February 7, 2024 • 38 mins
This week’s episode is an extra special Tell Her This Classic, a re-air of one of our favorite episodes, and the perfect way to kick off Black History Month!
Have you ever felt the warmth of a story that wraps around you like a beloved grandmother's quilt, stitched with threads of strength, endurance, and love? That's exactly what you'll experience as we journey with our guest, Peggy Lorraine Howell, through the chapters of her life. Peggy, at 72-years young, embodies a nurturing spirit, molded by her experiences as a middle child and fortified by an unwavering faith in God's love. Her captivating anecdotes take us from theatrical May Day plays to heartfelt reflections at a 40th class reunion, reminding us to embrace the joy and innocence of our inner child. As we honor Black History Month, Peggy's narrative becomes a beacon, celebrating the influential women who've shaped not only her world but ours.
We’d like to hear from you! Send us your recording of a short story answering this prompt “Tell me a story about a woman who changed your life.” Stories should be 3 mins or less and you can send them to tellherthispodcast@gmail.com
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This episode includes music by Maya Rogers. If you'd like to hear more from Maya and support her new project, Orion and The Remembering Tree click here!
Thanks for listening! Please subscribe, leave a rating, and follow Tell Her This on all platforms @tellherthispodcast
This episode includes music by Maya Rogers. Click here to hear more from Maya and support her new project, Orion and The Remembering Tree!
Thanks for listening! Please subscribe, leave a rating, and follow Tell Her This on all platforms @tellherthispodcast
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Rochelle (00:00):
Hello, I'm your host, Rochelle Rice, and this is Tell
Her This, a storytelling podcast.
No advice, no self-help, juststories from women who represent
people just like me and justlike you.
What began as a journey morethan 6,000 miles around the US
has continued to even moreincredible stories from women
(00:22):
who have opened their lives toall of us.
If you'd like to support TellHer This, please visit
Bymeacoffeecom forward slash,Tell Her This.
For as little as $5, you canhelp ensure that I can keep
bringing you these incrediblestories.
That's Bymeacoffeecom.
Forward slash.
Tell Her This.
(00:43):
The link is also in the shownotes.
Well, listeners, I am under theweather, so this week's new
episode is postponed.
However, I have three deliciousannouncements.
Number one I want to hear fromyou.
I want to hear your storiesabout the women in your life.
Maybe it's your mom or acoworker, Maybe it's an artist
(01:09):
or the person who works at yourlocal grocery store.
Pull up your voice, memo appand press record.
I'm collecting your shortstories.
Answering this prompt Tell me astory about a woman who changed
your life.
Stories should be three minutesor less and you can send them
to tellherthespodcastatgmailcom.
(01:30):
Number two you do not want tomiss next week's episode, which
will be an extra special one,featuring recording artist V
Steadwell.
If you know, you know Numberthree.
This week's episode is ourfirst ever Tell Her this Classic
(01:50):
, a re-airing of a season oneepisode.
That is the perfect way to kickoff Black History Month and is
one I'm sure you'll love.
All right, let's get started.
You're listening to the TellHer this podcast.
Peggie (02:24):
My name is Peggy Lorraine Howell and I am 72
years down the road.
Rochelle (02:32):
We're starting the new year with a treasure y'all.
Ms Peggy has been in my lifesince I was in middle school.
She's a matriarch of thehighest order stylish, classic,
someone to be revered andrespected.
She's the kind of woman whowill put a good meal in your
(02:54):
belly, a word of love in yourheart and a good amount of truth
telling that will get youtogether if you are out of line.
And in her time here on thisearth she's done everything from
train for the Olympics torescuing the love of her life.
Here's her story.
Peggie (03:13):
I am one of God's real favorite people.
I'm excited because I know I am.
I really know I'm had to workhard to get there.
I like to think of myself as aperson who cares about people
just across the board.
I don't care what is going onwith you, where you came from,
(03:36):
and the reason I know this aboutme is because when I grew up, I
grew up like I grew up theoldest.
My mom had two sets of children, so I was the oldest girl of
three under me and then therewere four above me.
So I grew up in a situationwhere I had to be there for me
(03:59):
and for them, because I was amiddle child, I had all this
different responsibility as ayoung child and so that grew up
in me and, of course, I didn'trealize that at the time.
So now, when I show up now at72, at 50, at 35, at whatever
age, I'm that same person.
(04:24):
I was at a little gathering, awomen's glow gathering, and the
person made a statement and shesaid you know what we as women
suffer a lot of things becausewe still got a lot of stuff back
there that we haven't takencare of.
She said so what I suggest toyou for you to get along better
in your life.
Reach back, bring that littlegirl right beside you.
(04:47):
And I, just I yelped.
I thought, praise the Lord,because that was me, I, my
little girl, has always beenright beside me and it's so I
was able to navigate throughthings that a lot of people
could I'm like well, how do youdo this?
(05:08):
How do you do that?
Because I always knew, backthere, yes, jesus loves me.
Back there, when I was a littlegirl.
And here I am, 50, 60, 70.
Yes, jesus loves me.
I'm the apple of it.
This is how I know.
Listen to the song yes, jesus.
How do I know?
Because the Bible tells me so.
Who is the Bible?
(05:29):
The Bible is God.
So I know that I'm special tohim because I know that little
girl back there.
I know the hurts, I know thehappy times, I know the
disappointments, but he stillallowed me to bring her up here
and that to me when she said youknow, I never thought of it
(05:52):
like that until she said it likethat, but then, when I thought
about it, I've always go back.
I don't care what I'm doing,what I'm thinking.
I was a participator, I was five.
I can remember back to fiveyears old.
I used to do the Mayday play.
I would walk from as far asfrom here, one more drive by
(06:12):
myself to get to the park to do.
My mother and my father Went tochurch one day.
Akiyaw, it was a little Maydaydance and I did that and I would
walk.
It was in May.
Obviously I would be so hot andso tired and my mom would give
me a nickel and I, on the wayback, I stopped and stood by me
(06:35):
a cold chocolate drink.
But I did that every year thatI could remember.
So that little, that samelittle girl on through high
school, on through gettingmarried, all that same little
girl.
But I have kept my little girlwith me by my side.
I'm still a little girl but I'ma 72 year old, mature little
(07:03):
girl Because, again, I firmlybelieve that what God innately
puts in you, it never let metell you.
I'll just tell you this littleshort, so I'm full of story.
I went to my 40th class reunion.
Probably been 20 years ago now.
Yeah, well, 15 years ago maybe.
(07:23):
Anyway, I grew up in Atlanta,left home when I was 24, because
I married my husband and we'rein the military, so obviously we
were away from Atlanta so Inever got a chance to go back to
a class reunion.
So I never saw any of myclassmates for 40 years and I
always wanted to, but we wereeither out of state, out of
country, couldn't get there, orwhatever.
(07:44):
So we had just come back fromwherever and I told Bobby.
I said, look, we have got to goin some kind of way.
I hooked up with my best friendand some of the other class
members and all this kind ofstuff and they reached out to me
and they said, oh my God, peggyand Rob is oh, why, why, why,
why, why.
I said, oh, okay, and so theywant me to come.
(08:06):
They want me to do the.
Did I do the welcome somethingthey want me to do on program?
I said, yeah, you know what Imean.
I always participate.
So I went ahead and I ran intosome people who were the same as
they were in high school.
I thought they were six in themud then.
(08:27):
But the one thing that I alwaysenjoyed, as far as I can
remember, interacting withpeople I always had good
relationship.
I never had an issue withgetting along.
You never had that issue in mylife really so anyway.
So I was a basketball, I was anathlete, so one of my really
(08:48):
good friends, we all playedbasketball together and
everything we got to you know,ragging about how we used to get
in trouble with the coach orthis, that and the third.
I was always straight-laced andlook, we need to go to practice
, we need to be on time.
We only be sitting around heresmoking in the bathroom,
sniffing glue, all this stuff.
I was the coach.
Catch us, we ain't gonna beable to play.
And we had one particular girlthe best player on the team, as
(09:11):
a matter of fact, but she wasone of these people that just
was doing her own thing and shedid her own thing.
And I was constantly in themorning girl, come on, go to
class, go to home room, give methat glue, cause she sniffed
glue.
I mean, come on.
So you know all this stuff.
And I'd always talk to her andshe would always tell me stuff
(09:31):
and I'd always listen and tryand my thing as a 15, 16, 17
year old girl was like, come, dowhat you're supposed to do.
We need you on this team.
If you don't come and play,they gonna kill us.
Come, please.
So I was constantly trying totell her we were talking at the
classroom union.
And we just got talking aboutstuff and she asked me what I
(09:53):
was doing.
I said well, I just started mynon-profit and blah, blah, blah
told her about it.
She said oh my God.
She said Peggy, you know you'rethe same person now as you were
back in high school.
I said girl, what are youtalking about?
And she said you always listento me.
You always had a good word forme.
(10:14):
You were always doing stuff,you were always part of stuff.
And I said oh, okay.
I said you know, that was justme.
She said, and I loved you forthat.
She said, girl, you know, I gotinto a plenty of stuff To me.
That was so endearing.
(10:37):
My mind just went back to theSunday school days, whenever I
always had a speech.
I could always talk.
I always had my little speechand they would always call on me
in the fifth grade.
But in those stills no, tellAmericanos, honey, I learned how
to speak Spanish.
I was just always doing it.
I get so tickled now when Ithink about myself as a child,
(10:59):
even though I grew up very poor.
My mom and dad were hardworkingpeople, but those days were so.
They were hard but they were sogood.
It was like that, saying to go.
We were poor and I didn't knowit.
I had to take care of myyounger sisters and brothers.
I had to miss school, I had todo this or that.
Sometimes we didn't have allyou know like we wanted to just
(11:23):
eat, eat, eat.
We couldn't do that and wealways had a roof over our heads
.
My parents always worked, butwhen I think about those were
the best times of my life.
Being that older sister to myyounger siblings, I can remember
combing it.
I could always comb hair.
I knew how to.
I could sew, I could get alittle piece of fabric and I
(11:45):
learned how to pleat things andI could do everything.
When I was this little personCause my grandmother, I watched
people.
My grandmother taught me how todo a lot of stuff.
By the time I was seven oreight years old, I could cook
caught green fried chicken.
I could do all of this stuff.
(12:11):
By the time I got to be ateenager, I became an athlete,
so I participated in my.
I played basketball, volleyball,ran track and all that track
was my sport, but I played theother ones to stay in shape, and
so I had the opportunity.
When I was in high school Iwent to the outdoor nationals,
(12:32):
which led, you know, the trialsbefore the Olympics.
So I had the opportunity to dothat and but on the road to that
we would have to go, like um,during the summer and off-season
, and then when we participate,say for a state and city-wide
competition, we'd have to go tothe colleges.
(12:53):
So I had the opportunity tointeract with college athletes.
And so the summer that I wasable, before I went to the
outdoor nationals, I went tostay, stay, let them sell us
what nine, maybe 10th grade, uh,the city and state champions of
whatever your event was, yougot to go to Tennessee state I
(13:14):
don't know if you knew aboutthat's where the tiger bells,
the tiger bells was in.
That was either McGuire,walmetyre's, those sisters was
up there.
They were, you know, national,they were Olympians.
Rochelle (13:26):
A little bit of history here.
The Tennessee State UniversityTiger Bells and all black track
and field team were hailed bythe New York times as the
cathedral of women's track inthis country after their major
success of 23 medals at the 1960Olympics.
Led by famed track and fieldcoach Ed Temple, the team roster
(13:50):
included greats like EdithMcGuire, gold medalists in the
1964 Olympics, wyoming Tyus, thefirst athlete to win two
consecutive gold medals in the100 meter dash for the Tokyo and
Mexico city Olympics, and thegreat Wilma Rudolph, acclaimed
(14:11):
in the 1960s as the fastestwoman in the world and the first
American woman to win threegold medals in a single Olympic
games.
These great black Americanwomen and more came out of the
TSU athletic program.
Peggie (14:28):
That's where they went to college, at Coach Temple, the
worldwide.
I mean, I was just besidemyself and I was as poor as a
church mouse.
So when it came around for meto go out, the old Lord, so we
had to.
I had to travel from Atlanta toTennessee State College and mom
didn't have the money.
(14:48):
So my coaches, they say yougoing.
So the head coach and myimmediate coach, they got
together, they put me on a trainand I went up to Tennessee
State and I trained with let mesee, edith was, I think they
were maybe seniors in college atthat time, but they were still
(15:12):
on campus and they were Delta's.
I love Delta's, but anyway Ican, I can hear that song, that
Delta's singing a thing thereand whatever the hell that thing
was.
And they used to like play thiswater card game.
And of course, you know, wewere 14, 15, 16 year old girls
from high school.
These were college girls andthey ragged us, made us, you
(15:35):
know, go get the dinner.
You know some of them, and Ijust refused, I just couldn't do
it, I just didn't see it.
So they didn't bother me awhole lot.
Either McGuire went to the samehigh school that I did.
And so that first week of youknow, tennessee State is a
agriculture school We'd have torun up to here with a cow and
(16:02):
girl, five o'clock in themorning and I have a week some,
and I get halfway up the hilland I was ready to lose it.
So the second day I was readyto leave, so either said to me
uh-uh, no, ma'am, not from outyou.
We got the.
Uh, no, no, you can't do that.
(16:22):
I said yes, I can.
She said uh-uh.
She said what you gonna do?
You gonna stand up to the side,get yourself together.
And it was almost time becausewe went out at five o'clock and
worked till 10, went home eightand did all that and then we had
to go back out at three I think, because we were Olympian type
(16:44):
outdoor, we were national, soyou had to train like that.
So you know, eventually, youknow, along with the other girls
, I got my act together and Istayed there and we went to
Frederick, maryland, to competein the outdoor nationals, which
would have got us a spot to goto the next level, to go to the
(17:04):
Olympics.
It probably had to be 60.
I didn't make it because I gotthere, honey and run, you have
to in in uh sports, you have toknow there are different kinds
of track terrain that you run on.
So in Atlanta, of course youknow it wasn't the best.
And in with those track shoes.
(17:25):
If the surface is hard, the thespike will stay, but if it's
soft it'll go down in there.
And I got developed what youcall a shin splints, which means
the front of my legs will justmess up.
So by the time I got there andgot ready to compete, I competed
but I didn't place because mylegs were so sore.
(17:47):
But I thought I'm doing this, Idon't care what.
So I went ahead and I competedbut I did not place so I could
go on to the next level, to theOlympics.
So that was a greataccomplishment.
I loved it.
I mean, it was just awesome.
You know that I got chance todo that.
Had I been able to go on to theOlympics, I don't think I could
(18:09):
have been any more excited.
And I had all of my trophies,all of my little medals.
Can I tell you what happened tothem?
I want to do what I need to sayyeah, I do.
Yeah.
Man, my first husband messedthrough my stuff.
I don't know what he did withmy little mind.
(18:33):
I had my newspaper clipings andmy medal.
I don't know what he did withmy stuff.
Rochelle (18:43):
I consider Ms Peggy to be a historian, the keeper of
the stories and the memories.
Every year in her local artscouncil that operates more like
an art gallery, she hosts aninteractive black history space
that connects the current blackachievements all the way back to
significant events, people andhistory in her region and
(19:06):
community.
It's a big deal, but in all thetime I've known her I didn't
know she'd been married toanyone else other than the love
of her life, mr Bobby, and we'llhear more about him later.
I asked her to tell me abouther first marriage, yeah.
Peggie (19:25):
I was married for five years.
I married him at 18, right outof high school.
Now I was losing fast and gotpregnant on prom night.
So you know, back then it waslike you have to get married.
Rochelle (19:40):
I got to know, because that is something you only see
in the movies.
Peggie (19:44):
Yeah, I mean, it happened to me, tony.
Tony, where are you?
My old son, tony is the result.
Yeah.
Rochelle (19:51):
So you have this track runner, you have this like
track star because you werealmost like heading to the
Olympic Right and then on promnight you get pregnant.
Peggie (20:01):
Prom night I got pregnant.
I was pregnant on prom nightbecause that was other nights,
but I'm saying it was prom night.
When I try, you know you try tocount it back.
Rochelle (20:09):
I asked Miss Peggy how her community, her family, her
coaches reacted.
Peggie (20:17):
Well, okay, so I'll start with my teachers.
Because I was an athlete, I wasa good student, I was like a
good Samaritan.
I, you know, I didn't get introuble.
I was always a participant, Iwas always.
I was just that person, justbecause that's who God made me.
So I was that person and my.
I never forget Miss Beals.
(20:38):
She's gone on to Bob Blueyonder, but anyway, miss Beals
just always say, hey, you needto stop messing with that, that
little blank blank.
You just need to stop it.
She didn't like him.
And then I had another one ofmy teachers told me Girl, I'm
(20:59):
gonna tell you you're throwingyour life away messing with him.
Sure did, they told me.
But of course I didn't listen.
Whenever we graduate, of coursewe all graduate.
He was the athlete as well.
He could sing.
He's a spent in the image ofTony, a tone just been in the
image of him.
Could sing, great athlete, nota good person as far as self
(21:24):
esteem and all that.
I didn't know that at the time.
I mean, I had to be sign for itto peak that out.
But you know high schoolsweethearts and all this kind of
good stuff.
And then whenever I told my mom,I can't remember how I told,
because I was always believing,you know, say it, girl.
So I went here and told my momI said, you know, I'm pregnant.
(21:45):
And she said, you know, backthen old school, where y'all
gonna get married.
And yes, ma'am, so and I, youknow, we, in that space of time,
in that relationship, as far asfeelings, I cared for him, he
(22:06):
cared for me, so, so gettingmarried to him was no, there was
no pressure, no push, you know,or I want you know, it wasn't
any of that.
So at that moment I knew I hadto give up.
I had to give up going tocollege, I had to give up going
to either Tuskegee Institute orTennessee State.
So I took it in stride becausethere was no such thing as you
(22:31):
know, abortion.
I don't even know if it came, Idon't even know if it came, I
don't even know if I knew whatabortion was.
But I don't know.
Because, you know, in thattimeframe that just wasn't
something.
It happened but it wasn't part.
And I had, oh, cut my skaterink.
But some girls had abortionlike this, most it was, but it
(22:52):
just wasn't something that I,that was part of my thinking, I
guess.
So that was never in my thoughtprocess at that point in my
life.
So we went ahead and we gotmarried right.
My daddy didn't even come tothe wedding and it was right at
my mama's house.
We got right married right inmy dad and my mama's living room
and my daddy set across thestreet because he didn't like my
(23:14):
, he didn't like him either.
I had this big old white dress.
Oh, I'm always on my life, I'vealways loved clothes and
dressing up and I thought, well,if I'm gonna get married, I'm
gonna be one of them.
Big old dressing.
So, sure enough, I had this bigold, pretty white dress.
I was working at the park as apark aid so I had a little money
(23:38):
.
I could buy some snacks andmama bought my cake and I fixed
a little food and six mama'shouse up, decorate with some
little stuff Did the whole nineyards.
I got married and then shortlyafter and while I was already
pregnant, so of course I hadstepped my mom so he went into
(23:59):
the army and of course he gotdrafted.
So draft was two and a halfyears, I believe, and he got
stationed in Alabama somewhere.
So by the time Tony was born hehad been in the military, I
guess a year, a little over ayear, and he was gone for two
and a half years.
(24:20):
He came back and we just neverhit it off because he was not a
person that wanted to do a wholelot in life and I've always
been.
You know, like Dr Fraser Iwanted to have something.
I like to work, I always work,because I saw a working at 14.
So I always worked and that wasnot one of his characteristics.
He just was not a worker.
(24:42):
And so after he got back, aftera couple of years, it was like,
see you, by the time he got backI had saved a little money and
we got an apartment and all thiskind of good stuff and we
stayed together maybe a coupleof years.
And when I saw that he didn'twant to do what a man's supposed
(25:05):
to do in a marriage becauseI've always, I guess, had a
mature outlook not that I wasall that much, but I always had
an outlook or a sense of what arelationship or a family should
be, you know, because my mom anddad were married.
They went to work, they raisedthe children, they had a home,
they paid the bills, they boughtthem you know that.
So he didn't want to do thatand after about two years I said
(25:29):
, okay, this is it.
I gave up the apartment.
We had a few skirmishes inbetween, but I gave up the
apartment, saved my mom a littlebit, got back out on my own
because I was like, let's see,so I had to be 21 maybe, yeah,
yeah.
Rochelle (25:50):
So, at 21, Peggy was a divorced single mom with two
young children, Tony and Tonya.
She was living on her own andbegan a career climb from park
attendant to working at thebowling alley, then a telephone
operator for Southern Bell andfinally all the way to an
(26:12):
accounting associate.
Peggie (26:15):
But by then this first husband is gone, I'm on my own.
And then that's when Biblecomes into the picture, because
I was only 24 when I met him.
Okay, june 1974, let's get iton, marvin Gaye, Just put that
(26:37):
record out.
That was our anthem.
When we met.
It was in June of 1974, he washome, on a leaf.
Obviously, he was in themilitary and I lived in this
high rise apartment building andmy neighbor across the hall was
dating Bobby's brother.
(26:58):
So see, she and I went I guesswe were out shopping or whatever
and both of us were like I wasalways thin when I was, and she
was thinner than me, I probablyweighed a 105 and she probably
weighed 100 pounds.
And we stopped at this placeand we bought a watermelon.
To us.
It looked like it was this bigand that wide, so the guy had
(27:20):
put the watermelon in the backof her car.
So we get back home now.
This high rise.
You had to walk up about fouror five, because it was
literally five or six stories upand you had to walk a level way
.
Then you had to walk all thesestairs.
So she and I pulled up in theparking lot and at the same
moment.
We looked at each other and shesaid I'm paying you.
(27:43):
How are we gonna get this water?
I said, honey, I don't know.
And she said, so we get all ofour other stuff out, took it on
up the stairs and then we.
So we decided that we weregonna, you know, get on each
side of it and I thought, well,suppose we drop this woman.
So she said girl, I don't know.
So by the time we stand inthere going back and forth, we
(28:05):
see this nice blue car pull up,and so she starts grinning.
So what you have to know, hername was Barbara.
Barbara was a matchmaker.
And she started with this bigold grin.
I said girl, where did youlaugh?
Cause I hadn't even.
I saw the car out this cornerof my eye, but I didn't pay that
much attention to it.
So she saw this big old grinand she said I know how we're
(28:29):
gonna get this water mill up.
I said okay.
I said good.
I said, cause we're not gonnabe even two of us.
I don't think we could havecared, and so, anyway.
So here comes this guy, so I'mcatching this out of the corner
of my eye, and she said hey,baby.
And he said hey.
And so I turned around andlooked and there's this big old
(28:49):
250 pound yellow dude with anafro.
And so I said he oughta be ableto take this water mill up the
stair.
So he said, you know, he kindof nodded at me like that and I
said hey.
And so she said blabber, weneed to get this water mill up
(29:11):
the stairs.
So he said, oh, okay, all right.
And he was asking her.
He said where's, where's mybrother called?
And so she said, oh, he hasn'tgotten over here yet, but he
should be over here for a while.
So he said, oh, okay.
And he said, well, okay, I'lltake the water mill on up for
you.
So he grabs the water mill andwe all go on all up all these
(29:34):
stairs.
So when we get up to, okay.
So our apartments were like thisshe lived on this side of the
hall, I live on that side of thehall, and so I said, well,
because we had already agreedthat she was going to cut it and
I was going to take half, andshe was going to take half, but
she was going to cut it.
So when we get to the apartment, she says to, so I got my door
(29:59):
open first and she says see, I'mtaking it into, put it in.
And I said I said, barbara, Ithought you were going to take
it.
And she said, nah, nah, so shewas acting like she couldn't get
her door open.
So I said, okay, so anyway, we,he brings the water mill in the
end, sits it down on the table,and she was.
(30:22):
So I hear her door go bam.
And so I mean I'm always a fullthinking, I'm thinking that why
, she closed that door and thisman over here in my apartment,
and so I'm just standing in.
So he said, just as friendly andnice as he can be, he said do
(30:43):
you want me to cut that for you?
And I said, well, barbara saidshe was going to cut it, and you
know, so I don't.
I said, well, yes.
So he said, well, I'll cut itand I'll take her half over
there to her.
And then I said, well, okay.
So he went ahead, he cut thewatermelon and, uh, he took her
(31:04):
half on over there to her, andso I had to, you know, and I
thought, well, don't go, it washuge.
So then I hear a knock on mydoor and it was barbering.
She came back over there andshe said I'll pay you what you
gonna do with your water.
You gonna cut it up.
You know, making out a smalltalk.
I said, well, yeah, I'm gonnacut it.
(31:24):
And she said, well, won't youlet him cut?
She said, cause he had to cutmine in half and so she's, you
know, won't you let him cut?
Or something like that.
And so I said, okay, bam, sheleft again.
I'm thinking about this guy, I'mlost, I'm mad.
And so by now I don't know whatconversation they had while he
(31:45):
took the watermelon over thereto her house.
So he said that's some goodlooking watermelon, can I have a
piece?
I thought, well, am I gonnagive you a piece of that?
So I'm just thinking, you know.
I said, yeah, sure you can havea piece.
So he sat down.
He ate almost that half of that, what?
(32:05):
I think that's a choking creed.
And he sat there and he causehe was friendly and outgoing, we
just got started to talking andjust talking.
Now, remember, he's a militaryman, all military men have
cameras.
So he had this nice Nikoncamera, all this and he had it
(32:26):
swinging, you know, off hisshoulder and stuff, had all this
nice Nikon camera thing.
So he said, do you mind if Itake your picture?
And I thought yeah, and so heand he got to clicking this.
Jockel must have took 999pictures of me that evening and
he sat there and we talked andwe talked.
(32:46):
We just hit it off and justtalked, and so pretty soon he
left and then the next day hecame back.
But I'm trying to, I stillcan't put it in my mind.
I was like I must have beenworking and he must have been
coming in the evening time, Iguess.
So anyway, the next night Iwent to Bob.
I said Bob, why you leaveCarlson's brother over there?
(33:06):
And she said, girl, he in themilitary.
And she said I think he likeyou.
I said, yo, how he gonna likeme?
And he don't even know me.
He just saw me and she said mm,honey, he like.
So he shows back up and he hadthis camera and he walked in and
just snaps, snaps, snaps.
(33:27):
And so I thought stop, I canhop those pictures.
And he said I just like to takeyour picture.
And we talked and laughed andtalked and then he ended up back
over there again, asked meabout the watermelon again, and
then the next night he said wewent out to dinner.
We went out to dinner and thenwe just get to talking and then,
(33:50):
you know, over time.
So he said that was when he toldme he was home for one month.
I was 24, he was 30, five years, 12 years old, so he's 36.
At that point and I thought,wow, this man is old, oh man.
(34:13):
So I thought, oh my God.
And then he said he had been inthe military.
At that time, I know I canremember he was a Texan and I
thought, wow, that was a goodrank, you know, at that point.
And so I thought, ok, and hetold me that he had his next
assignment.
(34:34):
Station was Thailand.
He had to go to Thailand.
And I said, ok, so then everyday for the next couple of weeks
he was there.
You know, we would go out, wewould do things, and I think
maybe by that second week, youknow, we kissing all that.
(34:55):
And then, of course, I gave upthe goods by the time.
Ha, ha, ha, ha ha.
So during that time frame,marvin Gaye's let's Get it On.
So it was so appropriate.
So it was the thing about him.
(35:16):
He was just, he was like, justlike an old shoe, he just fit.
You know what I'm saying.
He would come because he was aeater.
Well, I weighed 105 pounds, soobviously I didn't eat a whole
lot.
And Tony and Tony, you know,there would be here and there
Sometime, it would be over mymama's house or whatever, and so
he would come over and he wouldcook all this food.
(35:36):
I'm thinking Tony, honey, thatwas right down his alley.
And Tony, when he said I likehim, he always help, he always
cooked food.
I mean, he would go to thatcommissary and his mama was a
chef so she always had food andhe'd always, you know, go bring
all this food.
So he told me about two or threedays in he said you have no
(35:58):
food in your refrigerator.
And he always told his lie thatI had a piece of fat back in
the freezer and it was full ofice and that was all I had in my
refrigerator.
I said, well, stop it.
But anyway, he would go and buyall this food from the
commissary, go to his mama'shouse, raise her refrigerator
and all that stuff.
So from that point, from theday that he and the joke was his
(36:20):
brother, you'd have to know him.
He said the joke was he spreadout through the family.
Yeah, but when it went in pigsapartment to that watermelon he
didn't come out for a wholethree weeks.
I said that's a lie.
Rochelle (36:34):
And so began a love story.
Oh, it's just getting good.
Be sure to come back next weekfor part two.
Deep gratitude to Miss Peggyfor her time and her stories.
The Tell Her this podcast wascreated by Rachelle Rice with
(36:55):
funding from the Next LookArtist Residency.
For more Tell Her this content,please visit
tellherthespodcastcom and followon social media at Tell Her
this podcast.
Please share this episode witha friend and leave a rating or
review.
If you have a story to shareand would like to be considered
(37:16):
for an episode, or if you justwant to reach out with some
feedback, please email me attellherthespodcastatgmailcom.
I would love to hear from you.
This episode includes music byMaya Rogers, editing and sound
design by Rachelle Rice, mixingand editing by Ray Jalla, and I
(37:40):
am your host, rachelle Rice, andyou can find me at Rachelle
Rice Music across all socialplatforms.
Until next time, be true and bewell.
Hello, I'm your host, Rochelle Rice, and this is Tell
Her This, a storytelling podcast.
No advice, no self-help, juststories from women who represent
people just like me and justlike you.
What began as a journey morethan 6,000 miles around the US
has continued to even moreincredible stories from women
(00:22):
who have opened their lives toall of us.
If you'd like to support TellHer This, please visit
Bymeacoffeecom forward slash,Tell Her This.
For as little as $5, you canhelp ensure that I can keep
bringing you these incrediblestories.
That's Bymeacoffeecom.
Forward slash.
Tell Her This.
(00:43):
The link is also in the shownotes.
Well, listeners, I am under theweather, so this week's new
episode is postponed.
However, I have three deliciousannouncements.
Number one I want to hear fromyou.
I want to hear your storiesabout the women in your life.
Maybe it's your mom or acoworker, Maybe it's an artist
(01:09):
or the person who works at yourlocal grocery store.
Pull up your voice, memo appand press record.
I'm collecting your shortstories.
Answering this prompt Tell me astory about a woman who changed
your life.
Stories should be three minutesor less and you can send them
to tellherthespodcastatgmailcom.
(01:30):
Number two you do not want tomiss next week's episode, which
will be an extra special one,featuring recording artist V
Steadwell.
If you know, you know Numberthree.
This week's episode is ourfirst ever Tell Her this Classic
(01:50):
, a re-airing of a season oneepisode.
That is the perfect way to kickoff Black History Month and is
one I'm sure you'll love.
All right, let's get started.
You're listening to the TellHer this podcast.
Peggie (02:24):
My name is Peggy Lorraine Howell and I am 72
years down the road.
Rochelle (02:32):
We're starting the new year with a treasure y'all.
Ms Peggy has been in my lifesince I was in middle school.
She's a matriarch of thehighest order stylish, classic,
someone to be revered andrespected.
She's the kind of woman whowill put a good meal in your
(02:54):
belly, a word of love in yourheart and a good amount of truth
telling that will get youtogether if you are out of line.
And in her time here on thisearth she's done everything from
train for the Olympics torescuing the love of her life.
Here's her story.
Peggie (03:13):
I am one of God's real favorite people.
I'm excited because I know I am.
I really know I'm had to workhard to get there.
I like to think of myself as aperson who cares about people
just across the board.
I don't care what is going onwith you, where you came from,
(03:36):
and the reason I know this aboutme is because when I grew up, I
grew up like I grew up theoldest.
My mom had two sets of children, so I was the oldest girl of
three under me and then therewere four above me.
So I grew up in a situationwhere I had to be there for me
(03:59):
and for them, because I was amiddle child, I had all this
different responsibility as ayoung child and so that grew up
in me and, of course, I didn'trealize that at the time.
So now, when I show up now at72, at 50, at 35, at whatever
age, I'm that same person.
(04:24):
I was at a little gathering, awomen's glow gathering, and the
person made a statement and shesaid you know what we as women
suffer a lot of things becausewe still got a lot of stuff back
there that we haven't takencare of.
She said so what I suggest toyou for you to get along better
in your life.
Reach back, bring that littlegirl right beside you.
(04:47):
And I, just I yelped.
I thought, praise the Lord,because that was me, I, my
little girl, has always beenright beside me and it's so I
was able to navigate throughthings that a lot of people
could I'm like well, how do youdo this?
(05:08):
How do you do that?
Because I always knew, backthere, yes, jesus loves me.
Back there, when I was a littlegirl.
And here I am, 50, 60, 70.
Yes, jesus loves me.
I'm the apple of it.
This is how I know.
Listen to the song yes, jesus.
How do I know?
Because the Bible tells me so.
Who is the Bible?
(05:29):
The Bible is God.
So I know that I'm special tohim because I know that little
girl back there.
I know the hurts, I know thehappy times, I know the
disappointments, but he stillallowed me to bring her up here
and that to me when she said youknow, I never thought of it
(05:52):
like that until she said it likethat, but then, when I thought
about it, I've always go back.
I don't care what I'm doing,what I'm thinking.
I was a participator, I was five.
I can remember back to fiveyears old.
I used to do the Mayday play.
I would walk from as far asfrom here, one more drive by
(06:12):
myself to get to the park to do.
My mother and my father Went tochurch one day.
Akiyaw, it was a little Maydaydance and I did that and I would
walk.
It was in May.
Obviously I would be so hot andso tired and my mom would give
me a nickel and I, on the wayback, I stopped and stood by me
(06:35):
a cold chocolate drink.
But I did that every year thatI could remember.
So that little, that samelittle girl on through high
school, on through gettingmarried, all that same little
girl.
But I have kept my little girlwith me by my side.
I'm still a little girl but I'ma 72 year old, mature little
(07:03):
girl Because, again, I firmlybelieve that what God innately
puts in you, it never let metell you.
I'll just tell you this littleshort, so I'm full of story.
I went to my 40th class reunion.
Probably been 20 years ago now.
Yeah, well, 15 years ago maybe.
(07:23):
Anyway, I grew up in Atlanta,left home when I was 24, because
I married my husband and we'rein the military, so obviously we
were away from Atlanta so Inever got a chance to go back to
a class reunion.
So I never saw any of myclassmates for 40 years and I
always wanted to, but we wereeither out of state, out of
country, couldn't get there, orwhatever.
(07:44):
So we had just come back fromwherever and I told Bobby.
I said, look, we have got to goin some kind of way.
I hooked up with my best friendand some of the other class
members and all this kind ofstuff and they reached out to me
and they said, oh my God, peggyand Rob is oh, why, why, why,
why, why.
I said, oh, okay, and so theywant me to come.
(08:06):
They want me to do the.
Did I do the welcome somethingthey want me to do on program?
I said, yeah, you know what Imean.
I always participate.
So I went ahead and I ran intosome people who were the same as
they were in high school.
I thought they were six in themud then.
(08:27):
But the one thing that I alwaysenjoyed, as far as I can
remember, interacting withpeople I always had good
relationship.
I never had an issue withgetting along.
You never had that issue in mylife really so anyway.
So I was a basketball, I was anathlete, so one of my really
(08:48):
good friends, we all playedbasketball together and
everything we got to you know,ragging about how we used to get
in trouble with the coach orthis, that and the third.
I was always straight-laced andlook, we need to go to practice
, we need to be on time.
We only be sitting around heresmoking in the bathroom,
sniffing glue, all this stuff.
I was the coach.
Catch us, we ain't gonna beable to play.
And we had one particular girlthe best player on the team, as
(09:11):
a matter of fact, but she wasone of these people that just
was doing her own thing and shedid her own thing.
And I was constantly in themorning girl, come on, go to
class, go to home room, give methat glue, cause she sniffed
glue.
I mean, come on.
So you know all this stuff.
And I'd always talk to her andshe would always tell me stuff
(09:31):
and I'd always listen and tryand my thing as a 15, 16, 17
year old girl was like, come, dowhat you're supposed to do.
We need you on this team.
If you don't come and play,they gonna kill us.
Come, please.
So I was constantly trying totell her we were talking at the
classroom union.
And we just got talking aboutstuff and she asked me what I
(09:53):
was doing.
I said well, I just started mynon-profit and blah, blah, blah
told her about it.
She said oh my God.
She said Peggy, you know you'rethe same person now as you were
back in high school.
I said girl, what are youtalking about?
And she said you always listento me.
You always had a good word forme.
(10:14):
You were always doing stuff,you were always part of stuff.
And I said oh, okay.
I said you know, that was justme.
She said, and I loved you forthat.
She said, girl, you know, I gotinto a plenty of stuff To me.
That was so endearing.
(10:37):
My mind just went back to theSunday school days, whenever I
always had a speech.
I could always talk.
I always had my little speechand they would always call on me
in the fifth grade.
But in those stills no, tellAmericanos, honey, I learned how
to speak Spanish.
I was just always doing it.
I get so tickled now when Ithink about myself as a child,
(10:59):
even though I grew up very poor.
My mom and dad were hardworkingpeople, but those days were so.
They were hard but they were sogood.
It was like that, saying to go.
We were poor and I didn't knowit.
I had to take care of myyounger sisters and brothers.
I had to miss school, I had todo this or that.
Sometimes we didn't have allyou know like we wanted to just
(11:23):
eat, eat, eat.
We couldn't do that and wealways had a roof over our heads
.
My parents always worked, butwhen I think about those were
the best times of my life.
Being that older sister to myyounger siblings, I can remember
combing it.
I could always comb hair.
I knew how to.
I could sew, I could get alittle piece of fabric and I
(11:45):
learned how to pleat things andI could do everything.
When I was this little personCause my grandmother, I watched
people.
My grandmother taught me how todo a lot of stuff.
By the time I was seven oreight years old, I could cook
caught green fried chicken.
I could do all of this stuff.
(12:11):
By the time I got to be ateenager, I became an athlete,
so I participated in my.
I played basketball, volleyball,ran track and all that track
was my sport, but I played theother ones to stay in shape, and
so I had the opportunity.
When I was in high school Iwent to the outdoor nationals,
(12:32):
which led, you know, the trialsbefore the Olympics.
So I had the opportunity to dothat and but on the road to that
we would have to go, like um,during the summer and off-season
, and then when we participate,say for a state and city-wide
competition, we'd have to go tothe colleges.
(12:53):
So I had the opportunity tointeract with college athletes.
And so the summer that I wasable, before I went to the
outdoor nationals, I went tostay, stay, let them sell us
what nine, maybe 10th grade, uh,the city and state champions of
whatever your event was, yougot to go to Tennessee state I
(13:14):
don't know if you knew aboutthat's where the tiger bells,
the tiger bells was in.
That was either McGuire,walmetyre's, those sisters was
up there.
They were, you know, national,they were Olympians.
Rochelle (13:26):
A little bit of history here.
The Tennessee State UniversityTiger Bells and all black track
and field team were hailed bythe New York times as the
cathedral of women's track inthis country after their major
success of 23 medals at the 1960Olympics.
Led by famed track and fieldcoach Ed Temple, the team roster
(13:50):
included greats like EdithMcGuire, gold medalists in the
1964 Olympics, wyoming Tyus, thefirst athlete to win two
consecutive gold medals in the100 meter dash for the Tokyo and
Mexico city Olympics, and thegreat Wilma Rudolph, acclaimed
(14:11):
in the 1960s as the fastestwoman in the world and the first
American woman to win threegold medals in a single Olympic
games.
These great black Americanwomen and more came out of the
TSU athletic program.
Peggie (14:28):
That's where they went to college, at Coach Temple, the
worldwide.
I mean, I was just besidemyself and I was as poor as a
church mouse.
So when it came around for meto go out, the old Lord, so we
had to.
I had to travel from Atlanta toTennessee State College and mom
didn't have the money.
(14:48):
So my coaches, they say yougoing.
So the head coach and myimmediate coach, they got
together, they put me on a trainand I went up to Tennessee
State and I trained with let mesee, edith was, I think they
were maybe seniors in college atthat time, but they were still
(15:12):
on campus and they were Delta's.
I love Delta's, but anyway Ican, I can hear that song, that
Delta's singing a thing thereand whatever the hell that thing
was.
And they used to like play thiswater card game.
And of course, you know, wewere 14, 15, 16 year old girls
from high school.
These were college girls andthey ragged us, made us, you
(15:35):
know, go get the dinner.
You know some of them, and Ijust refused, I just couldn't do
it, I just didn't see it.
So they didn't bother me awhole lot.
Either McGuire went to the samehigh school that I did.
And so that first week of youknow, tennessee State is a
agriculture school We'd have torun up to here with a cow and
(16:02):
girl, five o'clock in themorning and I have a week some,
and I get halfway up the hilland I was ready to lose it.
So the second day I was readyto leave, so either said to me
uh-uh, no, ma'am, not from outyou.
We got the.
Uh, no, no, you can't do that.
(16:22):
I said yes, I can.
She said uh-uh.
She said what you gonna do?
You gonna stand up to the side,get yourself together.
And it was almost time becausewe went out at five o'clock and
worked till 10, went home eightand did all that and then we had
to go back out at three I think, because we were Olympian type
(16:44):
outdoor, we were national, soyou had to train like that.
So you know, eventually, youknow, along with the other girls
, I got my act together and Istayed there and we went to
Frederick, maryland, to competein the outdoor nationals, which
would have got us a spot to goto the next level, to go to the
(17:04):
Olympics.
It probably had to be 60.
I didn't make it because I gotthere, honey and run, you have
to in in uh sports, you have toknow there are different kinds
of track terrain that you run on.
So in Atlanta, of course youknow it wasn't the best.
And in with those track shoes.
(17:25):
If the surface is hard, the thespike will stay, but if it's
soft it'll go down in there.
And I got developed what youcall a shin splints, which means
the front of my legs will justmess up.
So by the time I got there andgot ready to compete, I competed
but I didn't place because mylegs were so sore.
(17:47):
But I thought I'm doing this, Idon't care what.
So I went ahead and I competedbut I did not place so I could
go on to the next level, to theOlympics.
So that was a greataccomplishment.
I loved it.
I mean, it was just awesome.
You know that I got chance todo that.
Had I been able to go on to theOlympics, I don't think I could
(18:09):
have been any more excited.
And I had all of my trophies,all of my little medals.
Can I tell you what happened tothem?
I want to do what I need to sayyeah, I do.
Yeah.
Man, my first husband messedthrough my stuff.
I don't know what he did withmy little mind.
(18:33):
I had my newspaper clipings andmy medal.
I don't know what he did withmy stuff.
Rochelle (18:43):
I consider Ms Peggy to be a historian, the keeper of
the stories and the memories.
Every year in her local artscouncil that operates more like
an art gallery, she hosts aninteractive black history space
that connects the current blackachievements all the way back to
significant events, people andhistory in her region and
(19:06):
community.
It's a big deal, but in all thetime I've known her I didn't
know she'd been married toanyone else other than the love
of her life, mr Bobby, and we'llhear more about him later.
I asked her to tell me abouther first marriage, yeah.
Peggie (19:25):
I was married for five years.
I married him at 18, right outof high school.
Now I was losing fast and gotpregnant on prom night.
So you know, back then it waslike you have to get married.
Rochelle (19:40):
I got to know, because that is something you only see
in the movies.
Peggie (19:44):
Yeah, I mean, it happened to me, tony.
Tony, where are you?
My old son, tony is the result.
Yeah.
Rochelle (19:51):
So you have this track runner, you have this like
track star because you werealmost like heading to the
Olympic Right and then on promnight you get pregnant.
Peggie (20:01):
Prom night I got pregnant.
I was pregnant on prom nightbecause that was other nights,
but I'm saying it was prom night.
When I try, you know you try tocount it back.
Rochelle (20:09):
I asked Miss Peggy how her community, her family, her
coaches reacted.
Peggie (20:17):
Well, okay, so I'll start with my teachers.
Because I was an athlete, I wasa good student, I was like a
good Samaritan.
I, you know, I didn't get introuble.
I was always a participant, Iwas always.
I was just that person, justbecause that's who God made me.
So I was that person and my.
I never forget Miss Beals.
(20:38):
She's gone on to Bob Blueyonder, but anyway, miss Beals
just always say, hey, you needto stop messing with that, that
little blank blank.
You just need to stop it.
She didn't like him.
And then I had another one ofmy teachers told me Girl, I'm
(20:59):
gonna tell you you're throwingyour life away messing with him.
Sure did, they told me.
But of course I didn't listen.
Whenever we graduate, of coursewe all graduate.
He was the athlete as well.
He could sing.
He's a spent in the image ofTony, a tone just been in the
image of him.
Could sing, great athlete, nota good person as far as self
(21:24):
esteem and all that.
I didn't know that at the time.
I mean, I had to be sign for itto peak that out.
But you know high schoolsweethearts and all this kind of
good stuff.
And then whenever I told my mom,I can't remember how I told,
because I was always believing,you know, say it, girl.
So I went here and told my momI said, you know, I'm pregnant.
(21:45):
And she said, you know, backthen old school, where y'all
gonna get married.
And yes, ma'am, so and I, youknow, we, in that space of time,
in that relationship, as far asfeelings, I cared for him, he
(22:06):
cared for me, so, so gettingmarried to him was no, there was
no pressure, no push, you know,or I want you know, it wasn't
any of that.
So at that moment I knew I hadto give up.
I had to give up going tocollege, I had to give up going
to either Tuskegee Institute orTennessee State.
So I took it in stride becausethere was no such thing as you
(22:31):
know, abortion.
I don't even know if it came, Idon't even know if it came, I
don't even know if I knew whatabortion was.
But I don't know.
Because, you know, in thattimeframe that just wasn't
something.
It happened but it wasn't part.
And I had, oh, cut my skaterink.
But some girls had abortionlike this, most it was, but it
(22:52):
just wasn't something that I,that was part of my thinking, I
guess.
So that was never in my thoughtprocess at that point in my
life.
So we went ahead and we gotmarried right.
My daddy didn't even come tothe wedding and it was right at
my mama's house.
We got right married right inmy dad and my mama's living room
and my daddy set across thestreet because he didn't like my
(23:14):
, he didn't like him either.
I had this big old white dress.
Oh, I'm always on my life, I'vealways loved clothes and
dressing up and I thought, well,if I'm gonna get married, I'm
gonna be one of them.
Big old dressing.
So, sure enough, I had this bigold, pretty white dress.
I was working at the park as apark aid so I had a little money
(23:38):
.
I could buy some snacks andmama bought my cake and I fixed
a little food and six mama'shouse up, decorate with some
little stuff Did the whole nineyards.
I got married and then shortlyafter and while I was already
pregnant, so of course I hadstepped my mom so he went into
(23:59):
the army and of course he gotdrafted.
So draft was two and a halfyears, I believe, and he got
stationed in Alabama somewhere.
So by the time Tony was born hehad been in the military, I
guess a year, a little over ayear, and he was gone for two
and a half years.
(24:20):
He came back and we just neverhit it off because he was not a
person that wanted to do a wholelot in life and I've always
been.
You know, like Dr Fraser Iwanted to have something.
I like to work, I always work,because I saw a working at 14.
So I always worked and that wasnot one of his characteristics.
He just was not a worker.
(24:42):
And so after he got back, aftera couple of years, it was like,
see you, by the time he got backI had saved a little money and
we got an apartment and all thiskind of good stuff and we
stayed together maybe a coupleof years.
And when I saw that he didn'twant to do what a man's supposed
(25:05):
to do in a marriage becauseI've always, I guess, had a
mature outlook not that I wasall that much, but I always had
an outlook or a sense of what arelationship or a family should
be, you know, because my mom anddad were married.
They went to work, they raisedthe children, they had a home,
they paid the bills, they boughtthem you know that.
So he didn't want to do thatand after about two years I said
(25:29):
, okay, this is it.
I gave up the apartment.
We had a few skirmishes inbetween, but I gave up the
apartment, saved my mom a littlebit, got back out on my own
because I was like, let's see,so I had to be 21 maybe, yeah,
yeah.
Rochelle (25:50):
So, at 21, Peggy was a divorced single mom with two
young children, Tony and Tonya.
She was living on her own andbegan a career climb from park
attendant to working at thebowling alley, then a telephone
operator for Southern Bell andfinally all the way to an
(26:12):
accounting associate.
Peggie (26:15):
But by then this first husband is gone, I'm on my own.
And then that's when Biblecomes into the picture, because
I was only 24 when I met him.
Okay, june 1974, let's get iton, marvin Gaye, Just put that
(26:37):
record out.
That was our anthem.
When we met.
It was in June of 1974, he washome, on a leaf.
Obviously, he was in themilitary and I lived in this
high rise apartment building andmy neighbor across the hall was
dating Bobby's brother.
(26:58):
So see, she and I went I guesswe were out shopping or whatever
and both of us were like I wasalways thin when I was, and she
was thinner than me, I probablyweighed a 105 and she probably
weighed 100 pounds.
And we stopped at this placeand we bought a watermelon.
To us.
It looked like it was this bigand that wide, so the guy had
(27:20):
put the watermelon in the backof her car.
So we get back home now.
This high rise.
You had to walk up about fouror five, because it was
literally five or six stories upand you had to walk a level way
.
Then you had to walk all thesestairs.
So she and I pulled up in theparking lot and at the same
moment.
We looked at each other and shesaid I'm paying you.
(27:43):
How are we gonna get this water?
I said, honey, I don't know.
And she said, so we get all ofour other stuff out, took it on
up the stairs and then we.
So we decided that we weregonna, you know, get on each
side of it and I thought, well,suppose we drop this woman.
So she said girl, I don't know.
So by the time we stand inthere going back and forth, we
(28:05):
see this nice blue car pull up,and so she starts grinning.
So what you have to know, hername was Barbara.
Barbara was a matchmaker.
And she started with this bigold grin.
I said girl, where did youlaugh?
Cause I hadn't even.
I saw the car out this cornerof my eye, but I didn't pay that
much attention to it.
So she saw this big old grinand she said I know how we're
(28:29):
gonna get this water mill up.
I said okay.
I said good.
I said, cause we're not gonnabe even two of us.
I don't think we could havecared, and so, anyway.
So here comes this guy, so I'mcatching this out of the corner
of my eye, and she said hey,baby.
And he said hey.
And so I turned around andlooked and there's this big old
(28:49):
250 pound yellow dude with anafro.
And so I said he oughta be ableto take this water mill up the
stair.
So he said, you know, he kindof nodded at me like that and I
said hey.
And so she said blabber, weneed to get this water mill up
(29:11):
the stairs.
So he said, oh, okay, all right.
And he was asking her.
He said where's, where's mybrother called?
And so she said, oh, he hasn'tgotten over here yet, but he
should be over here for a while.
So he said, oh, okay.
And he said, well, okay, I'lltake the water mill on up for
you.
So he grabs the water mill andwe all go on all up all these
(29:34):
stairs.
So when we get up to, okay.
So our apartments were like thisshe lived on this side of the
hall, I live on that side of thehall, and so I said, well,
because we had already agreedthat she was going to cut it and
I was going to take half, andshe was going to take half, but
she was going to cut it.
So when we get to the apartment, she says to, so I got my door
(29:59):
open first and she says see, I'mtaking it into, put it in.
And I said I said, barbara, Ithought you were going to take
it.
And she said, nah, nah, so shewas acting like she couldn't get
her door open.
So I said, okay, so anyway, we,he brings the water mill in the
end, sits it down on the table,and she was.
(30:22):
So I hear her door go bam.
And so I mean I'm always a fullthinking, I'm thinking that why
, she closed that door and thisman over here in my apartment,
and so I'm just standing in.
So he said, just as friendly andnice as he can be, he said do
(30:43):
you want me to cut that for you?
And I said, well, barbara saidshe was going to cut it, and you
know, so I don't.
I said, well, yes.
So he said, well, I'll cut itand I'll take her half over
there to her.
And then I said, well, okay.
So he went ahead, he cut thewatermelon and, uh, he took her
(31:04):
half on over there to her, andso I had to, you know, and I
thought, well, don't go, it washuge.
So then I hear a knock on mydoor and it was barbering.
She came back over there andshe said I'll pay you what you
gonna do with your water.
You gonna cut it up.
You know, making out a smalltalk.
I said, well, yeah, I'm gonnacut it.
(31:24):
And she said, well, won't youlet him cut?
She said, cause he had to cutmine in half and so she's, you
know, won't you let him cut?
Or something like that.
And so I said, okay, bam, sheleft again.
I'm thinking about this guy, I'mlost, I'm mad.
And so by now I don't know whatconversation they had while he
(31:45):
took the watermelon over thereto her house.
So he said that's some goodlooking watermelon, can I have a
piece?
I thought, well, am I gonnagive you a piece of that?
So I'm just thinking, you know.
I said, yeah, sure you can havea piece.
So he sat down.
He ate almost that half of that, what?
(32:05):
I think that's a choking creed.
And he sat there and he causehe was friendly and outgoing, we
just got started to talking andjust talking.
Now, remember, he's a militaryman, all military men have
cameras.
So he had this nice Nikoncamera, all this and he had it
(32:26):
swinging, you know, off hisshoulder and stuff, had all this
nice Nikon camera thing.
So he said, do you mind if Itake your picture?
And I thought yeah, and so heand he got to clicking this.
Jockel must have took 999pictures of me that evening and
he sat there and we talked andwe talked.
(32:46):
We just hit it off and justtalked, and so pretty soon he
left and then the next day hecame back.
But I'm trying to, I stillcan't put it in my mind.
I was like I must have beenworking and he must have been
coming in the evening time, Iguess.
So anyway, the next night Iwent to Bob.
I said Bob, why you leaveCarlson's brother over there?
(33:06):
And she said, girl, he in themilitary.
And she said I think he likeyou.
I said, yo, how he gonna likeme?
And he don't even know me.
He just saw me and she said mm,honey, he like.
So he shows back up and he hadthis camera and he walked in and
just snaps, snaps, snaps.
(33:27):
And so I thought stop, I canhop those pictures.
And he said I just like to takeyour picture.
And we talked and laughed andtalked and then he ended up back
over there again, asked meabout the watermelon again, and
then the next night he said wewent out to dinner.
We went out to dinner and thenwe just get to talking and then,
(33:50):
you know, over time.
So he said that was when he toldme he was home for one month.
I was 24, he was 30, five years, 12 years old, so he's 36.
At that point and I thought,wow, this man is old, oh man.
(34:13):
So I thought, oh my God.
And then he said he had been inthe military.
At that time, I know I canremember he was a Texan and I
thought, wow, that was a goodrank, you know, at that point.
And so I thought, ok, and hetold me that he had his next
assignment.
(34:34):
Station was Thailand.
He had to go to Thailand.
And I said, ok, so then everyday for the next couple of weeks
he was there.
You know, we would go out, wewould do things, and I think
maybe by that second week, youknow, we kissing all that.
(34:55):
And then, of course, I gave upthe goods by the time.
Ha, ha, ha, ha ha.
So during that time frame,marvin Gaye's let's Get it On.
So it was so appropriate.
So it was the thing about him.
(35:16):
He was just, he was like, justlike an old shoe, he just fit.
You know what I'm saying.
He would come because he was aeater.
Well, I weighed 105 pounds, soobviously I didn't eat a whole
lot.
And Tony and Tony, you know,there would be here and there
Sometime, it would be over mymama's house or whatever, and so
he would come over and he wouldcook all this food.
(35:36):
I'm thinking Tony, honey, thatwas right down his alley.
And Tony, when he said I likehim, he always help, he always
cooked food.
I mean, he would go to thatcommissary and his mama was a
chef so she always had food andhe'd always, you know, go bring
all this food.
So he told me about two or threedays in he said you have no
(35:58):
food in your refrigerator.
And he always told his lie thatI had a piece of fat back in
the freezer and it was full ofice and that was all I had in my
refrigerator.
I said, well, stop it.
But anyway, he would go and buyall this food from the
commissary, go to his mama'shouse, raise her refrigerator
and all that stuff.
So from that point, from theday that he and the joke was his
(36:20):
brother, you'd have to know him.
He said the joke was he spreadout through the family.
Yeah, but when it went in pigsapartment to that watermelon he
didn't come out for a wholethree weeks.
I said that's a lie.
Rochelle (36:34):
And so began a love story.
Oh, it's just getting good.
Be sure to come back next weekfor part two.
Deep gratitude to Miss Peggyfor her time and her stories.
The Tell Her this podcast wascreated by Rachelle Rice with
(36:55):
funding from the Next LookArtist Residency.
For more Tell Her this content,please visit
tellherthespodcastcom and followon social media at Tell Her
this podcast.
Please share this episode witha friend and leave a rating or
review.
If you have a story to shareand would like to be considered
(37:16):
for an episode, or if you justwant to reach out with some
feedback, please email me attellherthespodcastatgmailcom.
I would love to hear from you.
This episode includes music byMaya Rogers, editing and sound
design by Rachelle Rice, mixingand editing by Ray Jalla, and I
(37:40):
am your host, rachelle Rice, andyou can find me at Rachelle
Rice Music across all socialplatforms.
Until next time, be true and bewell.
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