Her name was Doris Mae, and she was one of the smartest, quickest, hardest working women west of the Mississippi. Not "school smart" mind you as the Great Depression intervened in her life and forced her to quit before she finished high school. But "street smart" if that term can be applied to someone who spent most of her life in the small river town of Red Wing, MN.
Everyone in Red Wing knew her simply as Doris. And she knew almost everyone not only by their name, but all their siblings, and their family history as well. Her memory and recall were nothing short of phenomenal even into her eighties, and she could tell you who lived in what house and for how long and she could list the prior occupants of that house back to the beginning of time.
Once when the newspaper computers went down, Doris who had coordinated the carriers routes for years was called upon to reconstruct all the routes from memory. Instead of calling the fire Department to locate an address, people called Doris. She was Red Wing "Central" and as such a living historical almanac for the city of Red Wing. She was also the proverbial Phineas Fogg, with the fierce urge to wander. But life conspired against her and while she was never able to fully satisfy that urge through travel, she was a voracious reader, and continued to live vicariously through the books she read until her death.
Doris had taught us that there is a lot more in life than just material goods, and that anything is possible if you believe in yourself and follow your dreams. As we pondered a name for our Airstream, we could think of no more appropriate name than Doris Mae. Now Doris Mae is on the road with us.
Godspeed Doris Mae
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