If you were at Lynda's funeral you heard me tell the story about John and Carol Ann Alderman and Larry and me having a garage sale in our backyard. It was fenced and we put a table for paying right inside the gate on the sidewalk. Just a few feet from where we were sitting was Lynda's room. It had one window that we had built at the height that Lynda could sit on her blue mailbox and play with her toys on the window sill. If she stood to play, she was about the same height. The window was plexiglass instead of glass. Lynda could play there for hours.
If you've ever had a garage sale, you know that it takes many eyes to be sure you can help the customers, watch to make sure you are selling more than is being lifted for free, and keep an eye on the money box. All seemed to be going well until John slipped over and said quietly, "Ah, Kathy I'm going to stand in front of Lynda's window because she's taken her clothes off and has her body pressed against the window". And he wasn't kidding. Lynda who never saw any need for clothes had chosen the time our backyard was full of people to display her birthday suit for viewing up close and very personal. John stood nonchalantly while I went in and put Lynda's clothes back on. Since he was the director of the Scott Center and had known Lynda since she was little, this was not a new situation for him.
Lynda lived in Lynda's world. She was a "forever child" who functioned very much like a year old child except in the area of motor skills where she excelled. Even after the stroke, Lynda could put her legs around her neck which was one of her favorite ways to sit and play. Clothes? They were of no value to her because she didn't have any of the social consciousness that teaches us that clothes are necessary in public (especially garage sales). Now be honest. How many of us wear clothes because they feel so much more comfortable than the birthday suit we were given when we arrived here? My point exactly. We wear them because we have been conditioned to know that clothes are necessary and expected and we are embarrassed if someone sees us in compromising situations without proper clothing. Not Lynda. She only knew that clothes went on her body and she could take them off. Problem solved (for Lynda..but not for us).
When I need a smile, I think of Lynda standing at her window with her body pressed tightly against the plexiglass window. Her nose and mouth were smushed and so was everything else that protruded from her body. It really was funny. We just didn't feel that we should share the humor with anyone else there for the garage sale! But I have the visual like it was yesterday and it makes me smile every time I think about it.
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