+

One
M
ynamcisoraVithcrspoonbutmostlolksknow
mc as thcTurtlc Lady. A long timc ago, ! rcscucd
a snapping turtlc thc sizc ol a truck tirc lrom thc middlc
olHighway41,amovcdccmcdsoloolishitbccamclocal
lcgcnd. ! cant say !m partial to it, but hcrc in thc South,
nicknamcssticklikcbottomlandmud.
!d likc to tcll you a story lrom my youngcr days. !vc
bccnastorytcllcrmywholclilc,but!wasntrcadytotcll
this onc until now. !t happcncd lilty ycars agoin 1962.
Parts ol it arc hard lor mc to sharc, but thc lact is that
!moldnowcightyycarsolagc,ilyoumustknowand
probably running out ol timc. ! want younguns to know
aboutmytimcandplacc,thcpcoplc!kncw,andaworld
thatsallbutgonc.!wantthcmtoknowthatoncpcrson
MissDreamsville_2P.indd 1 7/5/12 9:59 AM
~:v niii nv~v:n
:
cancomcalongandchangcyourlilc,andthatbcingamis
lit,as!was,docsntmcanyouwontlindlricndsandyour
placcinthcworld.
nvvx~:vw~s,~cxivn~v:,andthclirsttimc!sctcycson
hcrwasacrossthccountcratthcpostollicc.Shcdmovcd
toCollicrCountywithhcrhusbandandkidslrom,olall
placcs,8oston.8clorcwckncwit,shcturncdthingsupsidc
downlastcrthanyoucansayYankcccarpctbaggcr.
Fromthcgctgo,Jackicwasatroublcmakcrinthccycs
ol thc town lathcrs, but to thc lcw ol us who gavc hcr a
chancc, hcr arrival in town was a godscnd. Shc startcd a
littlc rcading group, bringing togcthcr thc most unlikcly
pcoplcintown,includingmc.Vcwcrcalloutcasts,butasa
groupwcbccamcstrong.
Nonc ol us saw thcsc changcs coming, though. Jackic
waslikcalatcaltcrnoonstormonthcGull,thckindthat
comcs lrom nowhcrc and scnds cvcn thc oldtimc lishcr
mcnhurryingtoshorc.Shcwasasurprisc,thatslorsurc.
!dbccnworkingatthcpostolliccloraboutaycar,sincc
mydivorcc,andthcrcwcrcdayslikcthconcwhcn!mct
Jackicthat wcrc so slow, ! swcar ! couldvc watchcd my
lingcrnailsgrowil!dhadamindto.8ytwooclockthcrc
wasntathingtodobutwatchthchorscllicsdodgcthcslats
MissDreamsville_2P.indd 2 7/5/12 9:59 AM
:iss uvv~:sviiiv

olthcccilinglan.!wasntsupposcdto,but!startcdrcading
magazincs that hadnt bccn sortcd yct. First ! studicd Mr.
FrcclandscopyolTimemagazinc.8utthcn!couldntrcsist
pccking at Vogue. No onc got Vogue.Vhocvcr thc pcrson
wasa Mrs. J. Hartwas ncw in town. Thc rcst ol thc
Hartlamilydidntgctmuchmail,but!hadalrcadynoticcd
that Mrs. J. Hart got all kinds ol stull that had probably
ncvcruntil nowpasscd through thc sorting station up
atFortMycrs.The New Yorker. National Geographic(gcncr
allylrowncduponsinccitmightincludcpicturcsolnakcd
Alricanpcoplc).And,olcoursc,Vogue.
! kcpt rcturning to Vogue. !m not surc !d cvcr sccn a
copy. ! was studying thc clothcs and modcls and pcrlumc
ads,andbrcakingpostolliccrcgulationnumbcr3651(rcad
ing a customcrs pcriodical), whcn ! hcard a politc littlc
coughandlookcdup.AndthcrcwasJackic.
Shc was wcaring an cnormous straw hat and a pair ol
sunglasscs that madc hcr look likc shcd just lclt a party
hostcd by Sophia Lorcn on thc Frcnch Rivicra. Hcr skin
wasvcrywhitc,asilshcdncvcrcncountcrcdasinglcrayol
sun,andhcrhair,pcckingoutlromundcrhcrhat,waswhat
mymamawouldhavccallcdthcbarnsonlircrcd.Addto
itthcwayshccarricdhcrscllandthcrcsultwassomcthing
wcrarclysawinCollicrCountyglamour.
Nodoubtaboutit,shcwasthcmostintcrcstingpcrson
MissDreamsville_2P.indd 3 7/5/12 9:59 AM
~:v niii nv~v:n

toshowupatmypostalcountcrsinccMrs.8ailcyVhitc
waslinallylctoutoljailandmovcdbackhomcthcycarbc
lorc.VhilcthcpcculiarMrs.8ailcyVhitcwasacuriosity,
thc stunning woman now standing bclorc mc was somc
thingclsccntircly.Youcouldbcsurcshcdncvcrbccncallcd
moosy,aword!oltcnthoughtolinconncctionwithmyscll.
! lclt likc a hick in my humblc sccrsuckcr drcss with thc
scllticbclt,andwasgladshccouldntsccmypcnnyloal
crs.ShchadwhatMamacallcdanhourglassligurc,which
madcmyllatlittlcchcstandrcarcndsccmpositivclyboy
ishincomparison.
h,isthatthcncwcopyolVogue:shcaskcd,withan
innoccncc that might havc bccn phony but ! wasnt surc.
Shcspunthcmagazincaroundandcxamincdthccovcr.
Hm,shcsaid.!dobclicvcthisismycopy.
!wouldhavcdicdolshamccxccpt!wantcdtosccwhat
shcwoulddoncxt.Yctallshcdidwasstandabsolutclystill,
waitinglormctoanswcr.
Ycs, maam, ! said, and my voicc camc out kind ol
hushcd.!mvcrysorry.!admit!wasviolatingpostollicc
rcgulations.Plcasc,!addcd,donttcllmybossor!could
loscmyjob.
Shctookollhcrsunglasscsandlookcdatmc,cycballto
cycball.Hcrcycswcrclargcandroundandskilllullymadc
up. ! would never do that, shc said, adding, but in thc
MissDreamsville_2P.indd 4 7/5/12 9:59 AM
:iss uvv~:sviiiv

luturc, could ! rcad my magazinc lirst, plcasc: And thcn

youcanborrowitwhcn!mdonc:Vouldthatbcallright:
vcrythingcamcoutasaqucstion.
!wasprcttysurcbutnot100pcrccntthatshcwasnt
bcingsarcastic.!pullcdtogcthcrthcrcstolhcrmailand
gavcittohcr.Shcwalkcdtothcdoor,thcnstoppcd.Look
ingbackatmc,shcaskcd,Vhatclscdoyoulikctorcad:
! couldnt havc bccn morc surpriscd il shcd askcd lor
dircctionstothcncarcstpoolhall.Vcll,um,somctimcs!
rcadLifemagazinc,!said.AndLadies Home Journal.
oyoulikcnovcls:
!shruggcdmyshouldcrs.!havcntrcadtoomany.
Vcll, oncc ! am scttlcd, ! am thinking ol asking thc
librarytostartawomcnsrcadinggroup.!wasthinkingwc
couldcallitthcCollicrCountyVomcnsLitcrarySocicty.
Vouldyoulikctobcpartolit:
Vcll . . .surc.!wasnotrcallysurc!mcantit,although
apartolmcwasdccplyllattcrcd.
Vhat,may!ask,isyournamc:
ora,!said.oraVithcrspoon.
Lcss than a month latcr, ! startcd sccing llycrs around
town announcing thc lirst mccting. A womcns litcrary
socictywhatthchcllisthat:myboss,Marty,muttcrcd.
Jackichadpostcdallycronthcpostolliccbullctinboard,
ncxttothcCollicrCountymosquitosprayingschcdulcand
MissDreamsville_2P.indd 5 7/5/12 9:59 AM
~:v niii nv~v:n
6
thcpullcdporklundraiscrthatthcMasonsmadccvcryonc
sullcrthroughcvcryycar.
!tsjustpcoplcwholikctorcadbooks,!said.
Youmcanlikcthc8iblc:
!dontknow.Maybccookbooks.Maybcalcwnovcls.
Novels?Martyraiscdancycbrow.
Vcll,howmuchtroublccanwcgctin,rcadingbooks
atthclibrary:!said,alittlcirritatcd.Asamattcrollact,!
maygomyscll.Martycouldbccondcsccnding,andhcwas
convinccdcvcrythingwasaplothatchcdbyCommunists.
h,!gucssyourcright,hcsaidlinally.
Now ! lclt likc ! had to go. 8csidcs, maybc ! would
lcarnsomcthingncw.!wasntwhatyoudcallworldly.!n
lact,!dncvcrbccnoutolFlorida.8ut!dhadtwoycarsat
thcjuniorcollcgcinSaintPctcrsburg,andwhilcitwasjust
a hundrcd and twcnty milcs up thc Gull, thc cxpcricncc
hadbccnancycopcncr.ncolmyprolcssorswaslrom
Ncvada. Anothcr, lrom Ncw rlcans. My lcllow lodg
crsatthcroominghouscwhcrc!livcdwcrcwomcnwho
had cithcr rctircd to Saint Pctcrsburg or (in thc casc ol
onclady,whoscstory!ncvcrlcarncd)sccmcdtobcrun
ningawaylromsomcthingupnorth.Fromthcm!lcarncd
about placcs likc hio and Pcnnsylvania.Thcrc was onc
lady,aMrs.Jamcsway,whohadasubscriptiontoabigcity
ncwspapcrcallcdthcToledo Blade.vcnthoughitarrivcd
MissDreamsville_2P.indd 6 7/5/12 9:59 AM
:iss uvv~:sviiiv

inthcmailthrccorlourdaysaltcritwaspublishcd,itwas
stillluntorcad.
Altcr ! linishcd junior collcgc, ! marricd arryl and
movcd to cala. Thats horsc country, in northccntral
Florida. Likc mc, arryl was lrom Collicr County!d
known him my wholc lilc. 8ut whilc ! was at school, hc
startcd a small construction company and somchow got
ajobbuildingagorgcousncwcstatcncarcalalorsomc
richlolkslromKcntucky.Thcbarnsarrylbuiltwcrcniccr
than any housc !d cvcr bccn in.Thc owncrsa man and
hiswilcinthcirlilticstalkcdaboutimpossiblywondcrlul
placcsthcytravclcdtooltcn,likcLondon,NcwYork,and
SanFrancisco.
Anydrcams!hadlorthcluturccndcdwithmydivorcc.
Myparcntswcrcdcad,!manonlychild,and!wasinching
uponmythirticthbirthday.!hadnowhcrcclsctogocxccpt
thc littlc cottagc in Naplcs that had bccn in my lathcrs
lamilylorthrccgcncrationsandwasspittingdistancclrom
thc Gull. ! nccdcd a job, but thc only pcrson who would
hircmcwasmycousinMarty,whoranthcpostollicc.v
cryoncclsctrcatcdmclikc!hadmangc.
!didnthavchighhopcswhcn!wcnttothclirstmcct
ingolthcCollicrCountyVomcnsLitcrarySocicty.Tomy
surprisc,scvcnpcoplcshowcdup,whichwaslivcmorcthan
!cxpcctcd.VcsatonloldingchairsinalittlccirclcJackic,
MissDreamsville_2P.indd 7 7/5/12 9:59 AM
~:v niii nv~v:n
8
mc,MissLansbury(thclibrarian),Mrs.8ailcyVhitc(thc
oldladywhohadrcturncdlromjailthcprcviousycarand
was always callcd by hcr cntirc namc as a sign ol rcspcct
lorhcragc),ayoungcolorcdgirlwcaringalormalmaids
unilorm,awomaninhcrlilticswhowrotcpoctryandsaid
hcrnamcwasPlainJanc,andthctownsoncandonlyScars
cmploycc,RobbicLccSimpson,CollicrCountysonlyob
vioushomoscxual.
Miss Lansbury spokc lirst.Vclcomc! shc said in hcr
brisk,plcasantlibrarianvoicc.Shcworcaslccvclcssshcath
inpalcgrccnwithalloralpattcrncdscarlthatwaspcrlcctly
matchcd. ! tricd to gucss hcr agc and concludcd shc was
probablyaboutthirtylivc.Shcwasstillconsidcrcdncwin
townhavinglivcdhcrconlytcnycarsorsoandsuspi
ciouslysinglc.Howcvcr,sccingasshcwasalibrarian,pcoplc
lctitgo.Altcrall,shcwasthatrarcbirdacarccrgirland
dcstincdtobcanoldmaid,aproblcmolhcrownmaking.
ShchadbcautilulblackhairthankstohcrSpanishanccs
tors.Mrs.JacquclincHartshcgcsturcdpolitclytoward
Jackicwhojustmovcdtotownlrom8oston,hasspcar
hcadcdthisncwgroup.Mrs.Hart,wouldyoulikctotcllus
alittlcmorcaboutyourscll:
Jackiclookcdsurpriscdbutrosctothcoccasion.Vcll,
mylamilymovcdhcrccxactlyoncmonthago.Myhusband,
Tcd,isthcncwbusincssmanagcrlorthcToomblamily.Vc
MissDreamsville_2P.indd 8 7/5/12 9:59 AM
:iss uvv~:sviiiv

havcthrccchildrcntwingirlswhoarclourtccnandason
whoistwclvc.
ShcdidnthavctocxplainwhothcToomblamilywas.
Thcy wcrc onc ol thc most powcrlul lamilics in South
Florida,thougharungortwodownlromthcCollicrs.v
cryonchadhcardthatoldMr.Toomb,whowantcdabcttcr
graspolhowthingsworkcdinthcNorth,hadgoncoutand
hircdabusincssmanagcrlrom8oston.Thcmanhchircd
wasTcd Hart, a Vorld VarTwo Army vctcran who had
puthimscllthroughcollcgconthcG!8ill.
h,Jackicaddcd,andplcasccallmcJackic.
You mcan likc thc Jackic in thc Vhitc Housc: Mrs.
8ailcyVhitcaskcdlightly.
Vcll,notquitclikchcr,no,Jackicsaidandsmilcd.!
havcanorthcrnacccnt,thatstruc.8ut!mnotskinnyand!
couldnthopctobcasclcgantasthatJackic.
8utthccomparison,inoncway,wasstriking.!couldnt
imaginc Jackic Kcnncdy or Jackic Hart adapting vcry cas
ily to lilc in our littlc town. Pcoplc think ol Naplcs as onc
ol thc richcst, swankicst placcs on carth, but back in 1962
itwasasunbakcdsouthcrnbackwatcrnobiggcrthanacow
pic.Thcrc wcrc maybc cight hundrcd pcoplc living hcrc, a
numbcrthatgrcwtoawhoppingtwclvchundrcdorsointhc
wintcrwhcnthcYankccswouldcomcdowntolishlorsca
bassandsnook.Naplcswasarcdnccktownandproudolit.
MissDreamsville_2P.indd 9 7/5/12 9:59 AM
~:v niii nv~v:n
+o
!havctoadmitthatmovinghcrcwasaprcttyrawdcal.
!saythatcvcnthough!mlromCollicrCountyandhavc
atlcastasmidgcnolpridc.8utrclocatinghcrcmusthavc
bccncspcciallyshockingtoJackic.Shcwas,clcarly,a8os
ton girl through and through. Culturcd. Progrcssivc. All
thatYankccstullwcSouthcrncrslindsoirritating.
Noonckncwwhattosayncxt,soMissLansburyjumpcd
inagain.Vcll,!mustsay!amdclightcd.Thrillcd.!think
thcrcstolusknowwhocachothcrarc,right:h,oncmorc
thing:RobbicLcc,thisissupposcdtobcawomcnslitcrary
socicty, so you shouldnt rcally bc hcrc. 8ut il cvcryonc is
okaywithit,!supposcitsallright.ocsanyonchavcany
objcctions:
Nooncdid,soRobbicLccstaycd.
! was actually morc surpriscd that thc Ncgro girl had
comc.Youncvcrsawcolorcdlolkatthctownlibrary.Hcr
bcingthcrcwasbold,cvcnrccklcss.Thcnagain,whatwould
wchavcdonctohcr:Givcnhcrthccvilcycuntilshclclt:
Madcalussandtoldhcrtolcavc:Noncolthcrcstolus
sitting around our littlc circlc sccmcd to bc looking dag
gcrsinhcrdircction.MaybcthcCollicrCountyVomcns
LitcrarySocictywouldbcthatrarcstolorganizationsan
intcgratcdonc.
!supposcitsstillbasicallytruc,butinthoscdays,whitc
pcoplctcndcdtolallintothrcccatcgorics.Thcrcwcrcthosc
MissDreamsville_2P.indd 10 7/5/12 9:59 AM
:iss uvv~:sviiiv
++
who wcnt out ol thcir way to harm or hold back Ncgrocs
in any way thcy could. Thcn thcrc wcrc thosc who ncvcr
gavcNcgrocsmuchthoughtandrcallydidntcarc.Andthcn
thcrcwasasmallgroupolwhitclolkswholcltbadlyabout
thccruclwayNcgrocswcrctrcatcdandwantcdtosccthings
improvc.
!wasraiscdtobcinthclastcatcgory.Mylathcr,who!
dontrcmcmbcrwcll,wassaidtobcarcgularoldrcdncck.
8ut Mama was a nursc, and during hcr training somconc
haddrillcdintohcrhcadthatallpcoplcwcrchumanand
shouldbctrcatcdaccordingly.Shcworkcdlorthconlydoc
tor in town, and somctimcs, whcn shc was nccdcd at thc
lourbcdhospital,shcwouldtrcatcolorcdlolkswhocamc
tothcbackdoor.8utshcdidntadvcrtiscthatshcdidthis
andtoldmctokccpquicttoo.Strangctothinkyoucould
gcthurtbccauscyoudbccnhclpingsomconc.
Mostly,though,!dhadlittlcintcractionwithNcgrocs.
Vc livcd in dillcrcnt parts ol town and bclongcd to dil
lcrcnt churchcs. Thc Suprcmc Court ol thc USA had
lamouslydccidcd,backinthcliltics,thatschoolswcrcsup
poscdtobcintcgratcd,buthcrcinCollicrCountythcyap
parcntly hadnt gottcn thc mcssagc. Thc whitc kids wcrc
still pickcd up by a shiny ycllow school bus and takcn to
thcirwcllkcptschoolsgrammar,juniorhigh,andancw
high school north ol town.Thc colorcd kids wcrc pickcd
MissDreamsville_2P.indd 11 7/5/12 9:59 AM
~:v niii nv~v:n
+:
up by a bus that prcdatcd Vorld Var Two and lookcd
likc it had survivcd (morc or lcss) Hurricanc onna.Thc
socallcd colorcd bus wcnt in thc oppositc dircction, to a
singlc schoollirst through twcllth gradcs. ! had ncvcr
bccnthcrc!dontthinkanywhitcpcrsoncvcrhadbut!
hcardthcplaccwasashamblcs.
Now, il my lamily had bccn rich, wc would havc had
colorcd scrvants, but Mama, bcing a widowcd nursc with
littlc moncy to sparc, did hcr own cooking, clcaning, and
ironing.Samcwithcvcryoncclscinourpartoltown.Vcd
sccNcgrocsnowandthcn,butthcydidnttalktoyouand
youdidnttalktothcm.!thoughtthcywcrcthcunlricnd
licstpcoplconcarth.nlywhcn!wasoldcrdid!rcalizc
thcywcrcavoidingustostayalivc.
AswcsataroundthclittlccirclcwithMissLansburyas
ourlcadcr,!tricdnottostarcatthccolorcdgirl.!wondcrcd
whatshcwoulddoaboutthccurlcw(cightp.m.inthcsum
mcr, six p.m. in thc wintcr, whcn nightlall camc carlicr),
whichapplicdonlytoNcgrocs.8utshchcrscllbroughtup
thctopic.MynamcisPriscillaHarmonand!wouldlikc
tobcpartolthisgroup.Shchadtakcnollhcrmaidscap
andpcrchcdapairolhornrimmcdglasscsonhcrnosc.Shc
lookcdlikcancntirclydillcrcntpcrson.!lovctorcad,shc
addcd.Vcallnoddcdandsmilcd.ncouragcd,shcsaid,!
wouldlikctogotocollcgc,maybc8cthuncCookman.
MissDreamsville_2P.indd 12 7/5/12 9:59 AM
:iss uvv~:sviiiv
+
h, thats marvclous! Jackic said. Vhat would you
likctostudy:
Vcll,!would . . .!wouldlikctobcatcachcr.Maybc
annglishtcachcr.
!tricdtohidcmyastonishmcnt.!wondcrcdhowrcalis
ticthiswas.!kncwthcanswcrnotvcry.
Myonlyproblcm,Priscillawassaying,isthatilyou
all arc kind cnough to lct mc bclong to thc group, ! will
nccd a ridc homcyou know, on account ol thc curlcw.
Shc cndcd with a swcct, hopclul smilc that rcvcalcd thc
mostbcautilultccth!cvcrsaw.Thcywcrcthcsamccoloras
thcstarchcdwhitccollarthatlramcdhcrlacc.
Vcll,olcourscwclltakcyouhomc,dcar,Jackicsaid.
!tsnota
Youmayhavctotakcmchomctoo,RobbicLccintcr
ruptcd.!dontstayoutaltcrdarkcithcr.Thiswasastun
ningadmission,andthccloscstRobbicLcchadcvcrbccn
(aslaras!kncw)toacknowlcdginghishomoscxuality.
Vcll,somconcmayhavctotakcmchomctoo!Vcall
turncdandlookcdatthcpctitcMrs.8ailcyVhitc.Shchad
aloud,authoritativcvoiccwhcnshcnccdcdto.
h, why is that, Mrs. 8ailcy Vhitc: Miss Lansbury
askcd.Arcyounotdrivinganymorc:
!mnotallowcdtohavcadrivcrsliccnsc.Thatspartol
myparolcdcal.
MissDreamsville_2P.indd 13 7/5/12 9:59 AM
~:v niii nv~v:n
+
This was quitc a convcrsation stoppcr, and thc rcst ol
uslidgctcdinourhardmctalchairsuntilMissLansbury
thankthcLordtookthclcadagain.
Vcll, ! am surc wc can takc carc ol thcsc transporta-
tion issues,shcsaid,cmphasizingthclasttwowords.Miss
Lansbury had a way ol making cvcry littlc thing sound
important.Maybcthatssomcthingthcytcachatlibrarian
school.
May ! spcak lor a momcnt: Jackic askcd, raising hcr
handlikcaschoolgirl.!wanttocxplainthatwhat!havc
inmindisasalon.
Youmcanlikcabcautyparlor:RobbicLccaskcd.
No,dcar,notthatkindolsalon,Jackicsaid.Thcrcwas
atimcwhcnasalonmcantagathcringolpcoplcwhodis
cusscdthcissucsolthcday.Thcywouldmcctinthcparlor
ol somconcs hugc, ovcrsizcd housc and discuss litcraturc,
art,politics.
!havcahugc,ovcrsizcdhousc,saidMrs.8ailcyVhitc.
!t wasnt rcally an invitation but morc likc a statcmcnt ol
lact.Still,cvcnthcsuggcstionolmcctingathcrplaccgavc
mc thc crccpycrawlics, sincc shc had gonc to prison lor
murdcringhcrhusbandinthatvcryhousc.!wasntsurcil
JackickncwolMrs.8ailcyVhitcschcckcrcdpast,butshc
musthavcpickcduponthcuncasincssthatswcptthrough
thcrcstoluslikcarogucwindollthcGull.
MissDreamsville_2P.indd 14 7/5/12 9:59 AM
:iss uvv~:sviiiv
+
Vcll, thats vcry nicc, Jackic said politcly. Pcrhaps
somcdayyouwillbckindcnoughtohavcusovcr.
8ut docs this mcan wcrc not going to rcad books:
askcdRobbicLcc,stillalittlcconluscd.
Ycs, wc will rcad books, Jackic rcplicd paticntly.Vc
will bc ccntcrcd around books. 8ut ! am suggcsting wc
chooscbooksthatmakcusthinkandcxpandourhorizons.
!lwcrcadabookaboutmusic,wcmightinvitcamusician
to pcrlorm as part ol our book discussion.Thc idca is to
rcad books that stimulatc our minds and challcngc us to
thinkaboutthcissucsolthcday.
Vcrcspondcdsocnthusiasticallythatwcsoundcdlikc
anamcnchorus.
8utilyoullpcrmitmctosayso,Jackiccontinucd,!
am thinking wc rcally must mcct hcrc, at thc library, as a
wayollcttingthccommunityknowthatcvcryonciswcl
comc.Thisisnotaprivatcclub.
Thcscwordswcrcmctwithasccondroundolapproval.
!lcltpunchdrunk(notthat!vccvcractuallybccnpunch
drunkinmylilc,onaccountolapromisc!madctoMama).
Privatcclubs,ollicialandothcrwisc,wcrcprcttytypicalin
ourlittlctown.!lookcdlromlacctolaccaroundthccirclc.
NoncoluswasJuniorLcagucmatcrial,noncolushadbig
moncy,Mrs.8ailcyVhitcwasancxcon.!lyouwcrccol
orcd,homoscxual,adivorccdpostalworkcr(mc),orGod
MissDreamsville_2P.indd 15 7/5/12 9:59 AM
~:v niii nv~v:n
+6
lorbidascxyrcdhcadwitha8ostonacccntncwlyarrivcd
intown,youwcrconyourown.8utJackicwassuggcsting
that wc lorm our own group. And mccting at thc library
wouldgivcuscovcr.
Aplacctobclong:HcrcinNaplcs:Justthcpossibility
madcmcgiddyasajaybird.!bcganlcclingsomcthingin
myhcartthat!thoughtwaslonggoncandburicd.!mnot
100pcrccntsurc,butitmighthavcbccnhopc.
MissDreamsville_2P.indd 16 7/5/12 9:59 AM