Let Me Tell You About Ms. Martin

I had a neighbor who lived across the street from me a few years back named Ms. Martin. Ms. Martin was in her 80s and had a gigantic Doberman Pinscher. So every now and then Ms. Martin would buy these gigantic bags of dog food and whenever I was on my porch I would help her carry the bags into her house. And finally the most amazing thing happened, she began to tell me about her past. It turns out Ms. Martin was the first black person to work at the Supreme Court as a secretary. When she got to know me she showed me all the news clippings, brittle and frail with age like she was. But boy did she have spirit. When she got to know me even more, she would again show me the old news clippings but with an added touch. We would share a bottle of watermelon wine. She was so happy unscrewing this wine and pouring me some in an outlandish glass. And then she would show me old pictures. At the time she was a striking woman but she showed me old photos and let me tell you she was an absolute knock out back in the day. But I also have to be honest, Ms. Martin was quite old and every time I saw her or helped her with bags she would tell me the same stories over and over again and I began to dread these conversations which could last up to an hour. Well, a few years back Ms. Martin broke her hip and she was placed into a full time care facility and her house was sold and I haven’t seen her since. Now when I look over at her house, I can almost taste the watermelon wine and see her huge dog and her even bigger smile. I miss Ms. Martin.