old woman, I had ever met in my life. Lord, she even ran five miles a day, which was probably how she managed to keep her figure, and spunk. She never gossiped, as a matter of fact when she heard me talking smack (as she would always call it) she would make a point to tell me, "honey if your chickens ain't all in a roll, don't go talking bout someone else." I never could figure out what she meant by that, but I know it has to have something to do with me not being perfect myself.
The weirdest thing about Ms.Betty was where she told me she was from. She swore up and down she was from the land of Crisco. Of course in my mind all I could think was, "this lady must be bonkers, come on Crisco is cooking oil not a city." It gets even better, not only did she tell me she was from the land of Crisco, she also told me in her former life she was a queen. She had a wild imagination, that woman was one heck of a storyteller. I never called Ms.Betty a liar, but I knew most her stories were not real, I just liked hearing them.
After knowing her for a little while, I began to hear some of what sounded like some truths, mixed in with her usual banter of fables. I found out she was married once, when she was younger, to the man of her dreams, she even had a few children. She was a retired Newspaper writer, which is why I think her mind starting going into imagination mode, the older she became. She also let it pop out that she was from Texas, and not "The Land of Crisco" I pretty much already knew that, but it was refreshing to hear the truth from her. It made me feel special, to know that she trusted me enough to share a part of her real world with me. She was one of the strongest women I had ever met, but she was also the sweetest as well.
I am so glad I got to know Ms.Betty, she died about three years after I met her. Apparently her brain wasn't as healthy, as her body. She had Alzheimer disease, which is probably why most her world was imaginary, that she presented to me. Her death was a hard pill to swallow, especially for her oldest daughter, who was named Betty as well. She touched so many lives not just with her over the top imagination, but her kind heart as well.
