THE BROWN GOWN
March 5, 2010
Catherine Aguilar
My first job as a lawyer was with Legal Services in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I and one other lawyer and three paralegals did approximately 25% of all the divorces in Bernalillo County in 1978 and 1979. I also fought for parents who were accused of abuse and neglect when the State was asking for custody of their children. But, one of my biggest jobs was obtaining restraining orders for women who were abused. Every few days I would troop down to the courthouse with three to five women in my wake to find a judge and ask for a Restraining Order. I really felt like the great protector of women!
The Legal Services Board approved several staff members to attend the Women in the Law Conference held in San Antonio, Texas in 1979. I made arrangements for me and three paralegals to attend. I always kept in mind that we worked for poor people and made suitably frugal arrangements. We drove and stayed at a slightly run down hotel in downtown San Antonio. The hotel was close to the river walk and we had a pretty good time. Some of us even got a little raucous! The very first thing we did was go to the park where the World’s Fair had been held in San Antonio. We stopped at a little place that served beer and fried oysters. Those oysters were so good, and that beer so cold that I got sloshed before we even checked into the conference!
After the second day of the conference I launched off with some new friends that I made at the conference and went clubbing. A local woman drove and I couldn’t tell you where we went except that we went to several clubs and danced and drank and had a great time. The excursion was ruined however, when a man in a car that passed us pointed a gun at me! I hit the floor of the car and we drove off screaming! When they dropped me at my hotel at 2:00 a.m. I was pretty shaken up! I cannot remember for the life of me why we did not call the police but we didn’t. I made my way to my room still shaken, tipsy and agitated. There were about four or five of us sharing the room and I lay down on the floor to sleep in my pink flannel night gown. Not too comfortable but very tired!
Not long after I lay down a woman started screaming! She just kept screaming and screaming! Well I didn’t think! I jumped up (assuming that all my friends were behind me) and charged out of our room, across the hall to the room where the screaming was coming from. I started pounding on the door. It was only at this point that I noticed that I was the only one in the hallway! I kept pounding and pounding and the woman kept screaming and screaming! Finally the door opened and a naked man with a knife in his hand opened the door and said “Get this bitch out of here!” I told him I wasn’t going anywhere and I entered the room. The two people in the room continued to scream at each other and at me. I was trying to figure out what was going on. I finally realized that the woman in the room was a prostitute! The man was tying to avoid paying her for her services! Fortunately, the police showed up and I went back to my room. I could hear the policeman talking to the parties and trying to get them calmed down. That was when I first realized that Latinos in Texas spoke English with a Texan accent and Spanish with a Mexican accent! I believe that the police officer mediated an peaceful resolution and everyone went home. I don’t remember if either one of the people got arrested.
The next day was awful! I was traumatized as well as hung over! I couldn’t get out of San Antonio fast enough! But later many of the women at the conference remembered my pink flannel night gown running down the hallway and by the time we got back to Albuquerque the “Brown Gown” had been born. I eventually forgot about the incident. But just a few years ago a friend of mine reminded me of the Brown gown. I didn’t realize anyone still remembered that incident! I have changed a lot since those early years and I am not sure what made me charge into that hotel room to save someone! But, I will always have that memory to make myself laugh! And, you never know when the Brown Gown may charge out to defend the poor and the loud!
I forgot to mention. Please let's keep all the stories in this post so that your stories don't get lost in other posts.
Here's a little true story.
My ex-wife and I had gone to her sister's house one evening for dinner and socializing.These are folks that ask you to remove your shoes when you go into their house, an annoyance in my opinion, since I don't particularly like to go barefoot. Oh, well.
We were sitting around the dining room table talking and sipping wine when someone started playing footsie with me under the table. I assumed it was my wife and returned the favor. But then she got up to go to the kitchen for something.... and the footsie continued. Her longtime friend was sitting there and I thought, "Uh oh" and I pulled my feet back a bit. But it didn't deter the footsie playing. Then, her friend got up to go do something and guess what the footsie continued. The sister and her husband were the only two left at the table. I pulled my feet back a bit more. No deterence. Then the sister got up. Leaving only the sisters' hubby. And the footsie continued. " This just ain't right", thinks I, and so I turned myself around so that my feet were not under the table and here comes.... the cat, still undeterred and wanting to play footsie with my sock clad feet. Imagine, if you will, my relief.
OMG Pablo that was hysterical. Would have paid to see your expression when you realized you were actually "pussy footing". Hopefully it wasn't a male cat who just wanted someone else to scratch him there LOL!
Thanks for the funny story Pablo. I know you have many more!
Besitos,
Chuleta
I would have loved to see your face when the last woman got up and you were still playing footsy! What a scream! Great little tale!
lmaooo Pablo and here Im thinking " ay para cu~naditos" jajajajaja.
Another tale....
The year was 1968, it was Christmas time in the City of Angels and I had not long before met the girl who would become my first wife. We were young and moonstruck and LA was our playground, Sunset Blvd., Griffith Park, Venice Beach, Hollywood. But I digress. One evening as we lay in bed catching our breathe and comparing life notes (such as they might be given our relative innocence) I became aware that she had never owned a Raggedy Ann doll. This was unheard of. I have 6 sisters and all of them at one time or another during their childhood had owned a Raggedy Ann doll. I resolved to remedy this situation. Now at the time neither of us owned a motor vehicle so we either rode the bus or hitchhiked. Times were a little lean in those days so the bus usually was the second choice. And so it was that one evening I hitched a ride to a toy store down on the Boulevard and purchased for my bride-to-be a Raggedy Ann doll. And there I stood, on a Hollywood evening, with my thumb out and a Raggedy Ann doll under my arm. Soon a guy stopped and gave me a ride and he says," I figure anybody carrying a Raggedy Ann doll must have a story to tell and has to be allright." I told him my story, he appreciated it, and me and Raggedy Ann got home safe and sound. My wife-to-be got her Raggedy Ann doll for Christmas and I got the satisfaction of knowing I had at least made right one injustice in her life.
UH..........I'd like to hear Cathy describe that pink flannel night gown again. Was it flapping open and what did it reveal?????
Ha! Virgoman! I wasn't the puta! I was The Rescuer! Rescuers don't need to show skin!
