Charlee Was A Colorful Lady!

She was the first person I saw when I walked in the room. She was the first person everybody saw when they walked in the room. Long black hair poofed a bit and a large, I mean large ,white flower in her hair. She wore black eye make- up that made you take a second look. When you got to know her it was like that eye make up was a big part of who she was. One day she told me her daughter had suggested it was a little bit too much and I said,"I know" She said "You knew it too and did not tell me?" Well duh! "That is who you are and I was not about to take who you are away from you." She toned it down a bit, but it soon crept back. Little kids by her side and waiting to be seen by the clinic doctor. That is where we first met. It was at the County hospitals children's clinic. I had my son with me and we were all there for, I don't know, check up, or shots, or whatever, I do not remember, but there we were. She had that Hawaiian look about her, and why wouldn't she? That is where she was from. Her father had served in the service and was stationed there. From that day in the hospital we became the best of friends. I have so many memories of her, and with her, that I have to share some of them. Many a time she would call me on the phone and say,"What are you having for dinner tonight?" Neither one of us were very flush with money and so we would put our dinners together and dined as though we were. First at her house and then at mine. I was working as a waitress at the Flamingo hotel and she came over while I was at work and cleaned my whole house including scrubbing and waxing the floors. Another day she came over and weeded my yard and mowed my lawn. When I married my Bobby Joe she threw us a house warming. No one has ever made me laugh like she could. She had the most wonderful and sometimes off color sense of humor, but on her it just did not seem offensive. She laughed so heartily that you could not help joining in. When I invited her to go with me to functions she would ask me,"Do you want me to show class, or color?" She never let anyone say anything bad about or to me. As little as she was she defended me like a mother hen. It was a very sad day when she moved away. However we still kept in touch. Our vacations were always spent travelling to visit her and she made them true vacations. We went to Disneyland and to Knotts Berry Farm, and to the Aquariums. She took us on the Queen Mary and we rode the ferry to Catalina Island. But for her I would never have been able to see a lot of these places. She made them all very special with her outgoing ways. At the grocery store when we shopped for our meals, we split the bill down the middle. While she and I cooked, and the guys would come in for whatever reason, she would say to them "Please, go sit down, we're awfully busy!" Then she would crack up laughing. They came back to Santa Rosa to visit us also. She had a sister here so she made it a double reason to come. The last time she came for a visit, she informed me that she and her husband were taking Bob and I to Hawaii and she did not want to hear any sounds of refusal. They were doing good now and there was no way she would take no for an answer. I felt like Cinderella. What a grand time we all had. Her daughter and friend accompanied us also. Since she had lived there at one time she knew some of the natives, and we were guests in their home. The mother of one family where we were privileged to visit and enjoy "poo poos" out under the Lanai, was the last living relative of King Kamehameha, the last king on the Island. Another family invited us to dinner and the lady cooked a meal you can not even believe, but she would not join us at the table. They were Asian and her culture would not allow her to sit with us. I felt so bad, but that was the way they were taught. The deck where we ate was built right on the water and the small waves washed right up to us . It was so beautiful. Mr. Kim, that was his name, taught me some Hawaiian words and before we left he asked me to pronounce Pi pe li ne (Which comes out sounding like pee -pay- lean- ay in Hawaiian). So that is what I said, and he said."O.K. that is good but over here we pronounce it pipeline. What a laugh he got out of that as we all did. By the way, Poo, Poos are hordouvres. I do not usually give out names, or at least I try not to, but you all should know the wonderful Charlotte that touched my life. Everyone called her Charlee. We laughed together, we cried together we shared, we raised our kids together, we even shared her death together. When she called to tell me she had cancer and was dying, I died a little bit myself. During those days she called me often and kept me informed. She would even tell me about her doctor visits and how she would be Charlee and tell jokes to the doctors and nurses to make them laugh. I am sure they knew she was a special patient. She accepted her diagnosis with dignity and added humor to it to make it easier, I am sure. She was not afraid of going. She told me who all was waiting for her and that she would save me a place. In the meantime, when I saw a butterfly, she said that would be her coming to say hello to me. Whenever I see a butterfly I smile and say ,"There's Charlee." The day then came when she called to say Hospice was now coming and she wanted to say good bye to me. She said,"Don't you dare cry because we have laughed too many years together to cry now." Shortly afterwards she was gone. Charlee was the best friend I ever had and to this day I miss you dearly Charlee!