Friday, January 18, 2019

Rest In Peace, Lois


and thank-you for the fond memories! 
In all the years I knew Lois two things never changed; her smile and her hair-colour!
 I took some photos of photos in an album from 1983, 
the year the Goldstone General Store closed its doors.

Oh, how I wish I would have one photo of the candy counter, our childhood paradise
and motivator of many a garden-fare picked and podded, husked etc!
A nickel for every cup of peas we podded, now, 
that was incentive to be careful not to spill your bowl or eat too many!
The patience of 'the store-keeper' has impressed all of us Martin-children as we recall our lengthy escapades at the candy-counter, while her kitchen-chores waited, a few steps away!


We, wide-eyed with a dime to spend
Would stand and debate without end
(it must have seemed to she who smiled)
…and waited as the Martins whiled
Her precious afternoon to end
Because we had a dime to spend
And tried to stretch each cent somehow
As far as candies would allow
Or bubble-gum, like graperoo
(With it you got a cartoon too)
And if the whole stick you dared to ‘waste’
You could blow bubbles as big as your face
Or, would blackballs be the best deal?
Two for a penny, that’s twenty! A steal
But then that would mean no candy hearts
Or licorice or delicious sweet-tarts
Or fun-dip, or sugar straws or lollipops
So much to choose from in candy shops
And the floor would squeak beneath our feet
As we gazed at a wonderland of sweets
Where there’s a lot of angles to contend
With when you have a dime to spend
Sometimes as we mulled over facts of money
Lois would slice a pound of baloney
And tend to another neighbour or two
Who hurried in and out with far more to do
Than stare through the stars in their eyes to decide
Which flavour would accompany tasks tonight

© Janet Martin




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Thank-you for stopping by my porch! I hope you were blessed!