By Elsiewhere. “Your nails, Marguerite! What’s the story about your nails?”
Marguerite’s hands are a challenge to photograph. They swish through the air like hummingbird wings when she talks about life — her life — and the various and astonishing ways in which her hands have touched the lives of countless people she’s fed. Healed. Comforted. Companioned. Affirmed as persons worthy of love and care no matter the who, what, where, when, why and how of their lives, although she does gravitate towards the marginalized.
But that’s getting ahead, and beyond this post which is about Marguerite’s nails. Their colour. It’s more orange in real time. And this is that story. A bigger one will follow.
“Well, my brother-in-law died, and I wanted to go to the funeral in Kelowna. How to get there — fly? No. Bus? No. Car? The Coquihalla would be bad at this time of year. So I called my daughter and she said, ‘I’ll rent a car. I don’t trust your car or mine. And I’ll stay on top of the weather, and if it’s ok, we’ll go.’
Turned out it would be ok, so I wanted to have my nails done for the funeral. I told the girl I wanted a nice rosy pink. She did one hand and, oh, my! But I didn’t want her to have to start all over again, so I let it be.”
She lays her hands down, though only momentarily.
“So what colour is this?”
Marguerite laughs, and when she laughs, she laughs full-on! From toe to tip of her silver hair.
“I don’t know, but it’s not Number 19!”
One last detail. Marguerite is 92.
Photo taken January 23, 2014, at the volunteer appreciation luncheon hosted by the Women’s Resource Society of Fraser Valley. Marguerite is a volunteer; she was the eldest in the room of 100 or so.
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Elsiewhere, In Abbotsford can be found everyday on her on Facebook page.
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