She was only in her early sixties, but the older she became the less sleep she seemed to need. She didn't even use an alarm clock. At the first hint of daylight, she'd roll over and climb out of bed to start her day. Her toilette was simple. The first thing she did was plug in her curling iron. Then she put on a vinyl cap and took a three-minute shower. After that, she brushed her teeth and rinsed with watered-down hydrogen peroxide. She spruced up her hair last. She went to a little hair salon on the lower east side every Thursday for a wash, a brick set, and a comb out. She'd been going to the same salon since l975 and she always had her mousy brown hair done the same way. All she had to do was fix a few flattened curls with the iron and spray them until they were slick and firm again. When her hair was done, she'd put on some red lipstick and a small pair of pearl earrings and she was ready to go anywhere. Jane Francis had this down to a science. She even laid one of her simple cotton dresses out every night before she went to bed.
