Naomi is a pure Texan. Stubborn, hardworking, committed to her family and her state. At 96 years old, she has lived all her life in Texas. We met in the center of Paris (Texas!) where her granddaughter (Anita) and Anita's husband (Gary), living near Dallas, visit her once every fortnight. Naomi may well have 96 years, she still lives at home alone with her dog Daisy ! Each week, neighbors come to inquire about the health of the elderly woman and a maid comes also to take care of the house.



Born in Lewisville in 1916, Naomi has two sisters died before her. Her husband, with whom she has been married for 74 years, died two years ago. But for Naomi, no question of leaving the house she designed and Wayne built himself. "I feel his presence here. I would have nothing left of him in a retirement home ... And even though I like people, I do not want to see them all the time!" She assures jokingly. Even if Anita, her granddaughter, is worried for her, she respects her choice: "This is her house. And I think it is better for her to stay."



To go to school in the 20s, Naomi takes her horse. Children of farmers, like her, are frowned upon by urban children. On the farm, she picks cotton. At school, she wins a scholarship at the age of 18 to go to university. But she meets Wayne and decides to marry him.



"I just wanted to be a housewife. And my family is what I am the most proud of today because they all evolved well."











































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When Naomi marries Wayne, the couple tours the city in a wheelbarrow as a parade. They only have $ 500 to start their lives and buy furniture. Wayne, felt under the spell of the young Texan, "the best loooking in the class" did not have to go to Europe during World War II because he was a farmer. "It had to be voluntary" recalls Naomi. From their union was born two boys, one who took over the family farm, the other who is an expatriate in Asia. Naomi skype with him regularly through the computer that brings Anita.



"Wayne was very hardworking, had good character and he never drank."



Life on the farm for Naomi and her family was very rude. On her first delivery in the farm in 1938, Naomi is helped by her mother, stepmother and aunt. There is no electricity, no water, no bathroom or toilet. Naomi remembers she used the Sears catalog advertising as a free toilet paper. And to heat the home, cow dung was burning in the stove.



Every day they were killing a chicken for frying. "Normally, we broke the neck of the chicken by hand but I used to put my foot on his head and I pulled it by the legs." To buy her first bathtub installed in the kitchen, the family sells a harvest. Full of ressources, Naomi is the queen to retrieve feeding bags for chickens to make dresses !



The first harvest was ruined by hail. "We invested all of our money to replant. There was no crop insurance at this time. Now, the government pays us not to cultivate some of our land. This year, we have been paid $10,000 to leave some fallow." The farm and dominoes every Friday evening was the daily life of the family. "We had a bed, so when we had guests we slept on the floor for them to take our bed."



Naomi raised her granddaughter Anita as her own daughter when the little girl lost her mother because of a brain cancer. Anita remembers those precious moments of happiness after the tragedy: "I was sneaking at night to my grandparents to sleep with them. I also liked to help on the farm and playing outside. My grandmother cooked daily chocolate pies and fried chicken."











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WILL NAOMI GO VOTE ON THE 6TH OF NOVEMBER ?



Since 1965, Naomi lives in Paris. She is passionate about painting and her garden. Wayne was good at refurbishing furniture. Until retirement, Naomi and her husband had no health insurance. Then they took advantage of Medicare.



"We were very, very poor. You know, women did not vote until ... I do think I am gonna not vote this year. I have no way to get there and I am not following politics anymore, I do not want to make any mistakes." But Naomi is a Democrat. "I do not think rich people can understand the poor. If I vote, it will be for Obama." Anita and Gary are Republicans : "Obama has done too much spending and Mitt Romney knows how to manage his money."



While laughing, they tell Naomi: "If you vote for Mitt, we will take you to the poll!" But Anita then promises to conduct her grandmother whatever her choice if she wants to participate in elections.



When you ask Naomi the secret of her longevity, she replies, laughing: "It is not because of what I eat! Between fried chicken and donuts ... But hard work is surely the key." Living alone at 96 years does not bother her. "If it is my time to go, God can take me. I am not afraid, I sleep well!" she smiled. In case of any problem, the Texan can trigger an alarm she wears as a necklace.



In her will, Naomi is clear. The farm, which now produces wheat and cotton, can not be sold and must remain in the family. A family with 2 children, 5 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren. Five generations gathered around Naomi! For Anita, Texans are "hard-workers, honest, genuine." The spitting image of Naomi!