A swap meet or flea market is located not to far from where I am staying and I enjoy the hunt for the undiscovered treasures that I occasionally find. I was walking down the rows of tables and came upon a truly unique treasure. Not completely undiscovered, but unknown to me. I met Millie Wolfe Fischer. She was sitting behind a table with displays of her arts and crafts and in one corner, a collection of pamphlets. Millie is more than anything else a writer. She had a dozen or more of her books for sale. I struck up a conversation and we spoke for some time about writing. Millie has been writing all her life. From when she was a very small girl and has continued without pause until now. I shared with her that I can not help myself, I have to write. I also have had the affliction my entire life. She says she writes for herself, not for the reader. She did not actually say so, but I got the feeling that she wanted to put her stories down on paper so that there would be something to remember when she was gone. Maybe this motivation has come to her lately as she is up there in years.
We talked a little about poetry and how when we were both young, we tried to express ourselves in verse. She did a better job than I did and has several books of poetry to her credit. Now her writing is about remembrances. Vignettes of her childhood, family, and a simpler time of life. I purchased a books or two and she did me the honor of giving me her autograph. Millie will never be famous or even widely read, but that is of no concern to her. For me, she is a kindred spirits and I am very happy to have had the pleasure of meeting her.
