That should have been the title of her auto biography; “Is You Is? Or Is You A’int?”. We probably suggested that several times. The Writers Club reviewed every portion if it several times including the pornographic portions! She and her family fished all over Southeast Alaska. Either living aboard a trawler (with small children) or living in rustic cabins ashore. She’d seen and documented all the follies and majesty of the fishing industry. Got a master degree while raising four kids. Out lived a husband or two. She worked for the Forest Service for a while and the retired to write her memoirs.
Let’s call her Mary. At seventy she was white haired, heavy, seemingly robust and active. But if you saw her get out of her car, wearing those thick glasses, you’d see how unsure she was on her feet and that her palsy was getting worse. She gave up driving her car to everyone’s relief. Shortly thereafter the police pulled over for speeding in her old lady scooter and blow through the stop sign at the bottom of Lumber Street. She explained that the Artist Collective was reading of her autobiography and she was late.
She organized her on “Book Party” when it came out, and schedule it the same day as her seventy birthday. She insisted that so many come that she had to rent out the upstairs at the Elks. She convinced people to buy a case of them cause “You can give them to your friends.” If that didn’t convince people then she went with “Don’t you want to buy an old lady’s book before she dies?” Honestly! She really said that to people. During Mayfest to avoid the $15 permit issued by the festival committee, she wanted the Writers Club to set up out booth off site. The argument of “Location, location, location” convinced her to get the permit.
After she made everybody in town buy at least one copy. She headed south to book fairs. She intended to insure her a legacy. She was hurrying to the 27th when her little scooter serenely took her to that Best Seller Book Fair in the Sky.
Author - William Moulton