NO NO (Norah)

I got the idea for this blog from a book that I have almost finished. "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett, could almost be a biography of my early years. Some of you know that I was born and grew up in the South (Tennessee). Hitler invaded Poland when I was 6 months old. The Civil War had been over for 75 years, but there were remnants of segregation all over the USA (not limited to the South). Because of that, black people were at the bottom of the job chain. A lot of black women found work as maids. Maids came in two categories, day and full time. Full time meant that they lived on site. Full time maids wore white uniforms, as a rule, at least out in public. A white uniform on a black woman with a white child in tow would get her into a lot of places that she would not ordinarily go.

Exactly when NO NO came to live with us is beyond my memory, but I expect it was while I was still a baby in arms. Our house was separated by about 10 yards from "the little house", a two room affair attached to our single garage. The small house was fitted with gas heat and electricity. It was NO NO's home. During the day, she took care of our house, and mostly she was my nanny. I was her full time charge, but my mother took care of a lot of the household duties. I never recall NO NO cooking or serving meals. She did wash and iron clothes, but I think she had me as her main duty. The rest was secondary.

Why NO NO? It was all I could get out of my mouth in early talking efforts, and it stuck. In effect, I renamed Norah. I know that she had at least a sister, but I recall no history of a marriage or children for NO NO. She had a family name, but I have forgotten this and likely never heard it more than once or twice. She was such a great part of my daily life that I always considered her as family. Unlike some in "The Help", my parents treated her as a valuable member of the household. I have no clue as to her salary, but she had a place to live, which I learned later was a nicer spot than a lot of her friend's. She had at least a Sunday off, and her schedule could be flexible. She worked only nights when my parents were gone. I learned a lot about many things from NO NO. Early on, she taught me about race. The "N" word was not used in our household. She was called by her name, and others were called "colored". I remember being in a car somewhere with my mother and NO NO, and for some reason race came up. NO NO explained me that God made all people but some were different colors. She always preferred to think of her self as a Negro. That was a lot for a 3 or so year old to soak up, but it was the first word that I learned to spell. I knew that her skin was black but she was still NO NO to me.

On occasion, we would travel down into Alabama or to Memphis to see grandparents. NO NO was always with us. I wish that I could know where she slept, bathed, or went to the bathroom at those places. My grandmothers both had maids but not full time. I can only imagine that NO NO stayed with these women. Once, in Memphis, NO NO took me to the municipal swimming pool not far from my grandmother's house. I strolled off and jumped into the deep end of the pool. NO NO began to scream for help, as I sunk. Not being happy with the response from onlookers, she jumped into the pool, white uniform and all, to fish me out. Now, a black woman in Memphis, Tennessee in the 1940s, jumping into a whites only public pool was out of the ordinary. Years later, she would pull up her skirt to show her knees. "See them white scars on my black skin? That is from pulling you out of that water". Regardless, I am here to tell the tale. My first nickname was also a thing from NO NO. While in Alabama at my other grandmother's house, I came out the back door one morning crunching on something. NO NO was already in the yard and thought I had a piece of toast in there. UNTIL, she saw two legs slip through my lips. She fished out a June bug, and for her, I always answered to "June Bug".

As I mentioned, NO NO had at least one sister. The first time that I remember her was in her house which was also some sort of black woman's beauty parlor. For a small child, the view of a black woman having her hair done with a curling iron heated to sizzling over a coal stove was impressive. NO NO's sister had a boy my age named Robert. Sometimes, Robert would come to see her, and we would explore the small world of our back yard and vacant lot. When it came time for Robert and I to go to school, our ways parted. That was the way it was then. I wonder what happened to Robert? In later years, NO NO went to live in retirement with her sister. Even when in college, it was a Christmas time visit yearly that we took NO NO her gift there. Usually, a 10$ bill. Often that would buy her a ton of coal for her winter. One of those years, my mom told me that this year we would not go. NO NO had died. How old? I do not know, but I remember her gray hair. My mother never had across word to or about NO NO.They were partners more than employer-employee.

Random memories: I can remember that it was a joke in our house that NO NO would rock me to sleep even after I was almost tall enough to drag the floor with my feet. I remember NO NO as a snuff user. Did you know that a finger in her mouth with it applied to a bee sting is curative? As in the book, there was a network of maids who cared for children together. I remember my sandpile sweetheart from down the street had a nanny named Jessie. NO NO taught me by listening to speak in "Dialy" (dialect). This stood me well when in the 5th grade, my teacher (whose father had been in the KKK) praised my recitation of an Uncle Remus story in class

There is no doubt in my mind that NO NO loved me, as if I was her own. Our skins were different, but I don't think for a minute that we thought about that. Times change. Sometimes for the best. I do think that I had something that others will never have. Right or wrong, it was good for me, and I think it was good for NO NO.

I loved "The Help". The author's web site is informative also.