Ceil was my first friend when I came to Chicago. I was a country woman, not used to city ways, and recently divorced. Ceil "taught" me the city. She taught how save money by taking the train instead of expensive cabs. She taught me how to garner a free meal at Happy Hour( a term totally new to me) and "if we get lucky someone will buy us a second drink". Ceil was a lady and that hoped for second drink never meant we were going home with anyone. It simply meant delightful conversation.
She encouraged me to live well and stop telling my children "we can't afford it". She attended my daughter's graduation from Barbizon modeling school for young teens. She shared her horrible divorce story with me enough times that I began to realize that mine was not so bad. She was my friend and I loved her.