He met her in St. Paul, Minnesota, they both worked at the stockyards in South Saint Paul, Minnesota (Swifts Meat Packing Plant), he (he: being Earnist) and She Elsie. The moment perhaps was right, she took busses to get to work, he had a car, and thus, she started riding to work with him; however it came about I do not know. She was young back then, not knowing she'd be with him (unmarried she was), be with him for forty-years: forward: who can tell so far in advance. In any case, Earnist had two kids, likewise, Elise had two kids. Earnist was still married but lived apart from his estranged wife. Ah, yes, there was jealousy now and then, with both: Earnist and Elise, but for the most part, both grew old together. And during these many years, Earnist would not divorce his estranged wife, who owned a little business she had started when they had first gotten married. It was when Earnist was 70-years old, his wife had died, now Elsie thinking perchance, they could get married. But it didnt happen. Then at 75-years old, Earnest had asked Elsie to marry, and she accepted, and still time passed, but there were issues to be ironed out, and the marriage did not come about. One such issue being, the children didnt like the idea She, Elsie might get the money their father had saved all those years, and wanted a contract-marriage. Well, time went on, and Elsie had become a Christian, and told Earnie they could be friends, but distant friends, for it was not the way she felt God would liked things to be. And thus, Earnie retired to his home, some five miles from Elsies apartment, and became a drunk, and at the age of 80 died: a sad death. Elsie was to live 13-more years. She was ten years younger than Earnie. But now she was 70, when Earnie had died. And those 13-years passed quickly. She was faithful to her God; and to her chilren, her two children she had become warmer, the woman that was once called "Hard Hearted Hanna" at her work-place at Swifts, some 20-years previously. She had left Swifts Meat Packing Plant after 22-years, and had gotten two other jobs. Did some traveling with her children, after her father had died, and at age 83, she died. The question comes up, or at least to my mind, was she ready to die? For die she did in 2003, at the age of 83-years old. Never married, with two grown children in their 50s. She did not fear death, if anything, she accepted it as a natural process, and embraced it; occasionally talked about it. Her dying words being: "I'm ok with it, I'm ready." And so she was. I guess in my observations, she prepared herself for death, as she did for life; I dont think she wanted to live forever with that old worn out body. And when it came, although perhaps a bit takenback, she must have saw death on its own terms a new adventure over the horizon. And thus, she died, in the Midwest, as did her father, her long time companion, Earnie, and now herself. I suppose if you were to sum her life up, she was just one death among many, in the midwest. She will be remembered though, perhaps not like Alexander the Great, or the heroes of Troy, but then she didnt even take the time to read them anyhow, so they were nothing to her, as I suppose such heroes wanted the world, after their death, to acclaim them as, gods, that is"but she wanted only to be remembered by the folks she knew well, or best on earth, in addition, her God, whom she felt she would be with anyhow; again, to have her children remember her. I can hear her saying, "...let's get on with the new show." She was life, simple as it was (as it should be), and never took anyone elses, never looked back, she became at the end, "Soft Hearted Hanna," if anything. Note: written during the author's travels in Peru, October, 2005. |
