Marilyn

7-12-21
Marilyn, An Friend Of Mine
When I was a baby, my parents thought that there was something seriously wrong because I wasn’t able to roll over, sit, crawl or let alone start to stand. So of course, they decided to take me to a doctor. As soon as he held me up, he asked Mom to look at my legs and how they crossed. He explained that I had cerebral palsy, and that it may mean that she will need to care for me all her life. Well, Mom was so relieved that I was going to be okay, she took me over to my grandparents’ house to show what happened at that doctor’s and explained what the doctor told her. She even showed how my legs crossed and emphasized that I would be okay. I did learn to crawl and do small things, but for the most part my Mom and others took care of me up until I was ten or so. I was able to learn to do things such as drinking out of a straw and pushing a walker. I learned how to do things that could make my life a little easier. It was during school when I met Marilyn. She also had cerebral palsy and we became close friends. It was to the point that some people would even think we were sisters because of our similarities. We liked playing together and oftentimes I would spend time over at her house. The first time I went over to Marilyn’s house I overheard her Mom say, if Kim needs any help, it's up to you to help her. In my mind I thought if Marilyn could dress herself, then why couldn't I? So from that moment on, I dressed myself the best that I could, even if it took me an extra hour or more to do it. It was thanks to Marilyn that I wanted to be more independent and try to do different things for myself.
There were so many instances that I was so amazed by her. I remember a time when we had gone into her kitchen to get something to drink, I was wondering if her Mom was going to come help us. No, Marilyn walked to the refrigerator and took out the carton of milk and two cans of pepsi, then she poured them together. To my surprise, I liked it. We often sat in her room just talking about boys and what we would do when we both turned twenty-one. We also shared thoughts of having our own apartment and how we could go out to bars, meeting new people, especially new boys. When we were in high school, Marilyn had a manual wheelchair and I had an electric wheelchair. So what she would do is hang on to the back of my wheelchair so I could pull her wherever we needed to go. Most of the kids that saw us thought, ‘there goes those twins again’. Marilyn’s family was always really kind to me. I had really long hair and I had thought about getting it cut before. But somehow my Mom was able to make me feel like I didn’t want to cut my hair. So when I found out that Pat, Marilyn’s Mom, was a hairdresser, I talked with my Mom and cut my hair. Grant you, I didn’t cut the back at first, I had her feather the sides and the top. That lasted for a while, then I had her cut the back into a bob hairstyle. Pat was a very nice person, she would have given you the shirt off her back if you needed it.
Marilyn and I had a lot of fun together. Such as the time we decided to go out to a bar called Roxannes; it was a country western bar that had a dance area. I had been there a few times before and always had a good time. One of my cousins was staying with us and was talking to my Mom thinking she could be of help to us in case we needed it. So Mom thought that it would be okay for us to go and if we did need some help, she would be there. Mom drove my cousin and me to the bar and Marilyn had her Mom drop her off. In the meantime, as we were waiting for Marilyn, my cousin had some drinks. I was waiting for Marilyn before starting to drink. Well, by the time Marilyn got there, my cousin already had too much to drink. When Marilyn came, she asked me where my cousin was and I said that she had gone to the bathroom. We were talking about ordering drinks, but before we decided to order, Marilyn thought she would go see what was keeping my cousin. When she went to the bathroom, Marilyn found her passed out in a stall. She then got out of her wheelchair to crawl under the bathroom stall to unlock the door. Marilyn managed to get my cousin back to the table. Marilyn had to find someone to call my Mom since this all took place before we had cell phones. Once Mom got there and assumed Marilyn was more intoxicated than she actually was. All Mom thought of was how Marilyn took valium, something we both took to help control our shakiness. While Mom was pushing and pulling Marilyn to the car, she was kind of scolding Marilyn for drinking too much. Marilyn and I both were trying to tell Mom that it wasn’t Marilyn. That is when she finally looked up and noticed that my cousin was barely able to walk to the car. So Mom took Marilyn home without her even getting a drink.
Now, when I sometimes wake up in the morning, I have some songs in my head that Marilyn would break out singing. One of the songs was Bad Boys, What Are You Going to Do When They Come for You. The other one was my favorite, which was Country Roads Take Me Home by John Denver. I would love to think she’s home now with her family and friends, doing things she may not have been able to do here on earth