Mary Kay Lady

Shortly before we left Iowa, Ann signed up as a Mary Kay consultant.  After we moved to Minden, she felt like she couldn’t work at nursing any longer, so she put an enormous amount of energy toward developing a Mary Kay business.  She continues to be a consultant today, but she doesn’t pursue it actively. She basically just provides products for those who want it.  She doesn’t beat the bushes trying to find new clients.

Several times we attended the Mary Kay Seminars in Dallas.  These were always occasions in which she received a great deal of encouragement.  We heard wonderful rags to riches stories, and we thoroughly enjoyed those experiences. One year, she left the seminar during the afternoon to rest up for the evening’s activities.  She went back to our hotel and soaked in the pool for a little while.  To her great surprise, Mary Kay Ashe, herself walked by the pool area and spoke to her.

I went along on some of these trips, and I especially enjoyed the special activities they had for the guys.   I remember the trip to a dude ranch, which really wasn’t much of a ranch at all.  It was more of a recreational center.  I tried trap shooting (didn’t come anywhere close to the clay pigeons).   A couple of guys from Michigan asked me to join them in a game of miniature golf.  I protested that I wasn’t any good, which was the honest truth.  They thought I was setting them up.   I actually played a fairly decent game and didn’t embarrass myself.  Maybe they were just about as unathletic as I am.

What I really wanted to do was ride a horse.  I practically grew up on the back of a horse, but I hadn’t been in the saddle for thirty years at that point.  I walked (No, I sauntered.  I have to use cowboy terms.) down to the corral and talked with the wrangler.   I noticed he wore a PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association) belt.  He told me that he had served as a pick up at the national finals in Las Vegas.  In a little while, I was given a horse to ride.  The wrangler’s assistant was a young lady.  She warned me that the horse had a tendency toward independence.   The wrangler heard her and said, “You don’t have to tell that boy nothin’.   He grew up on a farm.”  That much was true, but when I climbed into the saddle, I realized it had been a long time since my last ride.  Fortunately it all came back to me, and I did fine.

Ann really enjoyed Mary Kay.  She especially enjoyed the positive people who surrounded her, but she eventually decided that you have to work too hard to become a director, and she decided she had other goals in life.  She was really good at conducting the beauty classes, and she’s grateful for the experience.