Hello, Stranger!

When my granddaughter Zoey and I were at the local library one day after school, I saw a woman standing with a little girl, who I assumed was her daughter. Since the girls looked around the same age, and were shyly checking each other out, I introduced myself to the mom as the grandmom (no kidding) and she told me her name. Turns out the girls had seen each other in school, so they went off to play and mom and I sat down, a couple of seats apart, to keep our eyes on them.   

In times like this – 2 strangers within speaking distance – I often weigh whether it’s OK to make conversation or it’s NOT OK and better to assume the other person would rather be left alone. It’s not that I’m uncomfortable with the quiet; it’s that I see the opportunity to chat with someone new and possibly make a connection, which is always fun for me. Sometimes I hear David’s words echo in my ear: “Why do you always feel you have to talk to ‘random’ people?” which makes me think twice but usually I proceed anyway.

On this day at the library, I decided to do what I wanted to do – after all, it was my birthday!  I asked mom if they visit the library often, since I had never seen them before. In a way, it sounded like the infamous pick-up line: “Do you come here often?” but it was an appropriate question given the scenario. Her response was so pleasant, and she was very happy to talk. She said they had recently moved to this area from Oregon and didn’t know many people but both she and her daughter love the library, especially on the monthly Book Club days. I had no idea that this library had a Book Club for little ones! She then filled me in on all the details and told me to sign up online if interested. I decided to talk to Zoey and her parents about it later.      

Zoey seemed very excited. When the next Book Club day came, I received an email that the leader was sick and that day’s meeting was cancelled. I was sooooooooo disappointed and knew that Zoey would be too.

As I was on my way to pick her up from school, my girlfriend called to wish me well on my special day. Given how consumed I was at the moment with letting Zoey down, I proceeded to tell my friend about the situation. When I was done, she said "I understand," quickly pivoting to "Your library has a Book Club for kids in elementary school?”

A retired elementary school teacher who gives me great book recommendations for kids that are always a hit, she seemed so impressed! She didn’t think her library had this activity but said she was going to check. When I got home, I sent her a link to my library’s “Events” page, where the Book Club and other programming was listed by date.

Meantime, I picked up Zoey and when I told her the news about the cancellation, she held up her hands in exasperation and said, “Why did we do all that reading then?” I don’t like letting my grandbabies down. That felt so wrong. I wasn’t sure how the next hour would play out, but she rebounded quite nicely, thank goodness.

Just two weeks later, my girlfriend texted me: “I am so excited! I spoke with Mr. Tate from your library about the Book Club and…I am going to start one!” WOW. She wasn’t messing around. 

I have been marveling over this for weeks. I am so happy for my girlfriend, who seems genuinely thrilled to create her library’s first children’s Book Club – and what lucky kids! This came to be, at this time, as a result of my talking to a “random” woman at the library who told me about it, and then sharing that information with my girlfriend who happened to call me to say Happy Birthday while I was ruminating over Zoey’s reaction to the cancellation.  

You never know where a chance conversation with a “stranger” might lead, and/or how it might impact someone and, in this case, my friend, too.  

I also learned that the library mom’s daughter is a “Daisy”…en route to being a full-fledged Girl Scout (which I was and loved)…most importantly, I now have a direct connection to Girl Scout cookies!

Summer of '79

The summer of my 19^th year was filled with memorable firsts. I spent Memorial Day through Labor Day with girlfriends in Atlantic City, I got a taste of independence from my parents, I drove a tram on the boardwalk, I met lots of new faces from all over the country and Ireland who came to AC to work, and I fell in love.      

A quaint outdoor shopping center filled with boutique shops had recently opened near the tram facility called Gordon’s Alley, so my roommate and I checked it out on our first free day. We were giddy with all the trendy, fun stuff we saw that spoke to our sense of style and whimsy. I was truly in my glory there, surrounded by all the things I was obsessed with at the time: tie-dye, bell bottom embroidered jeans and…leather.

That’s where IT happened: at the Frye leather shop, where I found the look, feel and smell of leather absolutely intoxicating. It was love at first sight for me, when I eyed the most perfect pair of boots. They were a gorgeous “banana” color, with leather on the upper and suede on the shaft. The heel was about 2” and had a slightly pointed toe that varied from Frye’s iconic square style.

The price tag of the boots was steep: they cost in the upper $80s or $90s. That equated to more than one week of work, paid at the minimum wage rate at that time of $2.50 per hour. This was a lot of money for me to spend when the expenses of the summer were just getting started and were entirely on me, with no help from mom and dad. I could not give up a week’s pay – how would I go out to the bars after my shifts ended with my tram crew if I did that?

I was, however, intent on getting these boots, even though I knew that my mom would think they were a waste of money. She would say that I already have a pair that I don’t wear much, but those were my sister’s old lime green go-go boots, and I didn’t get them until she outgrew them, when they were no longer fashionable.

My mom had given me a credit card and said to use it only in an emergency, and I knew that buying these boots was not that, although there was no way I was going home on Labor Day without them. Back then, layaway was a popular and very smart option to manage the cost of expensive items so that no debt was accrued. The Frye store arrangement was that I’d come into the store once a week for about 6 weeks and pay off the boots. That could have been risky if every time I went in there or to any of the other shops I’d want to buy something else, but I kept my other impulses in check, thank goodness.

By the end of the summer, my boots and I went home together, and we were inseparable.  I was happy as could be. I wore them for years and years until there wasn’t much left of them. I have bought other boots since, none of which were Frye, and none compared to my love for my very first pair. About 20 years ago I bought a Frye handbag which I still enjoy today, but it’s way too heavy to use on a daily basis; it actually feels like luggage. Still, it fills me with memories of my carefree existence way back when, and that is surely worth some shoulder discomfort.

What was your first love?