Inspiring Margie

Jane:(Margie) I must say that Beth did a beautiful job with her post about what inspired her to create the character of Edna. My character of Margie was inspired by two people;one was real and one was fictional.

First, Margie was inspired by a real Margie who was my family's neighbor when I was growing up. She was extremely nosy and never tried to hide it. For example, if we had company, she'd sit in her rocking chair which she'd pull close to the front door and sit there until they left. Later, she'd ask me who they were, where they were from, etc.

She also copied most of my parent's purchases/home renovations. I remember when my dad had once painted the house exterior. Back then, he sat the empty paint cans out next to the road for the trash truck to haul off. Less than two days later, Margie had bought the exact same paint and painted her house. This also happened with other paint jobs. She'd find out that my mom had painted her kitchen yellow so Margie would paint her kitchen yellow. My mom did not like the copying of everything she did.

There were so many episodes I could tell you but I'll use just one more. This actually happened on numerous occasions. My mom would buy something like a rug or curtains or a small kitchen appliance and the empty boxes would go out on the side of the road. Margie would go buy the exact same item because we'd see the boxes out next to the road. One day, my mom was talking to Margie about some item she had purchased many years earlier and how she wished she could remember where she bought it. Margie told her, " Oh, you bought it at Sears."

Finally, there's the inspiration of actress Rue McClanahan who was the character of Blanche Devereaux on the TV series " The Golden Girls". The character of Blanche had lost her husband, the love of her life, so she was on the prowl for the next love of her life. Margie is looking for that as well. Some of Blanche's gentlemen friends were unsavory characters which is how Edna describes many of Margie's gentlemen friends.

Margie feels like she needs to look after Edna since Margie is the oldest. They clash because Edna doesn't think she needs to be looked after. This infuriates Margie who then issues veiled threats and insults. Like many sisters, however, they do love each other and would defend each other to the end.

Margie has a good heart and means well but doesn't always know how to handle what she feels is rejection. She's afraid that Edna might move out but acts as if that's what she'd like. Margie has a good sense of humor as does Edna so they do have some fun moments. I would certainly be remiss if I didn't mention that Beth also inspires me every day. Margie would be nothing without Edna.

We hope you enjoy Margie and Edna as much as we enjoy writing what they tell us to write.