The house diagonally across the street from me is inhabited by a 76 year old woman who has outlived three husbands, and two of her five children. She was born in Wisconsin and moved to Miami in the late '40s with her family. She was a hairdresser, then a dancer on Miami Beach, then a childcare provider, then a house painter. She can hang drywall, lay pipe, and install electricity. She is not, however, licensed to do any of these things. And in between all of this, she was a wife, a mother, and a grandmother. She has lived an interesting, if exhausting, life.
She and I have had conversations galore about numerous subjects. She reads books constantly and spoils her grandchildren from afar (her preference!). She still cooks her own meals, does her own laundry, and cleans (sometimes) her own house.
She is irrepressible....and a life-long Republican! Follow me over the fold to one of our many discussions.....
I want to introduce you to my neighbor, who I shall call Nan, and who is one heck of a lady. She wears wigs, dresses impeccably, and has her nails done every other week. She is sharp as a new knife and bright as a new penny. She told me that she came to Miami Beach in its heyday. What she meant was when she was young, pretty, and sexually active (she told me that, too!). She told me that her choices in men almost always ended up on the wrong side of the blanket, which she enjoyed, but she always ended up pregnant. She said she has had five abortions, birthed five children, and is the happy grandmother of seven. They all live in different parts of the country, which gives her an opportunity for travel.
She has outlived two sons, one who was killed in Vietnam, and the other by a drunk driver several years ago. She remains matter-of-fact about all of this. She says she got her moderate fortune from the deaths of two of her three husbands(I didn't even know she had money!). The other one, she says, was a bum, but he was "great in the sack." He brought nothing to the relationship except really erotic times.
Anyway, Nan and I have developed a kind of friendship because her children live so far away that they don't visit that often, and her friends are dropping like flies (Nan's words!). I enjoy our discussions a lot. She makes me laugh, and she is bawdy without being nasty, and loves a good glass of wine and a good joke. Nan is a dyed-in-the-wool Republican. She has NEVER voted any other way except Republican, and she proudly relates that fact to me each time we talk politics.
To get to the point, I asked her if she was going to watch the debate on Friday. She told me she was going to, but that McCain would surely be the winner because he has been around for so long. She told me that he has lived the history of this country (and I didn't tell her that I thought he probably knew George Washington. She would have considered that being rude!).
On Friday, I didn't see her even though I rang her bell and waited for several minutes. On Saturday, after the talking heads had dissected the debate enough and I was done with that, I looked out the window to see if I could see her. She still did not come out of the house. On Sunday, I was getting a little worried, but I saw her cat going in and out, so I was not really too bothered.
On Sunday night, as I was sitting on my patio, my bell rang. I answered and lo, and behold, it was Nan. She had on the usual makeup, wig, nice house dress, slippers, and perfume. I asked her in and wanted to know what the occasion was. She told me that she had something to say! She told me that she watched the debate on Friday, and was enraged and saddened at what she saw. I didn't say anything because I wanted her to tell me. I didn't want to ask. She told me that McCain is really a grumpy, mean-spirited old man who reminded her of her second husband, who also happened to be grumpy and mean-spirited. And she didn't like him very much at all! I laughed so hard, I cried. She meant what she said.
Then she told me that she had spent the last two days worrying herself about voting. She said she wanted to make sure that she had all of her paperwork together, that she was registered (and she is!), and that she knew where the polling place was (since she drives herself everywhere she has to go!). She said she had been bothered by what she saw in McCain and was troubled by his obvious disdain for Obama.
Then she quietly told me that Obama reminded her of a man that she had dated once without anyone knowing. I asked what she meant and why the secrecy (I already knew!), and she said, "He was colored, and in those days you just didn't do that!" She told me that Obama was dignified, cool, calm, and collected, and the guy she dated was exactly like that. She also told me that she would have married him except for the fact that her parents could not bear the thought of her with a Black man, and she couldn't bear the thought of disappointing her parents.
She said she was very disappointed with McCain because of the way he treated Obama. She said he was rude and that she could not watch the way he acted without getting angry. She talked about how her Black lover treated her so well, how nice he was to her, and how she could not watch McCain mistreat Obama because Obama reminded her of her lover, and McCain was just downright rude.
She said even after all these years (and I didnot ask how many!), she still remembers how he spoke her name. I was so moved by this that I asked her if she still heard from him. She told me that he passed away several years ago without ever getting married. She said they had remained friends and that was why she was angry with McCain. She said she would always grieve the loss of this "dear man who made me feel like life was worth living each time we met."
Then she said it! She told me, "Today honey, I made the final decision to vote for Barack Obama. I honestly think several things, but I believe that McCain is too old, too grumpy, too mean, and too small minded to be a good leader. Obama was so tall, smart, and handsome. He was never mean, but always deferential to McCain who handed him the back of his hand. No, I cannot vote for McCain! I am 76 and really pissed! He was rude and he made all old people look bad!"
Then she asked me if I had anymore information about Obama. I reminded her that I had given her information before when she told me she was going to vote for Obama. She started laughing, and said, "I just said that because I had not made up my mind yet. But I have now."
I think McCain is not aware of the fact that there are a lot of people out there who are his age who feel insulted by his actions of Friday. People that age remember manners and had rules of behavior. They don't like rude or treating people badly. And McCain did all of this, and more.
I think McCain just lost a valuable demographic, and Obama may have gained one!!!! Nan told me that all of her friends, the ones who haven't dropped like flies yet, were very offended by McCain's actions, and some even said they were voting for Obama because they want manners back! Can you believe it? He actually thought people would enjoy seeing him in his "rude" stance. Well, they fooled him....I hope!
I apologize if this is too long. I wanted to give you a feel for the relationship I have with Nan and a feel for Nan. She is truly a gem.....