You don’t mess with The Maxine!

When it came to us girls and men, Mom was a little on the weird side. If guys called they had to go through the gauntlet to get anything out of her; and usually they didn’t. Sometimes she’d simply tell them not to bother us! If she liked them, she liked them—if not, everybody knew it. She was protective of her girls — a lioness with her cubs.

There was a stalker/peeper in the neighborhood. Sadly, Mom was friends with his wife, a quiet, sweet woman.

When Mom found out, she was in a rage (she raged within).

The showdown came one afternoon. The stalker/peeper knew our bus routines, and we knew where he’d be. Mom had a plan. It was a typical Maxine moment.

She sat in the car (one of us drove her to the point) until the moment we knew he’d be coming round in his car, then rapidly leaping out of our car she darted out to meet him head on.

Planted in the middle of the street as he came driving up, she stood there arms akimbo and stared him down. Then, shaking her finger, she warned him in no uncertain terms.

He stayed away. They moved away.

“Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you!” Isaiah 49:15