Hospital stays in childhood had taught her the customs of my world outside the mountains and she saved me from many blunders and opened many doors. She taught me by telling me stories that showed the mountain ways especially ways that were different from the outside. She was my eyes and ears too which sounds strange to say about a housebound blind lady. But if anyone was hurting or in trouble Margie was likely to know about it and to be able to tell me how to approach them so they would be able to accept help and not have their self respect hurt. When a person has a herd of cows each one is important but not half so important as when there is only one cow anywhere in the neighborhood.
Pride is a lot like that.
When it's all you have left it can get so important you'd rather not eat than give it up. But my strongest memory when I think of Margie is the day we first had toilet paper in the food boxes. She turned the roll over and over and held it up to her face. I used the last this morning and there'll be no money to buy more till Tuesday. I suppose you can guess that bathroom tissue, soap and similar products have been on our wish list ever since.