People in the Louisiana Community

The first time I met Mrs. Judie Mellany was at the bus stop, with both of us sitting on a bench. I was nervous about my first day of college, and by the way our first conversation was commenced I’m pretty sure it was because she could tell. Mrs. Mellany was comfortable to talk to, she reminded me of a long lost grandma I never had. She turned to me and said, “Sugar, none of us got anywhere being scared.” Simple as that, that is how I met Mrs. Judie Mellany.
When given this English 1001student interview assignment I was moderately unsure if I wanted to interview Mrs. Mellany and write my paper about her. I was unsure if she had a profession or job that would be substantial to my paper, but I knew it was more than worth a try. The next day when I ran into Mrs. Mellany at the bus stop, I inquired about an interview. She seemed more than happy to have company rather than have a paper written about her, and invited me to her home that day when my classes had ended.
Mrs. Mellany lives in a duplex in a small Baton Rouge community off of a street moderately near the school, alone. Her front yard has flowers and plants; it was obvious a good amount of time was spent on the humble landscape. I knocked and was immediately welcomed inside. Mrs. Mellany’s house was spotless, and had everything in its place. I felt as though I should take off my shoes after entering, you could tell the carpet had been freshly vacuumed, therefore, I took mine off and set them next to her rain boots near the door. No spot in this house had been abandoned of dusting, not a single spot. Her floral designed couch reminded of me of something off of The Golden Girls TV show, but that could be on account of Mrs. Mellany’s age and the rest of the surroundings being typical of a good home owner. It smelled heavenly. “The cookies won’t be ready for another 10 minutes,” she told me, but I was happy there were cookies at all.
Mrs. Mellany sat with her ankles crossed, and her hands in her lap, or holding a pocket book, or her other hand, or just folded and set daintily. She always wore a dress with these tan colored shoes, and her socks always matched her dress. She was not very thin, not thin at all, but a rather hefty woman. Even still it was not hard for her to get around the house nor did her weight limit her from doing anything else normally. Her skin was severely pale, and worn down perhaps from over the years of sun exposure. Her lips were thin and always painted with a vibrant color of red or pink. Mrs. Mellany’s hair was short in length, and had a mixed coloring of gray and white. Her eyes were either a deep shade of blue or a gray color; it was difficult for me to tell. When the oven buzzer beeped, she threw her hands in the air before pushing her chair away from the table, giving the impression she was startled but I could tell she wasn’t by the expressions on her face.
Over a plate of delicious homemade raisin and oatmeal cookies I got to hear Mrs. Mellany’s life story. She didn’t admit to how old she was, but instead told me she was born in 1942 in Italy, indicating she was 65 years old. She is a widow from a marriage to Thomas J. Mellany, her husband of 22 years. Mrs. Mellany and her husband did not have any children. Both of her parents were Italian and immigrated to the United States when she was still very young. Mrs. Mellany and her family lived in New Orleans until the hurricane forced Mrs. Mellany and her brother out of their family’s house and to, how Mrs. Mellany put it, “beautiful Baton Rouge,” her tone was slightly sarcastic. Her brother had not followed her here though; he now lives in Austin, Texas. Mrs. Mellany “grew up in the sixties,” and like most teenagers during the time, she loved the Beatles and hated the war. When she was 19 years old her boyfriend of two years that had entered the armed services was pronounced dead. “I had received two letters from him after his mother told me he had passed on,” Mrs. Mellany told me, her eyes were gazing out somewhere I couldn’t see, and then she looked back at me.
After reviewing Mrs. Mellany’s personal life, I began to infer about her profession, or in her case professions. When she was 15 she got her first job being a cashier at a local convenient store. She said that it was an easy job and she enjoyed seeing all the people she knew come into the store. After that job, and later in high school, she worked at a barber shop sweeping and cleaning. Mrs. Mellany said this job did not require much training either, “the hardest thing I had to do was sweep hair and clean combs.” Later when she turned 20 she worked as a secretary for the local notary. Mrs. Mellany said this was her first “official” job. She enjoyed being viewed as someone of importance by working for someone so well respected throughout the community. She loved being a secretary and being able to interact on the telephone, file papers, and type necessary documents. “I thought I could type faster than anyone until they invented keyboard computers,” she said with amusement, I half way laughed as well. At the age of 25 Mrs. Mellany married her husband, and at the age of 30 decided it wasn’t completely necessary to work. “Tommy always wanted us to settle down and have a family,” Mrs. Mellany told me, but sadly the Mellany’s never successfully had any children. Mrs. Mellany now provides for herself working as a house maid on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
By this time I wanted to bring the interview to an end and asked Mrs. Mellany if she had anything else to say that she wanted included into the interview, and she replied with, “no sweet child.” At this time I thanked Mrs. Mellany for not only letting me interview her but for inviting me into her home, making me cookies, having great hospitality, and being very kind to me even when I was only a stranger. She was modest as I thanked her and told me I was welcome back anytime I pleased, then we said our goodbyes.
Interviewing Mrs. Mellany made me realize that I didn’t have to interview someone rich or famous to hear about a great, well-lived life. Although she was not rich nor held a high position in society, she is still a great, absolutely wonderful person. I discovered that your profession, or what you do, does not define who you are. Who you are defines what you have done or will do. It does not take a fancy title, high class career, or a lot of money to create an interesting wholesome person. It takes experiences and genuine care, and Mrs. Mellany has an overwhelming amount of both. Though she has held many titles throughout her years to me she should be defined simply as a good, interesting person.