A Reckoning in Mayberry

Part 5/7 Wise Sage Finds Herself

Daisy's story, taken from notes from my diary journal written the summer after the summer it all began     

Sage- a person known and revered for their wisdom.        Dictionaryforwordlovers.com

Zeb gave my mom the nickname that some people still call her today. He called her "Sage" and sometimes the redundant "Wise Sage" as in: "Wise Sage, I come, seeking your advice". He told old Wise Sage that she would make a good counselor or motivational speaker - which only served to make her offer up even more life advice that summer than usual. Zeb said a sage is someone who offers their thoughts on life and living and people flock to hear this wisdom. He said that sages make popular dinner guests.

My mom, fresh from weekly meetings with her life coach, Leigh Ann, who was loaning her self-help books like my mom was a self-discovery junkie (and she was), was beaming with self-confidence and a need to share her self-worth with her words. Wise Sage was spouting off advice and wisdom at an alarming rate that felt like an all out assault on everything that made me happy.

"That diet pop you are drinking is full of sodium," said the lady who used to drink a liter of diet cherry 7up every night. "Just gonna make you retain fluid and make you thirsty."

Even sages have enemies. Who wants to be around a know-it-all all the time? I certainly did not, and I certainly didn't think she was a great dinner guest. Who wanted to eat dinner beside a know-it-all? Not me.

Her words of wisdom were not just directed at me. My mama was pleased that Zeb was back in town, and she understood why Nannie Jo was visiting. She said things like "love will find a way" to Tabitha and Zeb. To me she said things like: "Nannie Jo has lost her only son. We need to be kind to her."

Wise Sage had a big mouth that summer - "How handsome is that Devin?" she asked me, right when he was in the next room and could hear her say it. I was so mortified I had to get out. I decided to go to Riverview and check on my other family. The family that really did have wisdom as an attribute and never tired to embarrass me at dinner.

Once at Riverview, my first stop was Miss Lacey's room. It was good to see an old friend. She was glad to see me too. She always called me Sallie Mae. I never knew if I was named after her old friend or if I was the old friend, but Miss Lacey was a good friend to Sallie Mae and this Sallie Mae loved her. She got up to hug my neck.

"Sallie Mae, where have you been? I have missed you so bad."

"I been out and about. I missed you too. How have you been?

"I have been worried sick since William came to see me."

"William from here?" I was confused. " I thought he wasn't working anymore, did he come back? Did someone let Miss Livengood know?" I was suddenly very interested in today's conversation.

"No, not singing William; William, my baby brother. He did talk about singing William though."

"Oh," I said disappointed for Miss Livengood. "What did he have to say? Was he by himself?" I was hoping that Luther, the troublemaking boyfriend who had been dead for years, had not also come to visit.

"He said singing William is with his baby underground."

"Oh no," I said. Miss Lacey was often confused. I didn't know she knew the story of William's family and how his wife and baby were killed in a horrible accident. She sometimes fixated on tragedies. I was hoping she was not doing that this time. It would make her sad.