Dear Elizabeth,
Weather report.
It just hailed. The sound of little ticking on the windows grew louder, and then the wind kicked in, and the sheets of rain went diagonal. Yesterday the wind blew so hard, I passed a blown down awning on Christopher St. and at the corner of Varick and Franklin was a tipped over tree in its gigantic concrete planter.
They say the gusts were up to 40 miles per hour. Went shopping anyway. Impossible to think of shopping without thinking of you. Harry’s Shoes now has a whole store just for children. You were patient trying on different styles and sizes of shoes while the many older people competed for the attention of Harry’s sales men waiting on you.
When we shopped in the old Burlington Coat Factory on Park Place—you would hide under the clothes racks, slip between the hanging coats and dresses, play hide and seek there.
Now the Burlington Coat Factory is a mosque. And small children wear Uggs.
Patty,
ReplyDeleteThe memories you share are painted so beautifully with a mixture of color and sadness. Your canvas, your words....your art. They reflect her beauty, and how a childs soul grows within us even when there is no sun or rain. Your entries are beyond moving to me.
With much love,
Susan
How great to hear from you, Susan. Thank you for your kind words. Love, Patty
ReplyDeleteDear Patty,
ReplyDeleteThis morning on my way to work, one month after you posted this, I heard a piece on NPR about that very Burlington Coat Factory. It made me think of you, and Elizabeth, and then after Elizabeth, of course you again.
Sending my hopes for peace for you and her dad,
Claire