Sunday, December 18, 2005
Christmas Job
Looking around the place at the decorations I have a tendency to wander back in time to other Christmases. Then when Silver Fox mentioned Kresges and Woolworth a memory came flooding back. Roughly 54 years ago I went to work after school for Neisner’s Dime Store in Royal Oak, Mi. to make some extra money for Christmas. I never thought at the time that my poor Mother had to drive me 27 miles twice a day to do this. I started out at the candy counter which was a lesson in how to develop a taste for only the best candy. I must confess that one time when my folks came in I was somewhat sloppy about how I weighed the candy ( a perk for working there).
As it got closer to Christmas I was put at the toy counter. It was stock the counter, straighten out the displays, stock the counter, and straighten again. In the meantime you tell the children not to play with the toys, call the stockroom for the merchandise that I had gone up to pull, wait on the customers, put the toys back that the kids left on the floor, stock the counter, and straighten the counter again. At the end of my shift I was worn out, my face hurt from smiling, and I was lucky I knew my name.
But I remember two things after all these years. One was that I bought my brothers cowboy gun and holster sets. The other was that right at Christmas I received a gift from the stock man . He was a black man who was always there with the containers of merchandise as soon as I needed them. He handed me this gift and I thank him but said I couldn’t take it. He insisted saying that during that whole rush, no matter how busy I was I always had a kind word and a smile for him. I thank him again and took my gift home to open on Christmas day. It was a set of costume jewelry.
Of course I worked inventory right after Christmas and returned to being just a high school student after that much to my Mother’s relief. It is amazing what Mom’s do for their kids then and now!
Grandma’s Save The Damnedest Things!
In hunting through several boxes for a picture of my brothers in younger days I came across this article in the Ogemaw County Herald dated Thursday, December 22, 1994.
The letter appeared in Notes To The North Pole and reads as follows:
Dear Ho Ho,
Hope you’re feeling fine and all rested up. We’ve been very good, most of the time.
I want you to please make a castle for me. I also want a flower with Tinkerbell in it, a sleepy Barbie doll and some Barbie stuff. That would be enough for me.
Could you bring my baby brother Dakota some stuff to open too? He can play with my castle with me.
Love you
Jasmine
It takes a discovery like this to remind you that time flys as you age.