A Visit from Bea’s Nieces (2)

Nan and Margot slept well last night, but I didn’t. I had to go in three times and tell Bea to be quiet.

This morning I received the following email from cousin Sally in Tennessee: “I read your blog and it was almost like being there. Please give Bea a big hug and a kiss from her goddaughter. I was so happy to be able to pick my own godparents, having been baptized at the age of 7! I really admire Auntie Bea, the first career woman I ever knew.”

As a child, Nan also admired Bea, who had a job at a radio station.

Dorothy often talked about her family to her daughters. Margot recounted one of her mother's stories: One day Dorothy received a phone call from Bea who was at work. Her guest had cancelled at the last minute. Could Dot come as a replacement? Dorothy dropped everything, and Bea interviewed her about being a housewife.

While Nan has breakfast, Bea tells us about the Odyssey Cruise: “I got bored at the seashore with the family and decided to do something more interesting. So, I got a number of people together to go abroad, which worked out very well.”

“How’s that?” Nan asked.

“People at Vassar had money. It was one of the cleverest things I did.” (Bea received a free trip after recruiting seven fellow passengers.)

Bea is chatty, despite the lack of sleep, and this memory has sparked another: “At the same beach I asked some boys whether they could drive me to New York and had the satisfaction of going to the city without paying for it.”

Bea then relates how she proceeded home to the empty house at 102 South Fullerton Avenue. Scared of being in her bedroom alone, she climbed out on a flat part of the roof and slept there

Bea enjoys her nieces’ visit.

We hope they will come again.