Memories

I will try to remember the long distant past, with some of my Life's Free Treats from childhood.

A friend mentioned that she likes to see trees in towns, and it made me remember how much I loved the trees in the small township where I grew up.
The main street was a divided road, with an avenue of trees in the center. Provided wonderful shade in the heat of Summer, and the 'elders' of the district, who came to town to do business, would often be found sitting under the cool green shadows of those lovely trees.

It seems ridiculous, but I cannot remember the name or type of trees they were, but they were deciduous and so in the Winter's cold, they had shed their leaves and allowed the warm rays of winter sun to penetrate the avenue. I loved those trees, and the small town still has the old trees in the avenue from long ago. It is rather nice to visit and find the memory of those trees and that avenue are not false, and it is still the way I remember it all. So many memories disappoint on revisitation.

Makes me think that someone with care, and aesthetic appreciation must have designed that street.It is still the main street of the town, and passing traffic on the way to busy cities,  still travels that tree lined avenue. No doubt in the near future there will be a by-pass highway built, so that traffic does not have to slow down to travel that main street, of that somewhat sleepy town.

There were shops lining each side of that avenue, and there was a large Post Office, with wide concrete steps leading up into the interior. Sometimes people would sit on those steps and smoke a pipe or cigarettes. There was a wonderful bookshop that sold toys and novelties, and it also had a small lending library of books in the back of the shop. One of my best friends got a school holiday/Friday night job at that shop and she would ensure we got the best (adult) book choices to read! Skulduggery in country smalltown!

There was a large "Bargain Store" which sold everything from women's and men's clothing, shoes and slippers,  to linen and haberdashery.  Oh, and there was fabric!! It was my school holiday/Friday night employment and I loved that shop, and the lovely lady who managed it. A girl I had always been very wary of, was the other 'girl' and I got to be very fond of her also. Turned out she had been very wary of me, also! We had much fun, and I somehow loved arranging all the stock, and keeping things orderly. Even serving customers was alright, though I had been initially very nervous.

I remember the heated excitement of Christmas Eve, before I was a older, where there would be a Santa Parade down that street, and all we children of the district lined up on the footpaths, to watch the glitter and excitement of seeing Santa. Never mind that he often smelt distinctly 'beery'. Or the fact that his beard and wig were often slightly askew. It was very hot at Christmas time in our part of the world, so a bulky man in a hot, thick red suit, with beard and wig, were probably a big ask.

Of course the Santa sleigh was a large truck, with Santa seated on some type of chair on the back of the tray. From memory there were some elves? fairies? angels? little helpers, in the shape of teenage girls?  throwing lollies at the crowds. It was all very crowded and hot, and I suppose, given that weary parents had to try to settle feverishly excited little people off to sleep, it might have aided in tiring us out.

Of course as we got older, we felt we were far too sophisticated to join the Santa Parade. As teenagers we would parade that avenue, on Friday nights,  hoping to catch glimpses of our recent 'crush', and it was smalltown entertainment for us, and the place to see, and be seen. We would dress in our finest, and strut about the street, giggling, I suppose, though I was never much of a 'giggler' and eyeing off others to see what the latest trend was, or who was 'going' with who. It was a time of innocence, and harmless fun.

My days of part time employment ended, and I joined the full time work force, while I waited to begin my Nursing Career.
And therein lies another era for me.


Dean Martin, "That's  Amore" 
That is from my teenage years! So long ago. I am not even sure it was Dean Martin who sang the original.