Over a year ago, Boo took me to visit a lady.
No, I don't know if lady is the right word....
A matriarch, a classy woman, or maybe her name
stands alone with no subtitles,
Mrs. Loretta Beech.
It was one of those beautiful cool days where we
rode around Gonzales without me knowing where we
might be going next.
Finally the truck pulled up in the driveway of this
huge home, I would say a Louisiana Mansion.
"I used to work with this lady and her sons"
He explained.
No other words were needed for the encounter I was
about to meet.
He rang the bell of this front door that seemed to be
as large as the whole front of the cottage.
When the door opened, there she was,
a miniature lady with a cast on her arm who I had
now remembered meeting at Mrs. Barbara's memorial.
Her size meant nothing when this woman began
to speak and talk. The reason for our visit became
apparent when she led us around the home to a painting
she wanted Randy to have because he had given it to her.
As he looked at the huge, ornate framed painting of a bird.
she insisted he had given this to her and she wanted to return it
as she was selling and moving with her son to Mississippi.
He was almost speechless as she insisted this was his.
You don't argue with a woman like Mrs. Loretta.
From that moment on, the painting was his
"because she said so".
It is how she was, that little firecracker of a woman spoke
and you listened. After she gave us the most awesome tour
of the Louisiana mansion that stood with a "For Sale" sign
in the yard, we sat in her family room
and did what we just don't do enough of
anymore, we talked. There was no rush in the visit. Although
the broken hand she held upright must have been hurting
she was going to command when the visit was over.
Then the stories began and I found out more about Randy
that I may have never known had it not been for this beautiful woman.
She and her first husband had began a boat business that Randy
worked for back in the 80's. When her husband died
she took over his duties along with her sons and became
like a second Mom to boo.
Even with that said, she was a tough cookie back then.
They talked of old times,
the great work boo did along with some mistakes he made in life.
She said things like the way they were, but she also
made it clear that she saw the man he could be and
kept him close to her through the business.
I believe Boo chalks up his work ethics and the man
he is today partially to this woman, from the way he speaks of her.
It was evident the way she spoke of him and to him that
she adored and loved him and the feeling was mutual.
There were a few times when her words put tears in Randy's eyes
making him choke up. This does not happen often with boo,
yet she was able to bring him to this point more than once.
She didn't care. If she had something to say, she was saying it
whether you were choked up, crying or laughing.
Funny, a story teller, I admired her, fell in love with her the first
time I met her. The type of Mother/woman figure you hope
to become when you are in your 80's.
Let me give you another glimpse of who this woman was.
Boo's mom had been cremated and although she was in
a very sturdy jar she loved from Spain, it was not to be her
final resting spot. Boo was always looking for a better urn
to place her remains in. He questioned Mrs. Loretta about
one of her many beautiful things that surrounded her dwelling.
He explained his dilemma questioning where
he might be able to find one of her pieces to buy one.
Without even thinking about it she tells him to get it.
He picks it up and brings to her and she says simply,
"It's yours"
He tried to protest, but her commanding voice again made me
realize, no one questions Mrs. Loretta.
After about a two hour, maybe longer visit, we begin to
say goodbye. As we leave I know I will never forget this
little lady, no this woman.
Her body may have been frail but her commanding presence
reminded you she was still "the boss".
We may have left her beautiful home, but boo still had lots
of stories to tell. He shared of how this woman molded him,
never gave up on him, even when he didn't deserve it, she
gave him chances that not everyone who worked for her got.
Of course, she also was not afraid to chew his Arse if he needed it,
but she saw the man he was to become way before he did.
I know this visit meant so much to the both of them.
It even meant so much to me.
After that visit, we spoke many times of going back and visiting
her again. Because the beautiful painting hangs in his living room,
we think of her every time we look at it.
Just as life seems to do to us, it got busy and complicated and
we never made it for another visit.
Yet, we spoke of her many times
and each time, just how much she meant to him/us was
present in every story.
This morning, Boo with a heavy voice says he got some
very bad news this morning.
His beloved Mrs. Loretta passed away at 88 years old.
We do not know of the specifics but we are both so very sad
to hear this news. We talk for about 15 minutes about what a loss,
and how we wished we had made it there to visit with her.
As much as I wish we had, one visit was enough for me to know
I will not only never forget her but her impression on my heart
will be there forever. RIP you beautiful little woman.
Many prayers for her family who I know are feeling a huge loss
this morning. I will end this extended blog, that still does not
seem like enough to try and put her character into words, with the words
of a song that I hope gives comfort to all those who loved her:
JUST 'CAUSE I'M LEAVIN'
IT DON'T MEAN THAT
I WON'T BE RIGHT BY YOUR SIDE
WHEN YOU NEED ME
AND YOU CAN'T SEE ME
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT
JUST CLOSE YOUR EYES AND SAY A PRAYER
IT'S OKAY, I AIN'T SCARED
I MIGHT BE HERE
BUT I'LL ALWAYS BE RIGHT THERE
EVEN THOUGH I'M LEAVIN'
I AIN'T GOING NOWHERE
Luke Combs lyrics
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