Walking Tall: The Inspiring Story of Rae’s Strength

Rae

Did you ever hear the saying “Walk tall and carry a big stick!”  A very kind lady wrote it in my birthday card once.  She was an employee of mine. A gruff elderly woman with a deep voice. She was shorter about 5’4”, gray hair, heavy but very strong. She was a Sergeant in the Army, she drove a supply truck in World War II.  She saw combat and wore the experience as a badge of honor.

She was in her seventies when she came to work for me as a receptionist. She would walk to and from work, over a mile to her home. She lived in a small 1 bed, 1 bath home not far from the bank. She walked in the snow or the rain. She didn’t care. She would never take a ride, even when offered. She claimed she loved the brisk walk. She used a big walking stick that she tucked in the bushes outside the bank doors. She was no feminine lady. She was serious more than she was funny. She didn’t take kindly to sales calls, she hung up on those that she felt were a waste of time. A very strong gatekeeper. I wondered if it were her shorter stature that made her tougher. Sometimes you have to fight harder when you are smaller.  Maybe it was the circumstances into which she was born. She never spoke of family.

I admired Rae for her grit and her moxie. This was a woman that lived a long-hard life and saw more tragedies than anyone should have to.  She said I would be just like her as I got older. She told me I was tough and strong, she could see it. She said not to take anything from anyone that I didn’t deserve.  In a lot of ways she was right.  I have definitely learned to “Walk tall and carry a big stick”.