Darlajune.com

The Webers lived next door to my childhood friend, Brenda. All the kids in the neighborhood were scared of The Webers. There were 3 of them living in a house up on concrete blocks; the house had old red siding which was supposed to look like bricks, but it didn’t. The windows were so dirty no one could see in. Once in a while, one of The Webers would get close to the window to look out; the sight of their face was frightening. There was Louis, Mary, and Loretta; brother and sisters. They were somewhere between 50-60 years old. Their hair was a fright and their teeth were very crooked and very yellow.

I remember the first time I went to their door with Brenda to deliver some groceries. They paid Brenda 10 cents to walk down to Sheepy’s, the neighborhood grocery store, and bring their groceries home. The Weber’s house was on the alley. Their door was on the opposite side of the house. I can remember the two of us (Brenda and I) stepping up onto the back porch carrying the groceries. The wooden planks looked like they had never been painted. Brenda knocked on the door. She said there was nothing to be afraid of. I wasn’t so sure about that.

It seemed like a long wait for someone to answer the door. Finally an unkempt woman opened the door. She smiled, showing her crooked yellow teeth, and gave Brenda a dime; then she took the groceries inside. Oh! – the smell coming out of that house was enough to take your breath away. I held my breath to keep from having to smell it. Brenda was happy to make a dime and I was glad to get away from that place!

Over the summer The Webers would often hire Brenda and me to bring their groceries to them. In seeing Mary come to the door and smile her yellow-toothed smile once a week or so, give us our coin and take her groceries inside, I eventually got over my fear of her; even though she looked a fright she was actually quite pleasant; and I would learn in the following years that Mary’s looking or smelling bad did not necessarily make her a bad person. She was actually a very good and loving person.