My Newbie is Showing...Part 3

30DBC: Let Me Tell You About Eileen

Creation Saturday! Since Sunday is Mother's Day in the US, write a tribute to your mom, grandmother, favorite aunt, or friend that helped you in a motherly way.
Let me tell you about Eileen.
Eileen was about 20 years older than me, but we were such good friends. If there was ever a family event, I made sure to invite Eileen. If she had something going on, she would invite me. We had a standing Thursday outing during the time when I was unemployed. We would go to the bread line and then go grocery shopping. During those hours, she would tell me her stories from the 1950s to the present and I would tell her my stories from the 1980s to the present. Her neighbors thought I was her daughter and my son was her grandson. And she never corrected them.
She was model beautiful and almost had a chance to be in the Airplane. She wanted to play the pregnant lady in the turbulance scene, but the doctor said the baby could not take it, so the part went to someone else. Eileen was a survivor. Her father looked and talked like Desi Arnez. The discrimination she experienced when she was growing up was disgusting. It led to a lot of poor choices and having to put up with a lot of revolting sexual harrassment type incidents. As she grew older, she was still mistreated by men, loved by babies and children, and a devout Catholic woman. I learned so much just by listening to her words of wisdom and watching the way she interacted with people of all ages, colors and cultural backgrounds.
She was a female version of Dr. Doolittle. She had a pet duck in high school and after that dogs, cats, birds, squirrels,anything furry,really.
She went through cancer ten years before I did and tried so hard to tell me what to do. I just could not see the sense in the chemo. It was the only bone of contention between us. Her cancer returned. She tried the chemo again. It killed her this last time.
I miss her so much. If there was ever a chance to choose your mom, she would be my mom and best friend.