Freddie’s mother Bea called all Freddie’s girlfriends floozies, perhaps influenced by Freddie’s unfaithful father. According to Bea, none of Freddie’s girlfriends were good enough for him. Because Freddie and I were just friends, Bea and I got along. Like me, she was interested in nature, natural and healthy foods and natural medicines. “I believe in nature,” she told me. “Nature is my religion.” She seemed very unlike what I had heard about her dead husband. When her children were still young, after she had moved to the Bay Area from Los Angeles and had finally learned how to drive, she would drive them into the Berkeley hills, make them go outside the car, and tell them to breathe. She wanted them to feel the clean air and to be a part of nature. Bea was always doing some kind of cleanse, whether with lemon and cayenne, or juice. Alternative health was one of her favorite interests. Although she had only gone to school through the third grade, Bea was inquisitive and original. She had a mind of her own and a stubbornness to go with it. She called it “tenacity.” Born in 1919, Bea was certainly unusual for her time.
©2023 Marianna Mejia
Marianna Mejia 