Meet Margaret

                                 Meet Margaret

When I was very new at the telephone company I often worked the late night shifts because I had no other choice. I really did not mind that at all, it allowed me to go to school in the day at a local university. I met some interesting people in those days and each of them taught me things about life. Some taught by example and others by words. This is the story of one of them, her name was Margaret.

Margaret  was what I would describe as old and crusty. She was past retirement age but was not financially able to retire. I am certain there was many reasons for her situation but that was not important. 

Margaret frightened me at first. She was gruff and spoke with a heavy smoker’s voice. She smoked and drank more than she should and enough that it was damaging her health. She still laughed and told jokes every time I saw her.  Late one night it had gotten slow and the calls were only coming in sporadically, Margaret began to talk. Her jokes were pretty raunchy, but I was very amused and laughed so hard when she told them. I laughed because it was funny but also I laughed because I was embarrassed. 

Even though she had experienced more than her share of heartbreak, she could still smile and see the funny things in life. One night during a slow shift,  she wanted to impart some wisdom to me about men. Basically her advice was not to trust men and to take what they give you but never give them your heart. Margaret said I have some important advice,  "You can open your legs but never open your heart!" She added, "remember those words and you will have a happy life."

I was 18, still living with my parents, working full time and going to school (at the University of South Alabama). The next morning after this sage advice from Margaret, I said to my mother, "There is an older lady at work who gave me some advice last night.." before I could finish my story, my mother said, "Do exactly what she tells you, older ladies will never steer you wrong!" I smiled and nodded, I never had the courage to tell my mother the advice Margaret had given me.

Margaret would tell of going to a bar on Halls Mill Road in Mobile, that was her place to relax and meet people. She wasn’t much of a dancer but she absolutely loved to watch others dance. She would paint the pictures in my head of bizarre behavior in the bar. At least to me it was strange. It sounded like people let loose and did whatever they chose to do regardless of who saw or what others thought. That was intriguing to me.  After a few hours and a few drinks she would go home and rest for the next shift. Work and the bar were her life. She had no children and no husband or roommate. She had very few relatives and the ones she had were not close at all. It sounded sad but it was her life and she was making the best of it.

One day Margaret called in sick and I worried the entire shift about her. The next evening she came in with a smile. She spent that evening during the slow periods, telling me all about her night that she called in sick when she was not sick at all.

Margaret said that she went to her regular bar, it was called Club Manor and was located on Halls Mill Road in Mobile, Alabama. She said it was a regular night, people coming and going for hours. Most of the people she saw that night were ones she had seen many times before. However, there was a new guy who came in and he looked so lonely. After a few minutes he sat down next to Margaret at the bar. She said he was a great conversationalist and as the night continued, he got better and better looking to her. 

Eventually he asked her if she would like him to accompany her home. She could not believe her ears. She had never had anything like this happen to her and she jumped at the opportunity to have a man in her bed. She said it had been so long and she doubted this chance would ever present itself again, so she quickly accepted his offer. They spent the night and most of the next day in bed, getting up only for moments at the time when nature called or hunger struck. She said he was the best man she had ever had in her bed. I listened to every word she spoke. I was only 18 and it was a fascinating story to me. I enjoyed hearing all of the details even though I was very embarrassed. Margaret was not embarrassed at all, she seemed excited and extremely happy. I asked her wasn’t she afraid? This man could have been a rapist or a murderer or something. She said she briefly considered those things but her gut told her different and anyway she was willing to take a chance. She declared that she was so very happy that she took that chance. I was amazed to learn that she never even asked his last name and really had no interest in knowing anything about him. He told her his name was Joe and that was enough for her. I will always remember her words, “We were like two ships passing in the night." Details did not matter that night, only two people enjoying one another with no questions asked. I will also never forget these words she spoke, "Juanita it was like going to Disneyland!" I had never been to Disneyland at the time, but I had heard it was a glorious, happy place.

Wow! I got a real education at the phone company, it is a great place for a young naive girl to go to work. This was one of many surprising incidents in the thirty-one years I worked at the telephone company.

Many years have passed and Margaret is no longer with us. I hope in her waning hours that she only thought of her wonderful night that was better than Disneyland.

I will always remember this crusty old lady who had nothing, yet she still could laugh about life and tell jokes without hesitation.