Mom had her own beauty shop in the front of the house. Since she was her own boss she could check on us frequently between customers when we were little. At one point I think she thought she would experiment with getting someone in to watch us a bit more closely. That’s how we came to know Inge. She was the German wife of one of my dad’s co-workers. Even though I could be an ornery kid I have nothing but fond memories of her. She was pretty with long dark hair. Her English was good albeit with a very charming accent.

She would sit in the living room and knit among other things. One day, when I saw blue yarn taking shape into mittens I asked her who they were for. She said, “Oh, they are for some children I know.” That answer satisfied me and it honestly surprised me to find, come Christmas morning, that the children were my little sister and I.

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