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I recall a story my grandmother used to tell. It seems she noticed an old woman standing on the sidewalk outside her house in Richmond, Va. Later, she was still standing there. Nana went out and asked her what she was waiting for. The woman replied that her relatives had dropped her off, and told her to wait for them to come back for her. Nana invited her to wait on her porch and have a seat. She brought the old lady, who was quite well dressed, but appeared a bit confused, a cup of tea. As night fell, the lady was still there. Nana invited her inside to spend the night (in the end to stay with my family for some time). She also started asking around to find out any information about this strange incident.

It turned out, the lady was a wealthy widow, somewhat down on her luck. She had been living with her daughter and son-in-law. She was getting senile, and her relatives appeared to have gotten tired of taking care of her; or perhaps they were running out of resources rather than patience. In any event, they took her out to my Grandmother's neighborhood and abandoned her. Nana took her in, and provided her with room and board until this situation could be resolved. The lady had no money (that she had access to), and repaid my family's kindness by giving us some antiques she owned. Which explained why Nana owned some early 19th Century French ceramics.