A Must Read: The Help

Several people recommended I read this book, and after two months on our local library's waiting list, I was lucky enough to get my hands on it...sadly, it took me three weeks to even open it, and now three days overdue, I am happy to report it is more than worth the late fee I will incur! When finished with the book, I couldn't help but reflect on the "Black Help" within my life...although short in length, I will never forget the ladies of the sorority house I lived in for two years during college...LSU to be exact...a true southern school with plenty of leftover racial tension.
Looking back...Sadie, Egnola and Rosie were always bright lights during those memorable years...just thinking of them makes me smile, and I am so thankful I was able to have a relationship with them during that time. Even thinking of Floyd, the occasional gardner, makes me laugh. I don't know how many afternoons I would hang out with the help in the small room off the kitchen...all the ladies surrounding a small black and white television catching their afternoon soap opera...ha! Matter of fact, a few years ago, I revisited the house during homecoming of 2005, and you know who I hung out with and was most excited to see? Yes, Sadie and the ladies...I even have a picture from that visit...we brought the ladies a 24 pack of Miller Lite...made their day and mine! Still, I can't help wonder which of my friends or acquaintances would have acted like Hilly or Elizabeth from the book if they could...hmmmm....sad. Egnola (did most of the cooking...amazing to think I took all that yumminess for granted back then...she was a serious slot-player, loved her husband, cigarettes, and crown victoria), Me (pregnant with maddy early on), Rosie (sweetest lady ever...did the housekeeping downstairs, always had a smile on her face), and Sadie (had a pet name for me : big legs, the biggest smile in the world, so full of youth)Sadie Selmon and I...I miss her!