the White Lady
I saw her again today.
I call her the White Lady. I see her nearly everyday, sitting out side the Shephard of Good Hope Centre located in close to the Byward Market in Ottawa as I drive Ephraim to day care and back again in the afternoon.
She stands out from the rest of the usual riff raff milling about outside the centre. The days when I don't see her, I wonder what she is up to.
I've seen her now for the past two years there. She stays put. She doesn't go begging for change like many of the others do; up and down rows of cars stopped at the lights. Mostly she keeps to herself, sitting in a chair, rocking back and forth and her lips are moving. Of course I don't hear what she is saying, but I would like to...
She is blond, youngish looking, pretty average weight and height.
Most days she is crying.
One day for the first time, about a year ago, I noticed something on my way to Christy's, Ephraim's day care provider. Because I was travelling on the far side of the centre, I couldn't make out what it was.
On my way back, I could see it...she was cradling two small dolls under her white shirt with only their heads poking out. They were facing each other.
She was crying and smoking a cigarette while rocking.
I began seeing her on a daily basis. She would walk around sometimes, other times she would cradle her babies to her bosom, caressing their heads. She wouldn't always cry.
I began to pray for her almost right away, saying a quick Memorare for her when I saw her, forgetting her during the day as I would go about the routines of a work day, then I would see her again at the end of the day and remember her for an instant more with another prayer.
Soon I began pointing her out to Ephraim and I would repeat a prayer for him to say for her, just a small quick prayer, on the way to Christy's and back again.
And then I found out her story. I had noticed that the change beggars had been getting particularly aggressive one day, knocking on windows and causing a bit of trouble with a car behind me. I mentioned it in passing to Christy who agreed.
"Have you seen the lady with the dolls," she asked me.
"YES", I said right away. "Who is she," I asked.
"It is really sad. She lost two of her children in a fire."
I think about her alot more now during the day and will probably never forget her.
I call her the White Lady. I see her nearly everyday, sitting out side the Shephard of Good Hope Centre located in close to the Byward Market in Ottawa as I drive Ephraim to day care and back again in the afternoon.
She stands out from the rest of the usual riff raff milling about outside the centre. The days when I don't see her, I wonder what she is up to.
I've seen her now for the past two years there. She stays put. She doesn't go begging for change like many of the others do; up and down rows of cars stopped at the lights. Mostly she keeps to herself, sitting in a chair, rocking back and forth and her lips are moving. Of course I don't hear what she is saying, but I would like to...
She is blond, youngish looking, pretty average weight and height.
Most days she is crying.
One day for the first time, about a year ago, I noticed something on my way to Christy's, Ephraim's day care provider. Because I was travelling on the far side of the centre, I couldn't make out what it was.
On my way back, I could see it...she was cradling two small dolls under her white shirt with only their heads poking out. They were facing each other.
She was crying and smoking a cigarette while rocking.
I began seeing her on a daily basis. She would walk around sometimes, other times she would cradle her babies to her bosom, caressing their heads. She wouldn't always cry.
I began to pray for her almost right away, saying a quick Memorare for her when I saw her, forgetting her during the day as I would go about the routines of a work day, then I would see her again at the end of the day and remember her for an instant more with another prayer.
Soon I began pointing her out to Ephraim and I would repeat a prayer for him to say for her, just a small quick prayer, on the way to Christy's and back again.
And then I found out her story. I had noticed that the change beggars had been getting particularly aggressive one day, knocking on windows and causing a bit of trouble with a car behind me. I mentioned it in passing to Christy who agreed.
"Have you seen the lady with the dolls," she asked me.
"YES", I said right away. "Who is she," I asked.
"It is really sad. She lost two of her children in a fire."
I think about her alot more now during the day and will probably never forget her.