Mrs. Mildred Nash was our neighbor for over 25 years. It would be more accurate to say that we were her neighbor, since she'd lived in this neighborhood 20 years before we moved in. When our house, our side of the street, was still woods. I don't even know if our street was even here. I wrote about Mrs. Nash recently because the ally across the street was made into a street and called Mildred Place.Today, November 25, is her birthday. This seems like a good time to post the audio my daughter made with Mrs. Nash.
[Note, it might take a while - it took me a few minutes - for this to upload, but read something else and come back to it.]
If I close my eyes and listen to the tape, it's like Mrs. Nash is here in the room with me. And you can catch the infectious love of life in her voice. She was about 86 and dying with cancer when this recorded. But you wouldn't know it. If you want to get a little boost today, listen to a truly at-peace woman thinking back on her life. And hear the story about how she had to go to Seattle to adopt her son, because they didn't have black babies and they weren't going to give her a white one.
I should note it would also be my mother-in-law's birthday today. In one of those strange coincidences in life, her name was also Mildred. Happy Birthday to both my Mildreds.
Thank you for sharing this audio with us. Mrs. Nash must have made a lasting impression on your family. Your family was truly lucky to have spent many years living next such a wise women. Monica has given us wonderful insight into the life that Mrs. Nash lived, and what a full life it must have been. Thank you for spreading her love and kindness.
ReplyDeleteOMG, she was in Bakersfield. That's just a couple hours from where I live. I'm surprised that there was less Jim Crow in AK. The comments about going in the back door break my heart. Oh wow! I just got to the part about them trying to get food for the baby in Utah. Heart wrenching to hear about their trials there. How can people be so cruel? What a remarkable woman; I wish I had known her. Your daughter is remarkable as well to have put together this lovely testament to an amazing woman's life.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Decided to listen to Mrs Nash and glad I did. Her story brought my so deeply loved grandma Kate Brause (née Arfsten) into the room with me.
ReplyDeleteHow is it some people receive such a gift of character? We're so lucky to have known women like Mrs Nash. And it all starts by crossing the street and saying hi to our neighbour.
Beautiful.
Anon, WakeUP, and Jacob, glad you were able to listen to the audio and you enjoyed it. Putting up audio isn't as easy as putting up video and not everyone can listen to it. If anyone knows a an audio equivalent to Youtube, Viddler, etc. please let me know. The one I had been using closed down.
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