Shopping Memories

It's Friday again, and I'm fresh out of thoughts to write about. I'm sure something should be popping into my head that could be somewhat interesting........I'll be glad when it shows up!

Dr. Oz's show just finished – it was a rerun from just before Mother's Day. And that triggered a childhood memory. My favorite store in my pre-teen years was Mattingly's Five & Dime, on the northeast corner of the local town square. There were so many things to look at.

And when Mother's Day – or any other special event – came up, I never failed to find something to buy with my meager funds for a gift. It may not been on my usual aisle to check out, but Mattingly's had bottles of perfume for just 25 cents. I'm sure it smelled wonderful......I never noticed Mom smelling BAD, and she always had a good supply of that perfume on hand. It was about the only thing I ever bought her.

Dad was harder to buy for. I remember one time I ended up buying him a steptic pencil.......I'm not sure I spelled that right, to tell you the truth. And I'm not sure if they're even made anymore. But it was a white pencil-shaped “something” that men could swipe on razor cuts to make them stop bleeding. Dad didn't cut himself much while shaving, but that thing was the only I found within my ten-cent budget. So that's what he got.

Mattingly's had a great candy counter with a lot of bulk candy. That was always fun to check out. There were toys, makeup, clothes, needlework, cards, knick-knacks. You name it, they had it. I always enjoy checking out the old-time Five and Dime in Branson when we go there – just so many memories! Mattingly's had a “toyland”, too. It was at the back of the store, on the second level. In November I would check the store every week to see if the lighted Santa above the stairs was lit – that was the signal that Toyland was open. I would spend a lot of time up there, checking everything out.

Mom would occasionally buy candy at Mattingly's candy counter. That provided a light moment in what was one of the scariest times in my life....in late January when I was in second grade, Mom and Dad picked up Grandpa one weekday and they went to town for groceries. While in Mattingly's, mom bought a pound of Valentine conversation hearts. They stopped at Grandpa's on the way home, and Mom was fixing lunch for everyone.

There was a knock at Grandpa's door, and the person at the door kidnapped Dad at gunpoint. The two of them left in our car, and a wild couple of hours ensued. Dad convinced the kidnapper that he needed to fill up the car at the local gas station, then further convinced the kidnapper they needed to drive by the farm where Mom worked for some of our neighbors. At that farm, Dad was able to jump out of the car and disappear behind some outbuildings. The kidnapper drove off in our car.

In the meantime, Grandpa flagged down my cousin as he drove by, and they took off after the car. The kidnapper was driving very fast down a gravel road and then rolled the car during an attempt to change gears – the kidnapper had not driven an automatic, and that action of shifting caused the accident.

The car ended up in a fall-plowed field. After everyone was reunited, my cousin asked mom how many of those little conversation hearts she'd bought......in his description, it looked like about an acre of that plowed field was covered with the candy!

I don't remember if we got any more conversation hearts that year or not. It was more than enough to have everyone reunited safe and sound!