Sentence:  Eileen got to dancing , just a little tiny dancing step to a hummed tune that you could hardly notice , and trying to pick up strange men , but each time I <WSD>was</WSD> ready to say to hell with it and walk out she 'd pull herself together and talk so understandingly in that sweet husky voice about the good times and the happiness we 'd had together and there I was back on the hook . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)