Dignity? Once you get to be my age you don’t even care about it. If I cared would I be walking in public with my nylons down around my ankles?

Me, who was the Queen of the Harvest Moon Ball in 1950. But that was before life got me down. You will never know what I’ve been through. I’ve lost children to war and to drunk drivers. I have buried two husbands—okay, I only cared about one of them, but still…

I used to have faith and believe that there was more good in the world than evil. I used to believe that my government would take care of me when I got too old to take care of myself.

I actually thought the Peace Corps was a good idea and could help change the world. But the world is a powerful enemy. It can get you down. It doesn’t happen all at once, but slowly over many years.

The stories I could tell, if only I could remember them.