Enjoying a panini sandwich with a delicious, homegrown tomato the other day reminded me of my first "retail" experience. My best bud growing up was Bryan Rhodes, who lived right across the street, and he was my partner in crime back in the day. Ahh yes, the year of the juicy red tomato, and my first foray into the retail market...here's the deal...
Bryan and I had a great many childhood adventures: HOURS in the sandbox, swing set games, firefly hunting, and chasing after the big, mysterious trucks that came around spraying for mosquitoes at night (brilliant, right?) Each summer day began at the crack of dawn with a bowl of Lucky Charms and a glass of Tang, and then we met up and headed out for adventure. The two of us tried to light anthills on fire with magnifying glasses, ran through the sprinkler, and rode Big Wheels around the block HUNDREDS of times: Brian had the super-deluxe model, but I had the sandbox... His mom was an expert at bandaging our skinned knees, and my mom made the PB&J sandwiches just the way we liked them. Evenings usually ended with a marathon game of Ghost in the Graveyard and then collapsing into bed only to start all over again the next day.
For rainy days, Brian and I were also fans of the local dime store as a source for some of our summer entertainment. Yo-yo's, cards, silly putty, comic books and glider airplanes were always on our list, and we relished the chance to wander the long aisles covered in white linoleum flooring. Of course, allowance and Grandma's good will stretched only so far: Often we found ourselves in need of hard currency. However, while some kids did the Kool-Aid stand, we saw the cash potential of tomatoes. No 5-cents a glass for us--we wanted the big score. My dad had a ridiculously good bumper crop that year, so...tomatoes to the rescue. Up went our little store front at the curb, out came the bags of home grown tomatoes, and in came the customers..........we hit it big. Flush with cash for the rest of the summer, Bryan and I spent many hours perusing the isles of the 5-and-dime.
Ironically, some 30 years later, Clever Girl now occupies the very space of that old dime store. Our stock room still has the old white flooring, and I often remember the excitement of time spent wandering among the displays of toys and goodies. Happily, the space is still full of goodies--now just a little bit more "grown-up" goodies.
