An Even Exchange

          When I met Ruth she was living in a boarding house in a predominantly Black neighborhood.

          The other ethnic group was a scattering of undocumented Latinos. I knew right away why she was there.

          Ruth approached me when I smiled and returned her greeting at the market.

          She was not well received by the people who lived in the neighborhood because they too knew why she was there.

          Ruth was a very pale skinned, red headed, 5’8” inches tall, white woman, weighing over 300 pounds.

          Ruth frequented my home because I was never unkind to her while some in the neighborhood were.

          Ruth asked me one day why she was ignored by some where we lived and looked at resentfully by others. So I told her. She was quiet for a while before she responded.

          “How do they think I might feel?”  She blurted out resentfully. “What if I don’t even like black men?  If I don’t want to be alone what choice do I have?  White men don’t like fat women – they hate us!  Black men – covet the ‘Forbidden Fruit’; the white skin. They aren’t concerned that much about our looks. So, yes! I live where I live making myself available to Black men. I want to be wanted, for whatever reason!”

          Ruth gave me a different perspective. I can understand wanting to be wanted.

          Ruth ended up marrying a 5’4” Mexican man who weighed about 125 pounds, looked like a boy with a man’s face, and was undocumented. She knew, and possibly offered him his citizenship in exchange for marriage.

          They both got what they wanted. All ends well.

Lora Harrington Pride  7/17/26