The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion Part 29

At the investigative hearing, Bud Harris testified that they had, in fact, by mutual consent, been flying in formation, when the WASP pilot suddenly-and for no apparent reason and without warning-pulled up, causing the tip of her right wing to sc.r.a.pe the underside of his plane, ripping into his landing gear. He a.s.sumed she had pulled up and away and was in control and did not see her crash.

There was just one witness. A farmer said he was out in the field and heard a loud roaring noise. When he looked up, he saw two planes flying close together, and then the smaller one suddenly flew off to the right and went into a spin. He watched it spiral slowly down and crash. The plane exploded on impact and burned, and there was little left to determine the exact cause. After an investigation, the crash was declared accidental, and no charges were filed.

He hadn't meant to do it. Harris had thought that now that Sophie was alone and didn't have that hayseed looking out for her, it might be fun to throw a little scare into her-let her know just who she was dealing with. He would teach her a lesson about flying she wouldn't forget in a hurry.

So he circled around and flew in behind her and pulled up beside her. But in his zeal to have her see who he was, he'd pulled in too close, too fast. When she suddenly saw the plane right up on her, she pulled up sharply, trying to get out of his way. As she pulled up, the tip of her wing sc.r.a.ped the bottom of his plane, and he heard the sickening sound of metal meeting metal.

Harris worried that the sc.r.a.pe might have done some damage to his landing gear, so he did not stick around to see her plane spiral down to the ground and crash.

One of the other fliers in the air that day was a friend of Fritzi's and told her what he suspected had happened. Harris had been known to be pretty reckless.

Fritzi had flown into the base on the day of the hearing and tracked Harris down in the waiting room, just outside the inquiry room.

She threw the door open, and when she saw Harris sitting there with his feet up on a desk casually smoking a cigarette, her eyes filled with tears of rage.

"You no-good, lousy b.a.s.t.a.r.d! You just killed my sister, you sorry no good son of a b.i.t.c.h. I ought to kick your a.s.s all the way to h.e.l.l and back. Was it worth it? Showing off for your pals?"

He looked up at her. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"No? I swear to G.o.d, Harris, if I had a gun right now, I'd blow your G.o.dd.a.m.ned head off."

"Hey, lady, it wasn't my fault. She pulled up."

"Keep telling yourself that, Harris. You know d.a.m.n well whose fault it was," Fritzi said. "You're not worth killing. I hope you don't die. I hope they throw you in the brig for life, and that you remember what you did every day for the rest of your lousy, stinking life."

An officer opened the door, motioned for Harris, and said, "They're ready for you in the other room." Harris put out his cigarette, stood up, and walked out.

A collection was taken up among the other girls to take Sophie home, and Fritzi rode all the way to Pulaski with her coffin. Gertrude May flew in from Camp Davis in North Carolina, and Wink got a leave of absence and flew in from England.

The entire town-every man, woman, and child-attended the funeral that day. And even though Sophie wasn't officially in the army, the local VFW draped the American flag over her coffin anyway, rules be d.a.m.ned. As far as they were concerned, she had died while serving her country.

As a tribute, they had this inscribed in bronze and placed on her tombstone: She has climbed to the peaks above storm and cloud She has found the light of son and of G.o.d, I cannot say, I will not say That she is dead.

She is merely flown away.

-James Whitcomb Riley

NEW YORK CITY.

MARCH 1945.

AFTER THE WASPS DISBANDED, FRITZI'S FRIEND w.i.l.l.y HAD GONE home to Oklahoma, but like all the girls, she found herself restless and took off for a trip to New York to see Pinks and catch some shows. One night, while having drinks with some friends, she looked over and happened to see Bud Harris sitting at a table across the room with a bunch of other pilots. She excused herself and walked over to the table. "Hi, good-looking. Wanna dance?"

A few hours later, in a very exclusive hotel room, Harris had done exactly what he had been told to do by the s.e.xy dame from Oklahoma. After he had removed all of his clothes, he smirked at her. "Will I do?"

w.i.l.l.y, still fully dressed in her steel-tipped cowboy boots, smiled and said, "Oh, yes. Come here, big boy." As soon as he got close enough, she hauled off and kicked him as hard as she could, and Harris fell to the floor, clutching his pride and joy and screaming in pain. w.i.l.l.y calmly strolled over and picked up his shoes and all of his clothes and threw them out the twenty-second-floor window. She left him lying on the floor, naked and writhing in agony.

w.i.l.l.y never told a soul what she had done, but she figured it was the least she could do for Fritzi.

POINT CLEAR, ALABAMA.

SOOKIE WAS GLAD TO BE HOME. SHE WAS EVEN HAPPY TO SEE CRAZY old Lenore and actually called and asked her to lunch.

Lenore showed up at the restaurant looking radiant in a beautiful lime green dress with a long white scarf flowing behind her. "The prodigal daughter returns!"

"h.e.l.lo, Mother. Don't you look pretty."

"Why, thank you. I think this is one of my best colors, don't you?" she said as she waved to a friend across the room.

LENORE MUST HAVE MISSED Sookie when she was gone, because she was pleasant all through lunch, until the very end when she said, "I don't mean to burst your bubble, Sookie, but I don't think you lost a pound at that spa. I'd ask them for my money back if I were you."

AFTER SOOKIE HAD BEEN back for a few days and had time to think about everything that had happened, she realized that this had been the most important trip of her life. She had learned so much that she never knew, and mostly about herself.

She was a lot more than Lenore Simmons's daughter. She was beginning to be somebody else, and she liked who she was turning out to be. Thank G.o.d, Earle had urged her to go. He was right. She wouldn't have missed this trip for the world.

Just a few months ago, she had been ready to sit back and take it easy, and now her life was just beginning again. She was learning so much-about Wisconsin, California, the WASPs, Polish food, Danish food.

Sookie ordered five copies of A History of Poland, and gave one to each of her four children. Then she sat down and read it herself. She was just in awe of how brave the Poles had been and at all the hardships they had endured.

Why hadn't she known all this before? She looked down at her arm and thought to herself, I have proud and brave Polish blood running up and down in all my veins. How wonderful! The next time she and Earle went over to the Oyster House, she did something that she had never done before in her life. She ordered a dozen raw oysters-and not only that, she ate them! She would probably never do it again, but at least she had done it once. Mrs. Poole was beginning to branch out in the world.

OF COURSE, WHEN SHE got back from Solvang and told Dee Dee her real father's name, Dee Dee immediately hired a professional genealogist to trace the Brunston family in England and find out if James Brunston was still alive. The lady found out that they had all died, except for one of his daughters.

Dee Dee wanted her mother to contact her. "She's your half sister, Mother!" But Sookie decided that there was really no point in contacting the poor lady at this late date. It would only mean having to divulge unpleasant information about the woman's father. Why upset her? She would just let that be. But they did find out that James Brunston had lived to be almost ninety and had died of natural causes. That was all she really needed to know.

Since meeting Fritzi and studying so much about history, Sookie had begun to look at Lenore with different eyes. She began to see how being a female and growing up when she had, with so many restrictions, must have been very frustrating for her. If she had been allowed to go on the stage, she probably would have been a star. And given all of Lenore's organizational skills and her ambition and drive, had she been a man, she most likely would have been a CEO of some big company. It really was sad to think that if Lenore had been born just a little later and gone into politics, who knows where the woman might have wound up?

Thank heavens, Sookie's girls could be almost anything they wanted to be. And it made her happy to think that her birth mother and two aunts had helped open doors for the women who came after them. As Carter said, "How cool is that?"

BLUE JAY AWAY.

LIFE WAS FINALLY BACK TO NORMAL AGAIN, WITH ONE EXCEPTION. DR. Shapiro was very pleased with Sookie's progress and said he felt she was well on the way to making a new life for herself, but his practice in Point Clear was not growing. It seemed n.o.body wanted to see a psychiatrist, and if they did, they certainly didn't tell anybody about it. And so he and his wife had decided to move back to New York, where seeing a psychiatrist was a status symbol. His only regret in leaving was that he would miss Sookie. He would never have told her, of course, and she was an older lady, but in the past months, he had developed a little crush on her. She was probably the nicest person he had ever met, patient or not.

SOOKIE WAS FEELING BETTER, but she still missed seeing her smaller birds. She hadn't seen a nuthatch or a chickadee all spring. Day after day, she sat in her greenhouse and watched the blue jays. She studied their feet and the way they landed on the rim, and she began to do sketches of bird feeders and try to figure out the measurements.

She was trying to come up with a better smaller feeder with wire mesh, so just the tiny bird seeds would filter through, with a smaller ledge that curved up just enough for the smaller birds to land.

Walter Dempsey was a handyman they used from time to time, and he could fix almost anything. He had a small carpentry shop where he made all kinds of gadgets. After Sookie had drawn a sketch with what she hoped were the correct measurements, she drove over to his shop and walked in. "Hey, Walter. I have a little drawing of a bird feeder. Do you think you could make this for me?"

He looked at it for a moment, then said, "I think I can do this up for you. When do you need it?"

"As soon as possible." It wasn't as if she didn't like blue jays. She did, but she felt she had to do something or else the little ones would just stop coming altogether.

ONE WEEK LATER, SOOKIE sat in her greenhouse and waited. In about five seconds, a big fat blue jay swooped in and tried to land on the rim of her new bird feeder. He kept fluttering around, trying to balance himself and eat the bird seed at the same time, but eureka! He couldn't do it, and after about three or four more attempts, he finally gave up and flew away. Soon several more blue jays tried to land, but because the ledge was so narrow, they, too, had a hard time balancing themselves, and they gave up and eventually flew over to the sunflower seed feeder.

It took a while for the little birds to understand, but the next afternoon she received a visit from a tiny t.i.tmouse, and as she watched, he was able to perch on the rim and feed. Success! She immediately called Mr. Dempsey and ordered five more bird feeders.

The following Monday morning, Sookie ran into the house and called Mr. Dempsey. "Oh, Walter, we had three more house finches, an indigo bunting, and a chickadee! I just can't thank you enough."

"Well, you're welcome, but it was really your idea. I just followed the plan. I think you may have invented a really useful thing, Mrs. Poole."

"Really?"

"Yes, ma'am, and you know, Mrs. Poole, I was thinking. Maybe you should get a patent on that design. I figure I could knock out at least twenty of these a week. I talked to Mr. Nadleshaft over at Birds-R-Us and told him about the success you'd been having with your feeder, and he said if I made some more, he'd be happy to try and sell them for us."

Sookie was delighted. She and Walter took her design to a lawyer in town, and they drew up a business agreement for their new company that Sookie named Blue Jay Away. They would split the profits fiftyfifty. Within a month, Sookie and Mr. Dempsey were so busy they could hardly keep up with the orders. In just six months, they hired an a.s.sistant and a bookkeeper, and the business grew from there.

A year later, they branched out even more and hired an advertising company. Pretty soon, they had ads running in Southern Living magazine and in all the bird-watcher magazines, featuring a photo of the feeder.

"Tired of all those pesky blue jays eating your smaller birds' feed? I know I was. But with the Blue Jay Away feeder, finches, t.i.tmice, and all my small bird visitors can now feed in peace."

-Mrs. Earle Poole, Jr.

Point Clear, Alabama Pretty soon, the company had its own website, www.BlueJayAway.com, and much to their surprise orders started coming in from all over the world. As Sookie said to Earle, "I didn't even know they had blue jays in China. Did you?"

WHEN THE LOCAL PAPER did an article on her, they referred to her as "Mrs. Earle Poole, Jr., housewife and inventor," and she couldn't have been more pleased. Life was so amazing and full of surprises. All of her life, she had thought she was stupid, and now she was an "inventor."

Not only that, but with the way sales were going, Earle started considering retirement. As the next few years went by, the company pretty much started running itself, and she and Earle had time to enjoy being alone again.

Sookie did have one big scare. One Sunday afternoon, Earle had been on the phone talking to a friend of his, and as she pa.s.sed by the den, she overheard him say, "Yes, but deep down, I really would like to have another Great Dane."

Oh, dear G.o.d, she thought. Why not a small horse or a cow in the house? Please, dear G.o.d, let this just be a pa.s.sing fancy. She loved Earle, but having one Great Dane was enough for a lifetime.

THE STRAWBERRY BLONDE.

BOTH UNCLE BABY AND AUNT LILY HAD DIED AT PLEASANT HILL IN their late eighties, but at ninety-three, Lenore was still going strong. Unfortunately she had outlived Angel, her live-in nurse. After much pleading, she finally agreed to go to Westminster Village, but only temporarily, until Sookie and Earle could find another nurse. However, to Sookie's surprise, during her last visit, Lenore seemed pretty happy. "I have to say, Sookie, I am enjoying my step-in tub, and the food here is quite adequate, but I could just kill Conchita for up and dying on me."

A WEEK LATER, SOOKIE had just come in from the store when the phone rang, and when she picked up, she heard a woman's voice. "Mrs. Poole? This is Molly from Westminster Village, and I'm calling because your mother has just had what the doctor thinks might be a slight stroke, and he thought maybe you should come over."

When she arrived, she was told that her mother was in the intensive care unit, but that she was to wait before she went in. Dr. Hind-man came out and said, "Mrs. Poole, before you go in, I just want to warn you: She's still very disoriented, so don't be surprised if she doesn't recognize you." He entered the room before her, walked over to the bed, and indicated for her to follow. Sookie walked over to her bed, and the doctor said, "You have a visitor, Mrs. Simmons. Do you know who this is?"

Lenore opened her eyes and looked up. She smiled, then took Sookie's hand and said, "Well, of course I do. This is my daughter, Sarah Jane, and she's the best daughter in the whole world, and I love her."

Sookie looked down at the old woman lying there, so small and helpless, and squeezed her hand and said, "I love you, too, Mother." And she meant it from the bottom of her heart. Lenore squeezed her hand and dozed off again.

Sookie sat by her bed as Lenore slept, and she didn't know if her mother could hear her, but as she sat there, she quietly sang to her, "Casey would waltz with a strawberry blonde, and the band played on...." As Sookie watched Lenore sleep, she was amazed that even now, as old and as helpless as she was, she was still so pretty.

THE DOCTOR CAME BACK a few hours later and told Sookie to go on home and get some rest, and he would call if there were any changes.

That night, they called with the news that her mother was gone.

THE NEXT MORNING, LENORE'S lawyer knocked on the door and said, "Mrs. Poole, I'm so sorry about your loss, but your mother said I was to deliver this to you in person within twenty-four hours of her pa.s.sing." She opened the envelope, and inside was a letter.

Sookie, Not that I am planning on going anywhere anytime soon, but just in case, I thought this might be helpful.

OBIT.

LENORE SIMMONS KRACKENBERRY.

Born January 20, 1917, Selma, Alabama Pa.s.sed (Date and time to be filled in), Point Clear, Alabama She was the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. William Jenkins Simmons of Selma.

Grieving survivors include: (to be filled in).

She was a member of (list clubs, organizations, etc.). She is to be remembered for her devotion to family, her innate Southern charm, and for her high degree of integrity in all of her volunteer tasks.

Memorials would be appreciated. Please send to: Point Clear Soldier's Rest Cemetery Care Fund Point Clear, Alabama MEMORIAL FAMILY AND FRIENDS RECEPTION:.

SITE CHOICES.

1. Grand Ballroom, Grand Hotel 2. Lakewood Country Club (in the big room) Day: Sat.u.r.day or Sunday, 3 P.M. to 5 P.M.

* Food and beverages: Coffee, iced tea, a light punch, finger sandwiches, a.s.sorted sweets, cheese straws, nuts, etc. (Mrs. Busby has the list.) * Seasonal, tasteful flowers at each table.

* Greeters to arrive at 2:30 for a.s.signments from Mrs. Poole.

* Greeters are to be stationed at entry doors and/or lobby and stairs area.