For Whom Belle Toils

by Luella
City and State Withheld, USA

It’s a very small town populated by a lot of elderly widows — the kind of place where everyone knows everyone else and there are very few secrets. When a comparatively young woman and her husband moved to town, they were of considerable interest  because they were so different from the lifelong citizens.

Bob is very outgoing and gregarious, but his wife, Belle, is more reserved. We learned she’d been medically retired from her job, but she never chose to discuss the problem. She did join a church and some local civic organizations and is faithful and energetic in attendance and participation. She also turned out to be a bit of a con-woman… but in a special, wonderful way.

Belle identified several elderly women who needed occasional help with housework, shopping, or driving to doctor’s appointments. She recognizes the pride that keeps them from accepting charity, so she accepts a minimal amount of money from them. Then she takes that money to City Hall, swears the city clerk to secrecy, and asks to have the money applied to the water/sewage account of a senior citizen in financial straits.

I accidentally found out that Belle’s retirement pay is the only money she and Bob have coming in, and their budget leaves little room for luxuries. She is in near-constant pain because of the injury that forced her into retirement, but we rarely see evidence of that. They could use the few dollars Belle earns helping others, but she chooses not to keep it. And she doesn’t want recognition for the good that she does.

Belle has showed me that you need not be rich to share, nor do you need to inflict your problems on anyone else. Despite her limitations, she is a warm, caring, giving woman with the ability to love. To me, she’s a hero in action, and I’d love to tell others what she does, but it might embarrass her. She must remain unsung and unrecognized, so please don’t reveal my location — “Belle” is still doing her thing!

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