Let me introduce Betty. She was born in 1936 in Arkansas. She is living a truly historic and interesting and fun life today in St. Louis. She has been an out lesbian for nearly all of her life. She has seen and done what few others have seen and done so we are going to explore her epic life one snapshot story at a time. So here goes.
Betty was recently having dinner with me, and we were discussing her upcoming driver’s test. In Missouri, after age 80, you have to renew your license every three years and it was something she needed to do for her 87th BD. Spoiler alert she passed and they gave her a license that is good until age 90, at which time she will have to renew again. This led, as often happens, to a reminiscence about another driver’s test she took. This one in California.
Betty says “I had just moved to California, and I went to renew my license. It was my 26th BD so it was 1962. I had been driving for a long while, way before I even turned 16. So, it was very surprising that I didn’t pass the driving part of the test. I had taken the day off work to get this license and I wasn’t going to give up so easily. So, I got back into the line, this time with a different examiner. And no surprise, this time I passed.”
I asked the guy who administered this test, why he thought I didn’t pass the first time. His answer said it all, “well, the guy who gave you the first test, his wife just left him for a ‘dyke.’ You were pay back.”
Betty still surprises everyone, even her own family. She recently met up with them in Reno, Nevada and excelled in Axe Throwing. Stay tuned for more stories from Betty. If you know someone that might enjoy this Substack, please share.
Nice. Great story if I may say so myself.