Miami Mama

When my mother was a teenager, she used to spend her summers in Miami Beach. She and her friend Pauline would rent a room for $15 a month but had little money left after that. Every night they'd hitchhike back and forth across the bridge until they'd find someone to buy them dinner. One night, two Mafia guys picked them up, took them to dinner and invited them to order anything on the menu. Pauline always ordered the most expensive thing, but my mother, regardless of the offer, always felt funny about it and ordered the cheapest dish. After dinner, the gentlemen asked Pauline and my mother if they wanted jobs and could they turn around and show their backsides (clothed). They complied and were hired on the spot. They spent that summer cocktail waitressing at a Mafia joint. My mother was pretty naive back then, but the girls were well paid and no one asked for any "special favors." She never saw anything unusual so it all worked out well. Mom had a thing for Italian guys, and she admits that she liked them on the tough side. One such boy would sneak into her room each night and they would kiss. He'd end their time together the same way each night. "You’re not my type," he’d announce, and then he’d walk out. My mother didn’t care, she just liked the kissing andnd it continued that way for some time. He'd climb through her window, they'd neck a while, he'd tell her she wasn’t his type, and leave. Then one night he came in and said to her, "I've gotten used to you!" So they kissed some more, but, of course, eventually parted ways. He wasn't her type, after all.

This photo was taken that summer. She was 17 and hated having her picture taken even more than I do. You suppose it's genetic or somthin'? You must click this one to see it large.