MAMA FANNIE

I was lucky to have 3 grandmothers. Two biological and one step grandmother. This is about my father's mother, fondly known as Mama Fannie.



Mama Fannie in 1964 with "Mama Fannie's precious," me.

She was and always will be my bench mark for a lady. Frances Euphemia Givens was born of Irish, Scotch and English decent, fairly evenly split. She had the prettiest red hair I have ever seen but perhaps I am prejudice.

Francis married a man named Charles who cared for her quite well financially and gave her three children, one died in infancy. That was all he gave her though for he was a cold man who was an open philanderer. He ran a very profitable Cuban cigar factory in Key West and as much as she was a lady, he was just that much of a louse.

Once they were to attend a grand ball. Frances had very long hair and the style of that day involved piling it high on a persons head in an elaborate fashion with jeweled combs and clips. Since it was a well attended ball, the local beauticians were back logged. In those days, the beauticians came to your house and Francis' appointment was for the day before the ball.

That meant she had to sleep in a straight backed chair all night so as not to mess up her hair. Her housekeeper had to spend the night with her to poke her if she appeared about to topple off the chair. The next afternoon, quite drained, she dressed in a lovely new green satin gown she was oh so proud of and broke out the family jewelry. When she was all dressed and ready to go out the door, she asked her husband shyly how she looked.

He looked her up and down and then spoke. She was hoping for, “You look lovely my dear” in southern gentleman fashion. Instead he growled, “You look like a great-big-glittering-turd.” So much for class.

We kids loved that story and made her tell it to our friends which she always did with a twinkle in her eye and soft chuckles. More than enough time had passed so that she enjoyed the humor and the pain was long forgotten. We just loved to hear such a proper lady say the word “turd” which always brought a flush to her cheeks.

My grandfather Charles whom I never met (no loss), died when my father was in college. He died of well earned syphilis which was fatal in those pre-penicillin days. Francis remained a widow till she died almost 50 years later. Somehow I feel that she had such a bad marriage, she just had no desire to try again.

On thing that always stood out in my memory was that Mama Fannie was always ready and presentable. Whenever she stepped out of her bedroom in the morning, she was coiffed, tastefully made up and girdled. To the contrary, I am content to walk around for hours in a torn T, floppy slippers and bad bed hair. Think I fell pretty far from the tree.

Her main claim to fame besides her family, was that she once accepted rent checks from Ernest Hemingway. He rented the second floor of her house while his home was being renovated in Key West.

She said when he left, it took two dump trucks to haul off the bottles. She really regretted not saving a few of them as they were mostly demijohns and would be valuable years later and more so with Mr. Hemingway's DNA being on them.

Not sure which one looked like his but this is a sampling of the type of bottle a demijohn is.

Mama Fannie was always my idea of what a proper, gentile southern lady should be--- if you ignored that “turd” telling. She was a great role model but she was also my staunchest supporter. I could do no wrong in her eyes. They few times in her opinion I did wrong, she would gently bribe me back on the right path. Everyone needs someone like that in their corner. It is easier to stand tall if there is a safe place to rest your heart when you fail.

I miss you Mama Fannie.