I met Lennie Miller through a mutual friend around 1989.  We all had coffee  together at a little deli , and she didn't say much so I didn't learn much about her.  But I knew right away she was a nice person.  She left an impression on me with her smile , and her politeness.  That, and she's a pretty cute little old gal, too.

The years went by, and we all went our separate ways, when I saw Lennie working at a Meijers store near where I live.  I stopped to say "Hi", and she remembered me, too.  Every time I saw her I took the time to stop, and it became something we both looked forward to.  We talked about getting together for a cup of coffee , but for a while it was just talk.   I always intended to make the time to do it.

Christmas 0f 1997 came around, and I decided on a whim to send Lennie a Christmas card.  Little did I know that it would win me a wonderful new friend.  I didn't know that Lennie had a fiance who died in 1993, and that she had never completely gotten over him.  I didn't know that she  was a diabetic, who progressed from taking oral medication to taking insulin shots by June of 1998.  One day she  asked me , again , to call her.  So I did , one sunny afternoon , and we talked for a while.   I didn't keep her long , as she was waiting to hear from her mother's physician in regard to a medical examination.  I knew she had better things to do.  But the very next day I received a call back from her.  She was in the hospital , and needed a little company.

I went to the hospital after work, with flowers and a card.  I had no idea how sick she was, or what we would talk about.  We never really talked for very long , and we were mere acquaintances.  But I went, and I'm glad I did.

Looking back, now, it seems like I sat down next to her bed and we became instant friends.  We talked like we'd known each other for years.  There was no problem finding things to talk about, because we have so much in common.  We both listen to the Blues, we both have an incredible bond with our mothers and fathers, and we both see the world through a special pair of rose colored glasses.  We're  what you would call optimistic realists ... perfectly aware of the realities of life, but in love with the beauty of it all the same.  Our lives changed , that night , in a wonderful way.
 

  Wing and Bear.

Lennie's fiance, Herman, died in 1993.  She hasn't become close to someone new since then.  And I suppose I was more lonely than I knew, because our friendship washed over us like sunlight in the morning.   We began going to movies , cooking big meals , and going to the lake together.  We talked, walked, laughed, and cried together.  Lennie did a lot of crying, because the first several months on insulin are hard.  Being a diabetic is no walk in the park, and I'm glad I could be her rock when she needed one.  She even taught me how to test her blood sugar level, and give her insulin shots.  Now, that's trust.

  

Wing, Bear and Mom.

Lennie even likes Waylon Jennings.  I let her listen to some Waylon music, and sang some songs to her, and she liked it so much I gave her some tapes.  We share  a love of  Blues, R&B, poetry and now ... Waylon.  Being a photographer, I was able to take some nice pictures of Lennie, some of which she used in her Christmas cards this past year.  It made me proud when this picture caught the attention of her friends and relatives, who called her from as far away as Detroit, Georgia and Mississippi :

I call her "Little Wing", as she's all of 4'10" tall.  She's named after the Jimmi  Hendrix song.  She calls me "Teddy Bear", because she says I'm sweet as a big 'ol Teddy Bear.  What can I say ?  I am.
 

"Well she's walking through the clouds
With a circus mind that's running round
Butterflies and zebras
And moonbeams and fairy tales
That's all she ever thinks about
Riding with the wind.

When I'm sad. she comes to me
With a thousand smiles, she gives to me free
It's alright she says it's alright
Take anything you want from me, anything
Anything.

Fly on little wing,
Yeah, yeah, yeah, little wing."

- Jimmi Hendrix
 
 

A drawing I did of Lennie : 
 

To see more of my drawings, go to my Art Gallery.