Thursday, December 4, 2014

Miss Birdie and the Cat's Pajamas


Why, Lizzie Beth, how glad I am to see you! Lay that wet jacket there by the stove and come get you a chair.

No. I ain't busy -- jest settin here feeling kindly down in my spirits. These short days and dark clouds take me thataway sometimes. But mostly I been thinking on last night.

Well, you see, yesterday evening Bernice come by and wanted me to come with her into Asheville to see the Christmas lights. And I'll not deny, they are a sight on earth. How they get them in some of those high up places, you'd not credit. I hate to think what the electric bill will be for some of them places. . .

Well, Bernice drove us right into downtown, where I ain't been in many a year, and I could hardly believe all the changes there was - great new buildings and people everywhere and some right quare-lookin folks at that . . . 

 But what else I saw . . . there was this one woman pushing an old shopping buggy, just piled high with bags and I says to Bernice, 'Well, she's doing a plenty of shopping,' and Bernice looks at me all pitiful like and says, "Birdie, honey, that woman's likely homeless -- there's a sight of 'em here in Asheville. The things in that buggy is probably everything she owns.'

Well, I don't hardly believe what she begins to tell me but then she takes and drives to this place where you can see up under this bridge there are pieces of cardboard and old blankets and such and she says that's one of the places some of those folks sleep. Can you imagine? . . . 
Now I was brought up without much -- plenty would say I was poor -- but there was always food and a bed and wood for a fire. Even during the Great Depression, things didn't change much -  we still had food and a roof over our heads. 

Bernice went on tell me about how there was shelters for these folks but there wasn't always enough places and it made me think of the little baby Jesus and no place to lay his head and just about then, here come a commercial on the car radio -- Bernice had it on a station playing Christmas carols -- and the commercial was a lady selling pajamas -- talking about sending pajamas for a Christmas present.

Oh, you've heard it too.  Yeah, boy, there's this woman telling how they had pajamas to fit everyone in the family, big and small, young and old. Why, she even said -- and this is this part I been studying on -- they had pajamas to fit  your dog and your cat.

So I reckon that's how come I to be so low today -- just setting here thinking about those folks without nare bed to sleep in whilst other folks is buying pajamas for their pets.

I tell you, Lizzie Beth, it just don't seem right.


14 comments:

Ms. A said...

Miss Birdie sure wouldn't want to come here, she'd be shocked as all get out, at some of the sights. Seeing them eat out of trash cans and laying around on the sidewalks. It's pitiful to witness.

Unknown said...

Enjoy your blog posts, really great pics, thanks for writing.

KarenB said...

I purely love Miss Birdie. She has such a way of seeing right to the heart of a matter.

Barbara Rogers said...

Thank you Vicki. Love Ms. Birdie's views!

Suz said...

I just love reading this aloud
so rich .....wonderful

Jime said...

Miss Birdie knows the difference between right and wrong, which isn,t easy to do sometimes. She isn't tainted and sees beauty and justice easily. Love Miss Birdie

Lee said...

Oh, Vicki, tell Miss Birdie to not be too distressed. She is right, of course, but there is a place where the unhoused can get help. It is called AHOPE and is on Ann Street. They have showers for those without housing and they receive their mail and distribute it and even give medications if needed. There is also a church that loves everyone, housed and unhoused, and it provides food and clothes and healing for the sick as well as acupuncture and haircuts. The people at this church are like Miss Birdie and her neighbors, kind, caring, real people who work hard and share. In fact if Bernice would bring her down to Haywood St. in the spring Miss Birdie might teach the folks a thing or two about their garden and their chickens. She also could just sit and visit with the sick in the Respite at the back of the church. They'd love her stories and she would love them too.

Thérèse said...

I'll have to come back to read more carrefully.

Darla said...

Love these tales…and the messages that they contain. Thank you!

Vicki Lane said...

Thanks to Lee for pointing out the terrific work that is being done -- I know her and she's in the thick of it.

Stella Jones said...

That touches me especially this month as my son struggles with homelessness. Of course he can always come back here but he doesn't want to. That would be to give up trying, I suppose. It's very hard for lots of people these days.

June said...

Ah.
It's hard to know what to say in response to this. So true, and we all know it's true, and yet so few of us actually do anything to help. Some money thrown to the local food pantry or to the street churches. It would be so much better for all of us if we all had our hands in the help, right up to our elbows.

Victoria said...

Thank you for this visit from Miss Birdie, Miss Vicki!

NCmountainwoman said...

That Miss Birdie is one wise woman. Thanks for another glimpse of her.