When I heard James Earl Jones passed,
I smiled and I remembered...
Long ago, in the days before cell phones with cameras,
I left school on December 23 with a huge list of
what needed to be done for the looming holiday
replacing lesson plans and curriculum concerns.
The snow had already begun to fall, and the forecast called for
lots of white stuff before the impending holiday.
Part of me knew I really should head to the babysitter's to pick up my kids,
but the other part of me hoped I had enough time to
stop at the local Grand Union to pick up a few things.
Like almost everyone else in town, I grabbed a cart and threw in the snowy day essentials like bread, milk, and eggs. I impulsively grabbed flour and sugar thinking I might just bake cookies while stuck inside. The lines were growing, so I pulled into the nearest one and impulsively grabbed a slew of the in-reach items. A scored a couple of Swedish Fish, Twizzlers, M & M s, Hershey Kisses, Jolley Ranchers, Altoids, bubble gum, gummy. worms, pens, travel sized games and travel size toothbrushes for good measure. I was pretty sure this would be my last shopping before the big holiday and so I took full advantage of that impulse aisle! I suspect I was thinking about the excessive amount of sugar destined for those stockings or perhaps I was bemoaning the lack of weather appropriate footwear, but the voice behind me was comforting and familiar.
"Helping the big man out?" he asked with a laugh as I threw the haul onto the conveyor belt. "Did you see these Santa candy dispensers?" he asked reaching for Santa Pez dispensers in the nearby aisle. He carried only a handbasket, but was dressed for the snowy afternoon in an oversized coat.
I surely smiled as I responded to the bigger than life local hero who popped 2 Pez dispensers onto my belt.
"You needed them," he chuckled.
Let's be honest. The novelty dispensers were
a bigger hit than all the junk I purchased!
I've long wondered how he retold the story
of his Grand Union encounter
with a snow-holiday-stressed local teacher!
snowfall outside
2 comments:
Oh wow. I agree that a pez dispenser is a must have with a pack of refills to go with it.
That's a great memory, Anita! I can almost hear him! And, yes, his version of the story would have been fun to hear, for sure!
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