Ugly Sue

Ugly Sue or Smelly Sue as the kids used to call her, Lived in a cardboard box under the bridge at Fairfield. Some said she was 100 years old and she had Leprosy. When I was a kid the others used to dare each other. You had to run up to Ugly Sue and pull her hair. Any kid who wanted to make a name for himself would run up to her and kiss her on the lips. I remember watching how they treated Ugly Sue, At the time I just wondered what she was really like. As a teenager I started to see things differently. I was in town to see a movie and I had to walk passed Ugly Sueon the way. She called out to me asking for money. I gave her a few dollars and I don’t know why but I decided to sit down next to her and talk. “So Miss Suecan I talk to you ?” I said shyly. She didn’t answer at first . She just light a cigarette and smiled. “ You gunna pull my hair. You little rascal?” “No never.” I answered quickly. She laughed and spoke again. “You know kid. I’ve seen you before. Ya see I used to be a School Teacher oh a while back. I saw you when you was in Primary School. Then later I noticed You were different. You never teased me like them other kids did. I got the ‘Frenia’. I lost my house and my husband left me. Still the Sun shines on me like it always did. That shiny old moon don’t tease me none. No sir. We’ve had some long conversations over the years. You know what I learned. I learned that you got to be like a butterfly. You got to keep movin’ an see beautiful flowers everywhere. Don’t waste your time with teasing cause it ain’t good. Just treat people with kindness and kindness will come back to you.” She went back into her cardboard box and rested. I didn’t go to the movies that day but I think I learned something worthwhile for the first time in my life.