continuing MEMORIES

When I left off last time, I was speaking of how I had stolen, once, but then another time when I did take something, I was a tiny little girl, and sister, Phyllis, who was 3 and 1/2 years older than me, and my best friend, went to a section of Roxbury called Uphams Corner. Phyllis and I, and Betty walked over there, and into another five and ten cent store. I remember it was laid out in sorta tables, blond wood, and the tables were concave, I think, sort of hollowed out, where all the merchandise was in folded-up piles.

Well, Phyllis was always the family protector, and she also did everything she could to help our parents. She took it into her head one day, for all us girls to go to that store, and what she did, was hard to believe ! She went from one table to another, with an old-fashioned shopping bag...make that 2 shopping bags, and went straight to the table that held slips and other underwear for girls. There were pink ones and white ones and peach-colored ones. We'd never had anything so fancy ! Well, there stood Phyllis, and next to her, on either side, was Betty and me. Phyllis picked up each of the pink or peach ones, one at a time, and would say, 'This one will fit Betty, this one will fit Anne, this one will fit you, Dotty, and this one will fit me !! She went on to other tables, after gathering up a bunch of slips, and putting them in the bags. At the other tables, she picked out other items of clothing for we girls, and got some stuff for Paul,

too !! I remember that at one of the regular counters, there were some kids jewelry displayed, cheap plastic stuff . I was so little, that I just reached my hand up and grabbed something ! Turned out to be a necklace and bracelet set, on a piece of cardboard backing. I thought it was beautiful, and put that in one of the bags . I don't remember what all the other things were, all I know is how happy and fascinated with the pretty slips I was !! When Phyllis had picked out what she must have thought was enough for our family, both shopping bags full, we walked right out of the store, and walked back home again, and she and Betty must have told the biggest whopper of their lives just then, saying that we were all just sitting on a bench someplace outside of the store, when some lady came over to us, and for some unknown reason, handed those 2 bags to us, and asked us to watch them for her, while she went to do another errand, and didn't want to have to lug those bags all around with her, and since we were just sitting there, could we please hold them for her, until she got done and she would come back for them ?? Well, as the girls were telling the story, mostly Phyllis, anyway, Mamma got suspicious, especially when she looked at the stuff, and, magically, it all was just the right sizes for us kids ! Well, somehow, I've always thought we got to keep the slips, etc., but a few years ago, before my sister died, we were discussing it one day, and when I mentioned how we got to keep all the clothes, she told me, no, we didn't , that she and Betty had to take them back . I'm still not quite sure about that, b/c I seem to remember wearing those pretty slips. Phyllis was undergoing Chemotherapy at the time, and maybe it distorted her memory.

Or, my own memory could be false !

Anyway, that 'shopping' trip was wonderful !!

When I was 3, my sister, Phyllis came home from school one day, and found me playing outside, and I was all dirty, but she scooped me up and took me back to school with her...maybe it was lunch time, or recess. anyway, she took me there and put me on the piano, and had me sing for whoever was there. she was so proud of me, and my singing ability, that she wanted to show me off . She did, but got a scolding from Mamma for not cleaning me up first, or asking permission

to take me.

Another time, also when I was 3, I went on the stage at our church, the old Dudley St. Baptist Church. It was some show they put on, and I was picked to sing 'The Good Ship, Lollipop', a favorite song at the time, made popular by a child movie-star, Shirley Temple .

I wore a bright, yellow dress, and was presented as 'The Duchess of Candyland !', and when I got out on that stage, and saw all those faces looking at me, probably one of the shyest people on the planet, I looked down, and sang the whole song that way. I could see the footlights, tho', but they were so bright, the faces were obscured, so it wasn't too bad an experience !

I had a good voice then, as well as my sisters, and we were all in the church choir for some years. I loved that church, and the pastor, Pastor Brooks. He was a cute little man, chubby and balding, and looked somewhat like the Monopoly Man on the game box. We sometimes went to his home. He and his wife were very nice to us kids. Our parents never went to church, that I'm aware of, but they sent us every Sunday, sometimes with a penny or two for each of us to put in the collection basket. sometimes we did that, but, other times, we bought candy with it.

When we kids got home around noon, the house was filled with the delicious smells of whatever Mamma had cooked for our dinner. Remember, we ate dinner at noontime !

We'd go and change out of our good clothes into everyday outfits, then wash and settle down at the table. Mamma would serve each of us, and we never reached for anything, we always had to ask for food to be passed to us, ditto the salt or pepper. I was always the last one to finish my food, and I had to sit there until I did ! Sometimes I had to eat my sister's peas, which I hated, or drink her milk, which I hated more !! Mamma and Daddy had already left the table, with only Phyllis and I remaining there. and that's when she would put her peas on my plate, and order me to drink her damned milk, too !! That's the only mean stuff she did to me . All the rest of the time, she was really nice to me.

Anne was nice to me, too. She would take me in town, Boston proper, on the El train, to one of the movie-houses there . The biggest, most plush one was the Paramount theater. It had a beautiful, grand staircase, leading to the balcony area, and we always went up there. Anne always bought me a Skybar candy bar, and sometimes some non-pareils candy, or Hershey bar or Kisses, and popcorn to eat while we watched the movie. I was in Heaven, with all those goodies ! Also, afterwards, or was it before, she would take me to a soda-fountain and buy me a strawberry milkshake , my favorite !! Treated me like a little princess !

Other times, Anne would pay me to dust her little bookcase full of Perry Mason books, and change her purse, sometimes, into another purse, while she would be getting ready to go out somewhere. She also sometimes let me help her choose which dress she was going to wear. for all this, she'd reward me with maybe an old string of beads that she didn't want any more, or have me run down to the Kasanov's bakery to buy her a HUGE chunk of their cheesecake, for

15 cents, then cut off a chunk for me. Mmmmmmm, good !

That bakery had some of the most wonderful pastries... the cheesecake, of course, big, big pieces of mocha cake, big, big fruit squares, all kinds. some of our favorites were lemon, apple, blueberry , and fig. Everything was cut into really HUGE pieces, and all cost 15 cents.

Their jelly donuts were great, also. Paul and I would be walking by the bakery sometimes, and a window would open on the second floor, and someone would ask us to do an errand for him, and our reward for doing so was one of their big, delicious jelly donuts ! We could accept that, but if one of our neighbors asked us to return their tonic bottles for the deposit, we were not allowed to accept a reward for that. We had to bring the money, all of it, back to the person who'd asked us to do that for them. We didn't think that was fair, but Mamma told us we could do our neighbors a favor .

Well, that seems to me to be enough for now. More will be forthcoming .

I love remembering all these happy times.

Hope you enjoy reading of my childhood exploits !

Until next time.

D