The combination of beauty, good humor, intelligence, common sense, and knowing what the right thing to do will never come to me again, as it did in Glenda.
I was so fortunate to have encountered her. I do not want to alarm anyone, it is not necessary, but I can completely understand why so many couples die so close to one another.
She and I have been called survivors. I think that is so, more so with Glenda. I have had many many events of good fortune, Glenda among them, in my life. Glenda endured many more difficulties than I did.
I would come home, excited about a great idea I had. Glenda, the supreme “reality checker” would poo-poo it. I would go away, very mad and upset. I would try to figure out why I was so mad, and realize it was because she was right!
Another common situation would be her constant worrying when one of the girls was late returning home. She would pace around, working me into a frenzy, while I told her there was nothing to worry about. About the time my anxiety equalled hers, the girls would show up, perfectly fine! I never learned not to let her suck me into her episodes!
This is probably too intimate, but Glenda had the softest lips! And, we really enjoyed dancing with each other.
On our return from our first date, Cokes at the drive-in with Eddie & Barbara, I said to myself, “I’m going to snow this girl!” First impressions are significant. The first attempt at this was to tell her her eyes were beautiful, during dinner at the Spanish Village on Oak Lawn in Dallas.
Even with Glenda’s great sense of humor, she had a tendency towards a smoldering temper. A long walk often was her self-imposed cure, I remember one evening in Odessa when she left the house with Larry’s dog, Rinney, a fat German Shepard. After a while, I got worried and got the kids, Cam 4 and Andy 2, into the car to go looking for her. Not two doors away, here came Glenda and Rinney, walking home. Imagine my embarrassment with the girls, hanging out the car window, yelling “Mommy, come home! We love you!”
There were many other examples of Glenda’s temper: The time she tossed a iron, point first, into the Farmers Branch House’s kitchen SS sink. I kinda smirked when I kept my cool and repaired it. And the time she went on strike due to the kids’ carelessness in throwing clothes and toys on the floor. She didn’t do laundry or cook for a couple of weeks. She was a real hero at church, where people wanted to know how it was going. (It was the 60’s and things were changing for women.)
Everybody has a story to tell, but Glenda’s was truly wonderful!
Bill Allen
