Childhood Memories -- Birdy

We used to drink Peppermint Tea, and we would eat these tiny buttery little cookies, that were just sweet enough to make your teeth ache. We all sat like the little ladies and gentlemen that we were. We used to say “please and thank you” at her home. She reminded me of Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, which is a wonderful character in a delightful series of books written by, Betty MacDonald. I simply adored them as a child. Birdy only sent one child home that I can ever recall. Patrick Sears. He was the devil incarnate. He spoke with a lisp, and he was hateful. His parents were weird.

I remember that her hair was always coiled up and perched on top of her head. I always wanted to see her hair down, but she wouldn’t hear of it. I saw her in pants maybe three times my whole life. She always seemed to wear a dress, stockings, pumps, gloves, and a hat when she went out. They drove a very old Ponitac. The steering wheel was huge, and she always looked so small driving that big old car.

She had her own bathroom and bedroom, and Erwin had his own. I asked her why they didn’t sleep in the same bedroom as like my Mom and Dad. She would giggle and tell me in a very hushed tone that Erwin snored like a buzz saw, and it kept her awake at night. I think she was a night owl anyhow. My bedroom window faced her home, and if I would get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, her reading light in her bedroom would be on.

Years later I found her real name was Helen Hill. When she introduced herself to us those many years before, she just said, “You can call me Birdy” You know I can’t really remember ever really meeting her. Birdy was just always part of our neighborhood and our lives. I miss her.

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