Tricia York
| Tricia York | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sex | F |
| Birth name | Patricia York |
| Birth date | 1980 |
| Spouse | Henry McMahon |
Tricia York was first introduced to readers as Peppermint Patty, the self-selected work name of a young prostitute at the Redlite Ranch Bordello in Antelope Valley, Nevada.SQ1 After completion of her residency several years later she becomes one of the main doctors in the town of Spearfish Lake and the main subject of the book Hiding Patty. After her wedding to Henry McMahon she changed her name to Tricia McMahon.HP33
Peppermint Patty
The actual laws in the state of Nevada require six weeks of residency inside Nevada before you can get a divorce. This delay is a major plot device in the book Square One and causes Danny Evachevski to spend his six weeks in December 2000 staying at the cheapest place he can find, the Sagebrush Motel in Antelope Valley. One week into his stay he is hired as a combination bartender / bouncer / waiter right across the highway at the Redlite. Peppermint Patty provides a conversational partner as he waits and works the remaining five weeks. While she has given Danny a standing offer for a freebie, he prefers to spend his time just talking with her.SQ3
Patty is first described as "blonde; Danny guessed she might go five-one or five-two, slender, and shapely, if not real large in the chest."SQ1 She is not a natural blonde, but dyes her hair, including eyebrows.HP4
Patty's family doesn't have much money, but her grades got her accepted into UCLA, one of the top universities in the Los Angeles, California area, for pre-med studies. Her roommate MaryAnn introduced her to George Bush and the Redlite. She worked every other weekend for over a year, but "I wasn’t gaining any ground on my student loan debt, and I needed some time off."SQ3
As of the fall of 2000, "...so I’m taking a year off to work three (weeks) on and one off. I’ve banked about a hundred thousand since May. I’ll work weekends when I go back to school."SQ1 With this plan she hopes to finish medical school debt-free.
Patty's parents are separated and both think she's "working as a waitress in a casino. Neither of them is real happy about it. They’d shit if they knew what was really going on."SQ3
Patty had persuaded George Bush to buy a home automatic emergency defibrillator for the Redlite Ranch. She had to use it on a client who collapsed and got him stabilised enough to be flown to hospital.HOG8
Dr. York
Tricia's mother died before she finished college. After her mother's death, Tricia spent another summer at Redlite, completed her senior year, and, after spending three months at Redlite to gather more funds, entered the medical school at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.HP2
In the last chapter of Square One (about 2009), a new Doctor arrives in Spearfish Lake, Dr. Tricia York, who to Danny's surprise is Peppermint Patty. Danny promises to keep her secret.SQ51 HP2
Dr. York graduated in medicine from The University of Wisconsin and was recruited by Dr. Gene Metarie when Dr. Luce decided to retire and there was now more work than Gene wanted.HP1 When she arrived in Spearfish Lake she rented a duplex on Oak Street from Binky Augsberg.HP7 It is tempting to think it was the same one Dr. and Penny Luce had rented when they arrived.FK5
Timeline
Based on the initial meeting with Danny, and relative dates thence.
- About 1980: Tricia is born.
- September 1998: Tricia enters UCLA, with almost no financial aid or family funds, and is forced to get student loans.HP2
- May 2000: Two days after the end of her of her second school year, Tricia, as Peppermint Patty, begins a 16-month stint at Redlite.HP2
- November 2000: About halfway through a 16-month stint at Redlite, Patty meets Danny.HP2 and SQ3
- September 2001: Tricia starts her third year at UCLA.
- December 2001: Tricia's mother gets sick, and dies a few months later. Most of Patty's savings are gone to pay for her mother's care.
- Summer 2002: Patty returns to the Redlite.
- Summer 2003: Tricia graduates from UCLA, then Patty spends three more months at the Redlite.
- Septemeber 2003: Tricia enters the University of Wisconsin Medical School at Madison.
- May 2005: after finishing two years of medical school, Tricia runs out of funds.HP2 The Donna Clark Foundation (along with several other Spearfish Lake groups and individuals) enter into a contract with Tricia to fund the rest of her education in return for Dr. York coming to work in Spearfish Lake for a minimum of five years.HP1
- Fall 2009: after more than four years of additional training, Dr. York completes her schooling, her internship and family practice residency at Milwaukee General Hospital, acquires board certification (i.e. licensing) and the right to put MD after her name. She relocates to Spearfish Lake to take over the medical practice of Dr. Herman Luce.HP1
- Late August or early September 2009: The actual transfer of the practice takes place and Dr. Luce retires to Florida.HP11
- Labor Day, 2010: Tricia marries Henry McMahon on the beach off the end of Oak Street on Lakeshore Drive.HP33
- Within six weeks Tricia changes her professional name to McMahon - Six weeks later there was another gathering at which Tricia played an important part... Dr. Gene Metarie and Dr. Tricia McMahon... cut a ribbon to officially open the new Spearfish Lake Medical Center.HP33
Name Notes
Tricia is a common diminutive of Patricia, Dr. York's official given name. Patty is another common diminutive of Patricia.
Note for readers outside the USA: The words "Peppermint Patty" and "York" are part of a double humorous play on words:
1) Hersheys Corporation makes a chocolate coated treat, marketed under the York Peppermint Pattie name. See the Wikipedia page for the Peppermint Pattie and the Peppermint Pattie page at the Hersheys corporate web site
2) "Peppermint Patty" is a tomboy character in the "Peanuts" comic strip created by Charles Shultz. See the "Peanuts" Peppermint Patty at Wikipedia. Hence the line "...her work name was Peppermint Patty, and Danny thought that Charles Schulz had to be rolling over in his grave." SQ1
