Happy Birthday, Cactus Mary Fountaine

Cactus Mary Fountaine— our hardnosed no-nonsense Lady of Common Sense—turned 50 today. She’s the Cinco Puntos Fulfillment and Warehouse Manager, and she’s been with Cinco Puntos since 2000 or thereabouts. We were still in our house on Louisville Street. Mary also supports Johnny Byrd in managing accounting matters and she has recently moved to a desk up front so she can also manage our retail space. She’s the only person here with two desks.

Once, during a particularly hard month, Mary told me, “Bobby, this business bleeds money.”

“Yeah,” I said, “tell me about it.”

And she did.

In El Paso she’s known as Cactus Mary, a small-business woman who makes and sells wonderful hand-crafted soaps. If you’re here on a Saturday morning during the summer and fall months, please drop by Ardovino’s Desert Crossing for the farmer’s market. Mary, or a cohort, will be there selling Cactus Mary Soaps. Last night, when this picture was taken, the Cinco Puntos gang went out to Ardovino’s to celebrate. Mary had the Chicken Marsala and two glasses of a nice white wine. And today she’s taken her birthday holiday.

Happy Birthday, Mary!