Jayne was what my father referred to as, “A character!” She would
always knock twice on our door, before opening it. Then, she’d stick her head
inside and yodel “Yoooouh-hoooo!” Back in the 1950’s nearly everyone’s doors
were left unlocked. A locked one meant no one was home.
Well Jayne was NOT your typical 50’s housewife! During WWII
she served as a nurse. She was not young even then. After the war and late in
life, she became a private nurse and married a patient. His name was Walt. He
was a tall, trim, elegant man who always wore a vest & jacket even during
hot Florida summers.
Initially, I thought Walt didn’t know how to drive because
Jayne was always the one behind the wheel. “Walt just prefers I do it,” she said with affection. Clearly, she was the one in charge. Mostly he
was a reclusive homebody, she was a loquacious gadabout.
Before moving to Florida, they adopted an orphan baby from
an Eastern European country. This was my friend, Sharla! She was 4 years older
than me.
Sharla was the only one of my friends who had parents older
than mine. Walt died of frail health when I was 7 and Sharla 11. This was the
first real death in both our lives.
Jayne adored and overindulged Sharla spoiling her rotten. My
parents did not like Sharla. However, I did, so they tolerated her. Plus Jayne
was a good neighbor from several miles down the highway. And she tolerated me!
I was considered somewhat of a fresh kid by that family! Always,
I called Jayne by her first name because my parents did. Even Sharla admonished
me for addressing an adult in that fashion. But since I was never corrected by
my parents I assumed it was OK and ignored her.
Plus I had a habit of using inappropriate and offensive
phrases that made them gasp. – I was just quoting my parents! When I told my
folks this, my parents just laughed.
I know Jayne didn’t think much of Mom & Dad’s parenting
skills. Among other things, she thought it terrible they allowed me to drink
coffee as a pre-schooler. Plus they never forced me to take naps. Of course I
was so hopped-up on Caffeine I would have been unable to sleep anyway.
Due to anxiety attacks, my mother didn’t drive and depended
on Jayne quite a bit. But they never socialized together one-on-one outside our
home as friends usually do.
Whenever I went into town or attended any event with my
family, we always seemed to run into Jayne. “Wow that Jayne sure gets around!”
I exclaimed to my father.
“She should stay home and clean her house.” Dad sniffed.
“Her house is dirty.”
Well, her house was my second home and honestly I don’t recall
seeing any dirt, or dust even. I remember her furniture was old and not as nice
as ours. But it was a place where you could put your bare feet on the couch while
eating an ice-cream cone. In other words, a comfortable happy place!
In retrospect, this woman was out there living her life! She
was no barfly or adulteress, Jayne was a decent person who wasn’t hurting
herself or anyone else.
Also she was declared a busy-body by my grandfather. “She
enjoys sticking her nose in other people’s business where it doesn’t belong!”
he’d say. But Jayne was a people-person! And she was the first to lend a
helping hand to anyone who needed it. She was someone you could count on in an
emergency or even when things went sour.
My family’s first Christmas in our new home on the St.
Lucie River was quite memorable. I vowed NOT to eat the ham & sweet potato dinner
my parents were planning. (I don’t eat mammals & sweet potatoes make me
gag!) Jayne cooked a special holiday meal for me and delivered it on Christmas Day!
The following week, the new year would mark the dawn of a new decade, 1960! A
multitude of changes were headed our way, few of them good.
In 1961 a man came to our school conducting Tuberculosis tests.
He examined our arms. All the kids in front of me were sent back to their seats
immediately, but not me. I was the first of 3 students who was singled out. The
man told us not to worry and then asked for our parent’s phone numbers. -- We
had turned up positive!
Everyone in my family was required to see a
doctor. As it turned out, we had merely been exposed. Our friend Jayne was the
one with Tuberculosis. Of course it didn’t slow her down! She received
treatment. Last I heard, she enjoyed a long and active life.
But sadly, after we moved into our new home, Jayne’s
visits were far and few between. Sharla entered
Junior High, while I was still in Elementary. Our friendship ended abruptly at
the start of the new school year.
Life soon took on an entirely different reality in the new
house! Jayne was too authentic to fit in with the hooch-hounds in the phony
cocktail crowd my parents had joined. Now we had an image to maintain! For me, it
was like trying to breathe under plastic while balancing on broken glass. My
idyllic childhood ended quickly.
Looking back, I remember Jayne with tremendous fondness. We were
fortunate she had been a part of our lives!
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