Remembering Martha
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‘I’d like to take you to lunch” was my introduction to an approximately eleven-year friendship with Martha Zollinger. On the day she made the offer to me, I had been perusing a fabulous case of Native American jewelry at Perry Null’s Trading Post for at least an hour. Flying into Albuquerque from California, this may have been my second visit to Gallup, which if I timed my flight correctly, and there was a reasonable amount of traffic west on 40, I would hit Perry’s store by noon. I remember looking at her, quite surprised by her generous offer to a complete stranger. I also remember thinking that as I was female and traveling solo, she appeared trustworthy, perhaps somewhat grandmotherly, so why not? With my purchase taken care of, we walked toward the store door and her car. She was driving a fairly new model: Ford Mustang, color red. Her license place had a single letter Z on it. Keep reading! This gets better! We were going for sandwiches. First, we stopped at her nearby home and I was invited inside. Martha loved art and had painted fun sayings inside on the walls, as well as a mural on the outside of her house. Next we continued on, looping around various points of interest in Gallup. She pointed out a bush she had planted years back in a ditch near the local hospital, the library that was named after her husband, and a few other areas she wanted me to see. By this point, I knew I had met someone special and unique, who was proudly showing her community to me. Eventually we made it to Camille’s for lunch. Upon entering the eatery, Martha greeted and introduced me as her “new California friend” to several acquaintances inside. Over the next decade, I made yearly trips to Gallup and would always reach out to her for a lunch date. Lunch dates as I quickly discovered had to be worked around her morning newspaper route and her mahjong schedule. Often we would meet at Perry Null’s after I satisfied my jewelry shopping compulsion. Martha would arrive wearing the most festive outfits accessorized with fabulous vintage Navajo or Zuni jewelry. The initial red Ford Mustang became an 12 November 2020
