Miz Girlie Perkins and her philosophy on dogs and re-marriage

Miz Girlie Perkins is probably the most beloved character in both The Wayfaring Stranger and A Good Place.  Below she informs teenaged Eliza Clark about her philosophy on men and dogs:

 

Nearing Miz Girlie’s place, Eliza laughed at her favorite statement from her older friend.

Eliza had once asked her why she didn’t marry again.

Girlie, who had the wonderful Redbone way of responding to a question, spat out, “When George died, I just got me a dog. A dog couldn’t replace my George, but most of them were a heck of a lot better than the men who’d come sniffing around here.”

Pointing at her Catahoula Cur, Jezebel, she continued, “And I believe a dog is a whole lot less trouble than any man.”

Listening, Eliza had watched Girlie’s face as she said this. Eliza wasn’t sure, but she thought she saw a twitch on the corner of her mouth and tears welling up in her eyes. She wondered how lonely it was to live out where she did—isolated and alone.

Miz Girlie is simply a composite of dozens of tough country women I’ve known:  My wife’s grandmother,  Rita “Ma” Terry, Aunt Mary Jane Lindsey,  Lela Boggs Harper, and so many others.

Coming tomorrow: The Irishman Joe Moore has a “close encounter” with  his first La. Catahoula Cur dog.