The dragon lady

  It was about 1975 when I first met the dragoon lady. That is what my dad called her anyway. I can't speak for others but back in those days, in my hometown, nicknames seemed to be a prevalent thing. Mostly descriptive terms applied to the person, they weren't meant to be hateful or derogatory, just highlighting what their differences were, what made them stand out from the crowd. Today all of that would be met with, offense. Well, I suppose so, as those folks were rarely called by those names to their faces. Still I think most knew and secretly laughed themselves, or dismissed it. And the dragon lady was certainly one of those folks. She earned that name, daily with her manner of dress. Free spirited I believe would be a good description. The dragon lady wore long flowing gowns in the style of the Chinese geisha girls. At least that was the general perception of those that met her. She did wear a generous amount of make up as well. A nice lady she held herself a bit aloof from others. She just sort of glided in and out of a room. 

 Her exact position in society I couldn't say. She was in some fashion involved in the ownership or running of the Silver Seahorse, a local marina. My father was employed there for a time as a mechanic. It was he who introduced me to the dragon lady, Mrs. Palmer. You see at that time I was working at an upholstery shop, as an upholsterer. Mrs. Palmer had mentioned to my father that she had a piece of furniture she would like covered and wondered if he knew anyone capable of that. She had purchased some material thinking she may be able to do the job herself but on second thought figured it was beyond her. Dad just naturally told her yes, my son can do that for you. So a meeting was arranged at the Silver Sea Horse. I had heard Dad speak of the dragon lady many times and was so prepared, or so I thought. 

 The dragon lady invited me into her home to see the furniture. Turns out it was a rather large three cushion sofa. This piece had certainly seen better days. It wasn't of the highest quality construction. After I measured it for the amount of material required we began to talk about the cost. She showed me the material she had purchased. It was a velour in tiger print! I'm thinking I shouldn't have been surprised. She told me how many yards she had and I had to inform her it wasn't going to be enough. Saying she could not get anymore, as this was a rare print; in her words; she then asked a surprising question. What if I didn't cover the back of the couch? Would I then have enough? She explained she intended to put that couch against the wall anyway and no one would know. Doing a few calculators I determined that it would work. That is what was agreed upon. 

 I took that couch to my fathers house, he had a garage, and that is where I reupholstered that piece of furniture. I got my mom to do some of the machine sewing work. I have to say it came out quite well, all things considered. The couch wasn't in very good condition but I did my best to spruce it up some. The price we had settled on didn't allow for much extra. Still a little glue here and there, a little fluffing up and the addition of some upholstery cotton, borrowed from the shop were I was working, and all was well. The back had no covering whatsoever. She didn't want to buy any material, of any kind, to cover the back, although I had suggested any inexpensive material would be alright. But, no go, the dragon lady had spoken. 

 I don't recall what I was paid for that job. I do remember coming away from the whole thing with a different view of that lady. Whereas I first thought she must have been a lady of means and society that opinion had changed. Now I felt like she was just putting on airs, as the saying goes. But I don't think it was a conscious thing with her, rather more of a delusion. She obviously enjoyed dressing in the fashion she did, perhaps liking the attention. That's not unusual, isn't that the purpose of fashion? I'm thinking that perhaps she was what we called a ten cent millionaire back in the day. Altogether she was a pleasant and interesting person. Perhaps she had a few quirks, don't we all? Memorable. That is what I would call her, memorable. Here it is 45 years later and I still remember her. Memorable. And that was the sole interaction I had with the dragon lady. I wonder sometimes about her and the Silver Seahorse. We sure had some colorful characters in my hometown. I expect every small town in America had them, like an extended family. Got a few here in Greensboro, although I'm an outsider, only been here about 35 years and so not in the know. Of course today, with all this political correctness, we wouldn't want to be accused of being insensitive. A kinder, gentler world? I think one lacking in feeling, not insensitive, but apathetic. I just think back in the day we all learned to laugh at ourselves, and we were better off for it. We learned that by laughing with others, not at others.