Bag Ladies

Mark's thirtieth birthday was arriving a couple months after Dad's death in 1999. Several of us kids decided we wanted to do something fun to cheer him up. The loss had hit him hard, as it had us all. 

The plan was for Sherlyn to take Mark out for dinner at the Outback in Hattiesburg, MS.  She knew that Deb, Rhonda, Juanetta, Angela and I would be there ahead of them. But there were plans made that Sherlyn knew nothing of.  At the last minute we decided we would dress up as bag ladies. We didn't mention this to Sherlyn.   

We arrived at the Outback fifteen or twenty minutes before Mark's and Sherlyn's arrival and were seated at a large round table in the center of the room. There sat Deb dressed like a hobo with kerchief tied on her head and ragged clothes. Rhonda, Juanetta, Angela and I had on men's work boots, a man's coat and a plastic bag on our head. We had coke bottle glasses, sunglasses and Bubba teeth. 

It was the busy time of the evening, and as the hostess took people by our table everyone was staring and laughing when she explained why we were dressed like that. 

After several minutes we saw them come through the front door. Sherlyn told the hostess that her sisters were waiting for them and she walked right past our table without seeing us. (I'm sure no one who knows her can imagine that.) She had her neck stretched, searching for us. 

We girls were sipping tea while we watched them come by. (Have you ever tried to sip through a straw with Bubba teeth? It isn't easy to look sophisticated like that.) Just as Mark got even with our table he glanced at us with no recognition until I smiled. He yelled, "Oh my God!" and sat down at our table and hid his face. (He later said he recognized my eyes when I smiled.) 

When Sherlyn heard Mark yell she turned around to see what the commotion was about and recognized us then.  

Our evening was filled with laughter and tears as we reminisced of Dad, our great loss, as well as laughing with everyone around us when they saw out ridiculous outfits.  It did us all a world of good, and we were glad to find as we were leaving how much good it did for the employees of The Outback. 

They all came to tell us that the fun and laughter had helped them immensely. One of their employees had been hit by a train and killed that week and they were having a tough time holding it together enough to work. We were thankful to have helped them to laugh in spite of their years.