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- Story Listed as: Fiction For Adults
- Theme: Drama / Human Interest
- Subject: Inspirational / Uplifting
- Published: 09/01/2022
The Woman of Substance
Born 1947, M, from Germantown/Ohio, United States“She was wearing a white dress. She appeared like an angel. Out of this filthy mess, she is alone. They... cannot... touch... her.” ….. Travis Bickel’s inspired words from Taxi Driver upon encountering Betsy.
At first glimpse of her my eyes suddenly captured a magnificence similar to that which stunned Travis Bickel. She was a conquering, walking, embodiment of perfection cast against a background of suddenly blurred insignificance.
From that moment forward she captured my every attention and thought. I was assigned to cover her for my paper, the Charlotte Chronicle, but just new to town, I was unfamiliar with her ….. until this moment. It would require all my professional instincts and training to calmly recenter myself to my journalist’s duties.
Even just her name could reduce the strongest and most brutal of men to her passive, obedient servants ….. Magnolia Summerset.
Magnolia, preferring Ms. Summerset, was to address a large gathering of the city’s most revered, influential, and powerful to advance the notions of contribution to her worthy cause ….. a shelter for women experiencing abuse and needing assistance and protection. The Charlotte shelter was almost established, and she was thanking the community for their support and requesting donations for initial operations.
Her captivating speech was magnificent, mesmerizing the crowd and drawing great attention ….. and yes ….. further donations.
As she exited from her masterful oratory, I attempted to get her attention for an interview. The literal wall of attention providers made that effort quite impossible as she was well out of reach, and I saw her swallowed quickly by a large black limousine.
Somewhat disappointed, I started walking away, but I was approached by a woman, with a somewhat pleasant smile who was wondering if I had anything for Ms. Summerset.
She asked: “Hey, I saw you trying to catch Magnolia. I am her assistant, January. Can I help you?
January clumsily carried a traditional, sizeable logbook, leafed through the book but could find nothing for a couple of weeks. We set an appointment for two weeks out. A quaint moment with a logbook.
So, before my scheduled meeting with Magnolia, I decided to do some research on the “Summerset Women’s Shelters” that Magnolia so well represented. The shelters had apparently provided almost countless women shelter and protection across the southeast United States and continued to expand. They typically took six months to develop a shelter in a location. Magnolia would work tirelessly collaborating with local community leaders, so they understood the value of the shelter and would help with donations to build and staff the shelter. After a month or so of successful operation, Magnolia and the staff would move on to another location to establish another shelter.
They had been in Charlotte for a little over five months now and were preparing to move on to their first northern location in Baltimore.
I was astonished at the phenomenal success of the shelters. Many testimonials from sheltered women and their families, community leaders, and others. Sure there was the occasional, predictable loony-tune comment, but not very many.
And so I started writing my piece for the paper titled ….. “The Woman of Substance.” ….. My deadline was in a week, so I needed to publish before my interview of Magnolia two weeks away.
My research provided ample information to explain Magnolia’s great deeds and contributions to many communities across the southeast. Statements from governors, congressmen, mayors, city councils, citizens and, in particular, the many women who had benefitted from her great work.
I sat in wonder about what dedication and commitment it required to perform at such an incredibly successful level.
But my time was growing short. My deadline was in two days, and I needed to review, cleanup, and do my final edits. The article felt rushed and somewhat incomplete, but deadlines are deadlines. That was the common experience anyway. Our editor needed my completed work two days before publication ….. so off it went.
But could this story possibly be true? It sounded too surreal and scripted. In my experience I had never met the perfect person. Was this to be my first encounter?
So, I started to dig deeper into her present and past. Who would name their daughter Magnolia? The name sounded sketchy. Well, I found out upon extensive research. It was the matron at her orphanage. Magnolia had been delivered to the doorstep of the orphanage at age two ….. they suspected. Her real parents were never identified. She was found on the doorstep when the magnolias in the neighborhood were in full bloom ….. hence the name Magnolia. She was also found towards dusk that summer, just at sunset ….. hence the name Summerset.
But how could an orphan rise to such prominence?
Her days at the orphanage in Tupelo, Mississippi were a challenge. She learned a certain toughness and ability to withstand punishment from the other orphans and the orphanage staff that hardened her shell. But she was bright, very, very bright with an IQ of 144.
She developed an early interest in music, but quickly turned to writing, even at the age of eleven. As smart as she was, this writing was quickly converted into a desire and ability to speak. She would make up stories and tell them to a mesmerized orphanage staff that just could not get enough.
Her brightness led to her having the highest marks in grade school and high school, including a Valedictorian speech at graduation. But strangely, her education stopped right there. Why no college? Why no degree?
Magnolia then engaged in a search for her real parents. It was a long torturous search. But she was probably born in a house with no hospital records. At maybe age two, she may not have even been shown to people outside of her mother and father. Her search took three years but was fruitless.
Then Magnolia leveraged her incredible speaking ability and her talent for telling stories and influencing people. She excelled at sales, sales of many things. With her beauty, intelligence, and speaking ability the door was wide open and she walked right through it to a successful sales career.
But where was the tie to the women’s shelters? She never had boyfriends to speak of, despite her beauty. There was none. The only tie I saw was her speaking about the Charlotte Shelter. There was nothing in her background about education, training, or even personal experience with abuse. This was the most puzzling aspect that I just could not resolve. Magnolia went straight from sales to somehow establishing the “Summerset Women’s Shelters”? How could this be? How could she speak so eloquently and accurately and respond to questions about women’s abuse and shelters with no background.
Having done all the research I could before my scheduled meeting with Magnolia, I was looking forward to my interview with her. It was to be tomorrow, and I was overflowing with anticipation.
I arrived at the shelter early and looked around. Everything looked normal. Then I saw a woman, rather plain looking, that was packing boxes in the corner of the room.
“Hello, I have an appointment to see Magnolia. Is she here?” Was my query.
The woman answered: “Magnolia just left for Baltimore yesterday. They wanted her to start early.”
I responded, “What a disappointment. I just authored an article about her titled “The Woman of Substance” and was really looking forward to meeting her. What is your name?”
She responded “Felicia ….. and yes ….. where would I be without Magnolia? She is really something isn’t she?”
Then I said, “She is incredible as far as I can see from some extensive research I did.”
Felica then produced an odd sort of look and hesitated. “So, you saw the research? I think we did a masterful job with that research material but need to fill in the part that led her to build the shelters.”
I stood puzzled and asked, “What do you mean about masterful job with the research?”
“You are a journalist, if I tell you something in confidence are you obligated to keep it secret?” was her next confusing offering.
Shocked and stunned, I stumbled on with, “Yes, you can trust me to keep things confidential, but what do you mean?”
Felica, then provided a long explanation of the true background of the shelters. Felica was a plain looking woman, with a soft voice and seemed extraordinarily shy. She shared her extensive background and experience with women’s abuse. She was heavily abused in her youth and even early adulthood and heavily motivated to make progress for the cause. It was Felica, with little education, who had crafted the shelters, established the methods, hired and trained the people, motivated the staff, gave encouragement and hope to each individual woman in the shelter. But Felica had no money to start anything, let alone a string of shelters. She had seen Magnolia, actually Francis McGill, at a revival one evening and was stunned with her power of speech, beauty, ability to memorize and influence an audience. It was just what Felica needed to complete her ability to get the shelters going and keep them going with the necessary funding. And it worked and was working.
When she finished, we both froze for a moment and then ….. both started to chuckle.
Was it an odd arrangement? Maybe. Was it a legal arrangement? Maybe. Was it a meaningful important arrangement? Certainly, one of the most meaningful and important I had ever encountered.
Was I to be the hungry journalist, building my own notoriety and career with a blockbuster expose of the shelters? What was there to expose? Women being saved and protected? Grateful communities and dignitaries across the southeastern United States? A powerful woman who made it all possible with her magnetic personality and power.
I had already done that expose.
Felica and I parted both projecting a trusting smile to each other, and I went my way and she hers, both knowing that her secret rested safe with me.
I had executed my journalistic task to perfection. I authored a magnificent article, “The Woman of Substance” about Magnoli Summerset ….. a refined, articulate, talented, beautiful woman of brilliance, experience, power, influence, affluence, success, and notoriety. A very necessary part of the shelters’ success. Not really a “woman of substance” as it turned out, but a very important cog in a very important machine that should stay that way ….. as the incredibly valuable face of the successful shelters.
But, I had also met another woman, Felicia ….. a resolute, selfless, courageous, persistent woman. A woman of little education, but of great knowledge. A woman of little beauty, but of great attraction. A woman of little money, but richness of heart. A woman who said little but commanded great attention. A woman of little notoriety but great pride and confidence. She was the real key to starting and operating the shelters.
Yes, I had authored the article about Magnolia the woman of projected grace and success, but it was Felicia who was truly ….. the woman of substance.
The Woman of Substance(Tom Keltner)
“She was wearing a white dress. She appeared like an angel. Out of this filthy mess, she is alone. They... cannot... touch... her.” ….. Travis Bickel’s inspired words from Taxi Driver upon encountering Betsy.
At first glimpse of her my eyes suddenly captured a magnificence similar to that which stunned Travis Bickel. She was a conquering, walking, embodiment of perfection cast against a background of suddenly blurred insignificance.
From that moment forward she captured my every attention and thought. I was assigned to cover her for my paper, the Charlotte Chronicle, but just new to town, I was unfamiliar with her ….. until this moment. It would require all my professional instincts and training to calmly recenter myself to my journalist’s duties.
Even just her name could reduce the strongest and most brutal of men to her passive, obedient servants ….. Magnolia Summerset.
Magnolia, preferring Ms. Summerset, was to address a large gathering of the city’s most revered, influential, and powerful to advance the notions of contribution to her worthy cause ….. a shelter for women experiencing abuse and needing assistance and protection. The Charlotte shelter was almost established, and she was thanking the community for their support and requesting donations for initial operations.
Her captivating speech was magnificent, mesmerizing the crowd and drawing great attention ….. and yes ….. further donations.
As she exited from her masterful oratory, I attempted to get her attention for an interview. The literal wall of attention providers made that effort quite impossible as she was well out of reach, and I saw her swallowed quickly by a large black limousine.
Somewhat disappointed, I started walking away, but I was approached by a woman, with a somewhat pleasant smile who was wondering if I had anything for Ms. Summerset.
She asked: “Hey, I saw you trying to catch Magnolia. I am her assistant, January. Can I help you?
January clumsily carried a traditional, sizeable logbook, leafed through the book but could find nothing for a couple of weeks. We set an appointment for two weeks out. A quaint moment with a logbook.
So, before my scheduled meeting with Magnolia, I decided to do some research on the “Summerset Women’s Shelters” that Magnolia so well represented. The shelters had apparently provided almost countless women shelter and protection across the southeast United States and continued to expand. They typically took six months to develop a shelter in a location. Magnolia would work tirelessly collaborating with local community leaders, so they understood the value of the shelter and would help with donations to build and staff the shelter. After a month or so of successful operation, Magnolia and the staff would move on to another location to establish another shelter.
They had been in Charlotte for a little over five months now and were preparing to move on to their first northern location in Baltimore.
I was astonished at the phenomenal success of the shelters. Many testimonials from sheltered women and their families, community leaders, and others. Sure there was the occasional, predictable loony-tune comment, but not very many.
And so I started writing my piece for the paper titled ….. “The Woman of Substance.” ….. My deadline was in a week, so I needed to publish before my interview of Magnolia two weeks away.
My research provided ample information to explain Magnolia’s great deeds and contributions to many communities across the southeast. Statements from governors, congressmen, mayors, city councils, citizens and, in particular, the many women who had benefitted from her great work.
I sat in wonder about what dedication and commitment it required to perform at such an incredibly successful level.
But my time was growing short. My deadline was in two days, and I needed to review, cleanup, and do my final edits. The article felt rushed and somewhat incomplete, but deadlines are deadlines. That was the common experience anyway. Our editor needed my completed work two days before publication ….. so off it went.
But could this story possibly be true? It sounded too surreal and scripted. In my experience I had never met the perfect person. Was this to be my first encounter?
So, I started to dig deeper into her present and past. Who would name their daughter Magnolia? The name sounded sketchy. Well, I found out upon extensive research. It was the matron at her orphanage. Magnolia had been delivered to the doorstep of the orphanage at age two ….. they suspected. Her real parents were never identified. She was found on the doorstep when the magnolias in the neighborhood were in full bloom ….. hence the name Magnolia. She was also found towards dusk that summer, just at sunset ….. hence the name Summerset.
But how could an orphan rise to such prominence?
Her days at the orphanage in Tupelo, Mississippi were a challenge. She learned a certain toughness and ability to withstand punishment from the other orphans and the orphanage staff that hardened her shell. But she was bright, very, very bright with an IQ of 144.
She developed an early interest in music, but quickly turned to writing, even at the age of eleven. As smart as she was, this writing was quickly converted into a desire and ability to speak. She would make up stories and tell them to a mesmerized orphanage staff that just could not get enough.
Her brightness led to her having the highest marks in grade school and high school, including a Valedictorian speech at graduation. But strangely, her education stopped right there. Why no college? Why no degree?
Magnolia then engaged in a search for her real parents. It was a long torturous search. But she was probably born in a house with no hospital records. At maybe age two, she may not have even been shown to people outside of her mother and father. Her search took three years but was fruitless.
Then Magnolia leveraged her incredible speaking ability and her talent for telling stories and influencing people. She excelled at sales, sales of many things. With her beauty, intelligence, and speaking ability the door was wide open and she walked right through it to a successful sales career.
But where was the tie to the women’s shelters? She never had boyfriends to speak of, despite her beauty. There was none. The only tie I saw was her speaking about the Charlotte Shelter. There was nothing in her background about education, training, or even personal experience with abuse. This was the most puzzling aspect that I just could not resolve. Magnolia went straight from sales to somehow establishing the “Summerset Women’s Shelters”? How could this be? How could she speak so eloquently and accurately and respond to questions about women’s abuse and shelters with no background.
Having done all the research I could before my scheduled meeting with Magnolia, I was looking forward to my interview with her. It was to be tomorrow, and I was overflowing with anticipation.
I arrived at the shelter early and looked around. Everything looked normal. Then I saw a woman, rather plain looking, that was packing boxes in the corner of the room.
“Hello, I have an appointment to see Magnolia. Is she here?” Was my query.
The woman answered: “Magnolia just left for Baltimore yesterday. They wanted her to start early.”
I responded, “What a disappointment. I just authored an article about her titled “The Woman of Substance” and was really looking forward to meeting her. What is your name?”
She responded “Felicia ….. and yes ….. where would I be without Magnolia? She is really something isn’t she?”
Then I said, “She is incredible as far as I can see from some extensive research I did.”
Felica then produced an odd sort of look and hesitated. “So, you saw the research? I think we did a masterful job with that research material but need to fill in the part that led her to build the shelters.”
I stood puzzled and asked, “What do you mean about masterful job with the research?”
“You are a journalist, if I tell you something in confidence are you obligated to keep it secret?” was her next confusing offering.
Shocked and stunned, I stumbled on with, “Yes, you can trust me to keep things confidential, but what do you mean?”
Felica, then provided a long explanation of the true background of the shelters. Felica was a plain looking woman, with a soft voice and seemed extraordinarily shy. She shared her extensive background and experience with women’s abuse. She was heavily abused in her youth and even early adulthood and heavily motivated to make progress for the cause. It was Felica, with little education, who had crafted the shelters, established the methods, hired and trained the people, motivated the staff, gave encouragement and hope to each individual woman in the shelter. But Felica had no money to start anything, let alone a string of shelters. She had seen Magnolia, actually Francis McGill, at a revival one evening and was stunned with her power of speech, beauty, ability to memorize and influence an audience. It was just what Felica needed to complete her ability to get the shelters going and keep them going with the necessary funding. And it worked and was working.
When she finished, we both froze for a moment and then ….. both started to chuckle.
Was it an odd arrangement? Maybe. Was it a legal arrangement? Maybe. Was it a meaningful important arrangement? Certainly, one of the most meaningful and important I had ever encountered.
Was I to be the hungry journalist, building my own notoriety and career with a blockbuster expose of the shelters? What was there to expose? Women being saved and protected? Grateful communities and dignitaries across the southeastern United States? A powerful woman who made it all possible with her magnetic personality and power.
I had already done that expose.
Felica and I parted both projecting a trusting smile to each other, and I went my way and she hers, both knowing that her secret rested safe with me.
I had executed my journalistic task to perfection. I authored a magnificent article, “The Woman of Substance” about Magnoli Summerset ….. a refined, articulate, talented, beautiful woman of brilliance, experience, power, influence, affluence, success, and notoriety. A very necessary part of the shelters’ success. Not really a “woman of substance” as it turned out, but a very important cog in a very important machine that should stay that way ….. as the incredibly valuable face of the successful shelters.
But, I had also met another woman, Felicia ….. a resolute, selfless, courageous, persistent woman. A woman of little education, but of great knowledge. A woman of little beauty, but of great attraction. A woman of little money, but richness of heart. A woman who said little but commanded great attention. A woman of little notoriety but great pride and confidence. She was the real key to starting and operating the shelters.
Yes, I had authored the article about Magnolia the woman of projected grace and success, but it was Felicia who was truly ….. the woman of substance.
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Help Us Understand What's Happening
Valerie Allen
06/27/2023We all have many talents and should use them to be successful, as well as to help others. This was a bit different, but it worked out well. Thanks for this interesting story ~
ReplyHelp Us Understand What's Happening
Help Us Understand What's Happening
Help Us Understand What's Happening
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Help Us Understand What's Happening
Lillian Kazmierczak
09/11/2022That was a thoughtful story about people who aren't. Many stories need a better scratch at the surface to see what lies beneath. A knidly written story about all involved!
ReplyHelp Us Understand What's Happening
Lillian Kazmierczak
06/26/2023Tom, this was a wonderful story! It is definitely worthy of short story star of week! Congratulations!
Help Us Understand What's Happening
Tom Keltner
09/11/2022Thanks very much Lillian. Good guys come in all shapes, sizes, and appearances, and some are invisible until they show themselves. The whole "book by its cover" thing.
COMMENTS (5)