Butch Femme Planet - View Single Post

girl_dee · 03-07-2012, 11:42 AM

two women come to mind for me personally

Margie and Pino, aka Mamma and Pops to all of their *children*

Two dear lesbians who were inseparable as first a couple, then friends. They shared a house for over 30 years. Lovers came and went but the rules were clear, Margie and Pino were going to live under the same roof.

They owned the first gay bar in our Parish in LA.

They owned many more after that and only employed gay women. They took in the dykes who were thrown out by family, the addicted and homeless dykes... with a couple of rules,, get clean and work and you are family. For the rest of their lives those same dykes took care of them as they got older and needed help. This was their only real family.

Margie, "Pops", the butch of the two, was the security and Pino was the cute little femme firecracker who people say i remind them of. Pino loaned out money and kept journals of the comings and goings of everyone, who came in, who was courting who, who took a loan, who paid a loan, all the goings on from the neighborhood bar. Women danced together, they were raided, they were arrested.. they still kept on. They also started the first all women parades in their area for Mardi Gras... their Mardi Gras Balls were butch femme style, complete with tux and ball gowns.. the photos were magnificent!

They retired at about 55 and enjoyed a ranch for a while, then a house in the suburbs where all their *family* lived... by now they were content sitting out on the back deck as people stopped by... a quiet life after all those crazy years in the 60 -70's. Happy knowing most all the young dykes they helped back in the day were now full functioning adults who still loved them.

They were older when i met them and i fell in love with them both. Pino was become frail and need help. Margie's health was failing too and she could not take care of Pino as much as she wanted to, so their *children* took turns going to the house to help, i went every weekend to do housework and help bathe Pino. Pino loved to swim and while in the tub loved to show off her moves.. in her day she was a swimming instructor.. she taught kids in wheelchairs how to swim..after a bath you would end up as soaked as she was and afterwards she liked to powder herself in Jean Nate... the woman had a smile on her face constantly, even in her dementia she was happy as a clam. She loved seafood so i would bring her some, peeling it as fast as she could wolf it down. When not well we would bring her to the facility for a short stay, and then anxiously awaiting her return to their home. We brought all of her bedding from home so she would not be too afraid, and we took turns going to feed her as she would just forget to.

Their home consisted of all of the signs and decor from the gay bars, shelves full of the journals that Pino kept. FORTY years of memories and wonderful times. How awesome it was to sit down and read a journal and the good times that were had. All in Pino's penmanship.

Then we heard there was a storm coming, as a group we decided that we had to evacuate and this time we could not bring Pino, she was incontinent and the last time we evacuated with her, it was very hard and ended up having to find somewhere for her to stay because sitting on the interstate was too much for her. We chose the place that she always stayed at when she had an illness. They promised to take good care of her, and we expected to pick her up in a few days. Kat brought her there, i went to New England. The last thing Kat said Pino said was *why are you leaving me here and when are you coming back?*

Kat took Margie and the rest of the clan to Texas.. little did we all know what would happen.

Katrina came with all her might and the levees broke, Pino and Margies house was completely underwater, only the tip of the roof was not under.
Everything, every momento was gone. The journals, the photos, everything.

Pino's caretakers decided to evacuate themselves from the hospital, they placed all of the patients, all 11 of them on the 3rd floor, gave them all the meds they had come there with and left them there. The water went to the 5th floor. We did not know Pino was murdered until 2 weeks later. She was euthanized and all i can think of is praying that she was unconscious when the water came. If free, she would have swam out of there i am sure of that. It tooks months to get her body from the morgue for burial, it was horrible. Her funeral was anything but deserving and i didn't make it back for it. i hid as far as i could so i didn't have to think about it.

Margie had to be told that she had lost her lifemate to the storm and the people we trusted with her. Margie lasted a couple of years but was never the same and of course Kat, the one who left Pino there suffered major depression and till this day blames herself, although we made a decision as a group. Life will never be the same. Margie was also buried without much fanfare, and by now only a few people knew of how wonderful these two women were.

Pino's legacy was one of a brave woman who didn't care what would happen to her if she helped out people who needed help. She started a movement that allowed other gay women to own and operate businesses.

Many people owe their life to this 5 foot nothing 100 pound powerhouse and it really, really bothers me that she died that way. She and the other people that were there with her, deserved better.

The caretakers were charged with murder but they beat the charges.

Pino still lives in the people she helped and in me, i will never, ever forget her smiling face.

Sorry for the ramble but i felt i had to share this.

03-07-2012, 11:42 AM	#7
girl_dee Practically Lives Here How Do You Identify?: Femme Preferred Pronoun?: dee Relationship Status: Hitched up Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Livin’ the Dream Posts: 24,079 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 30,560 Thanked 54,956 Times in 13,922 Posts Rep Power: 21474873	Margie and Pino two women come to mind for me personally Margie and Pino, aka Mamma and Pops to all of their children Two dear lesbians who were inseparable as first a couple, then friends. They shared a house for over 30 years. Lovers came and went but the rules were clear, Margie and Pino were going to live under the same roof. They owned the first gay bar in our Parish in LA. They owned many more after that and only employed gay women. They took in the dykes who were thrown out by family, the addicted and homeless dykes... with a couple of rules,, get clean and work and you are family. For the rest of their lives those same dykes took care of them as they got older and needed help. This was their only real family. Margie, "Pops", the butch of the two, was the security and Pino was the cute little femme firecracker who people say i remind them of. Pino loaned out money and kept journals of the comings and goings of everyone, who came in, who was courting who, who took a loan, who paid a loan, all the goings on from the neighborhood bar. Women danced together, they were raided, they were arrested.. they still kept on. They also started the first all women parades in their area for Mardi Gras... their Mardi Gras Balls were butch femme style, complete with tux and ball gowns.. the photos were magnificent! They retired at about 55 and enjoyed a ranch for a while, then a house in the suburbs where all their family lived... by now they were content sitting out on the back deck as people stopped by... a quiet life after all those crazy years in the 60 -70's. Happy knowing most all the young dykes they helped back in the day were now full functioning adults who still loved them. They were older when i met them and i fell in love with them both. Pino was become frail and need help. Margie's health was failing too and she could not take care of Pino as much as she wanted to, so their children took turns going to the house to help, i went every weekend to do housework and help bathe Pino. Pino loved to swim and while in the tub loved to show off her moves.. in her day she was a swimming instructor.. she taught kids in wheelchairs how to swim..after a bath you would end up as soaked as she was and afterwards she liked to powder herself in Jean Nate... the woman had a smile on her face constantly, even in her dementia she was happy as a clam. She loved seafood so i would bring her some, peeling it as fast as she could wolf it down. When not well we would bring her to the facility for a short stay, and then anxiously awaiting her return to their home. We brought all of her bedding from home so she would not be too afraid, and we took turns going to feed her as she would just forget to. Their home consisted of all of the signs and decor from the gay bars, shelves full of the journals that Pino kept. FORTY years of memories and wonderful times. How awesome it was to sit down and read a journal and the good times that were had. All in Pino's penmanship. Then we heard there was a storm coming, as a group we decided that we had to evacuate and this time we could not bring Pino, she was incontinent and the last time we evacuated with her, it was very hard and ended up having to find somewhere for her to stay because sitting on the interstate was too much for her. We chose the place that she always stayed at when she had an illness. They promised to take good care of her, and we expected to pick her up in a few days. Kat brought her there, i went to New England. The last thing Kat said Pino said was why are you leaving me here and when are you coming back? Kat took Margie and the rest of the clan to Texas.. little did we all know what would happen. Katrina came with all her might and the levees broke, Pino and Margies house was completely underwater, only the tip of the roof was not under. Everything, every momento was gone. The journals, the photos, everything. Pino's caretakers decided to evacuate themselves from the hospital, they placed all of the patients, all 11 of them on the 3rd floor, gave them all the meds they had come there with and left them there. The water went to the 5th floor. We did not know Pino was murdered until 2 weeks later. She was euthanized and all i can think of is praying that she was unconscious when the water came. If free, she would have swam out of there i am sure of that. It tooks months to get her body from the morgue for burial, it was horrible. Her funeral was anything but deserving and i didn't make it back for it. i hid as far as i could so i didn't have to think about it. Margie had to be told that she had lost her lifemate to the storm and the people we trusted with her. Margie lasted a couple of years but was never the same and of course Kat, the one who left Pino there suffered major depression and till this day blames herself, although we made a decision as a group. Life will never be the same. Margie was also buried without much fanfare, and by now only a few people knew of how wonderful these two women were. Pino's legacy was one of a brave woman who didn't care what would happen to her if she helped out people who needed help. She started a movement that allowed other gay women to own and operate businesses. Many people owe their life to this 5 foot nothing 100 pound powerhouse and it really, really bothers me that she died that way. She and the other people that were there with her, deserved better. The caretakers were charged with murder but they beat the charges. Pino still lives in the people she helped and in me, i will never, ever forget her smiling face. Sorry for the ramble but i felt i had to share this.