Tishi: Refugee, Immigrant, Mother

Enter Mrs. Warner, my fantasy mom. She lived across the street and was friends with my mother. Her son Stevie was right between my brother’s age and mine, so he played with both of us. Mrs. Warner was tall, blue eyed and had strawberry blonde hair like the comic strip character Brenda Starr. She always wore pink lipstick and colorful, fluffy, but tight fitting dresses over her curves. She had the sweetest voice with just a hint of a Southern drawl. I was tall for my age, greenish-blue eyed and blonde. I even had a hint of strawberry color in my hair (I hoped), and I believed that Joanie Warner looked and sounded more like what someone who was my mother should look and sound like.