Miss Mary

Miss Mary, originally uploaded by jaimebarks.

If you have spent any time on Walker Street you probably have encountered Miss Mary. She is by far our most unforgettable resident. When you meet her she will be either extremely joyful or intensely hostile. When she is nice, she tells me how beautiful I am and then ask me for a dollar for a cold drink. If she is happy she never leaves without telling me she loves me (and on two occasions kissing me). When she is angry she calls me a white mother f**ker and shouts things like "don't wave at me bitch." Needless to say she makes life on my block interesting.

Up until a few days ago I only saw Miss Mary as my crazy neighbor who gave me tons of great stories. I never really thought much about her condition or what life must be like for her. For some reason this last weekend she decided to join me on my porch for coffee and started telling me how sick she was and how sorry she was for the mean things she had said to me (the night before she told me to go to hell). She told me how much she appreciated us being nice to her. It broke my heart. To be honest I had assumed that she was so crazy she didn't have any concept of reality. She got up gave be some candy (from Christmas), kissed my head and wandered down the road to bum a smoke. As I set alone I took at moment to be thankful that I am in my right mind (for the most part) and that I have friends and family who would take care of me if I was not. I will continue to tell Miss Mary stories (how could I not?) but her moment of clarity gave an insight to the person she might be if she was not sick.