My Widow’s Week in 596 Words

My Red Hat Society chapter had a walk-about this week. We went to a neighborhood near downtown where a cluster of antique shops are located. They cater to young professionals and people looking for shabby chic and their stock was slightly different than what I’m used to seeing when I go antiquing. One store had a laundry basket full of faces from old pocket watches. It made me sad to think about all those past century pocket watches that were obviously melted down for their silver or gold, saving only the guts to sell to crafters. Those hundreds of tiny little roman numerals on ivory colored clock faces with ornate embellishments cried out to me. Needless to say I didn’t buy any of those $6.00 little gems. It would be like buying the bones of a once beautiful child. I have a dozen or so pocket watches slated to go up for auction on e-Bay and I came home wondering if I couldn’t somehow put them in a shadow box to display. But if I put everything in shadow boxes I’m having trouble parting with my walls would probably fall over from the extra weight.

Also in the same neighborhood was an old style deli where we ate lunch. The food was super flavorful and there was never a time while we were there that there wasn’t a line out the door. Dessert---Red Hatters never pass up dessert---was at an equally old style bakery. I can’t even remember the last time I’ve even seen a bakery and the cream puffs and éclairs shouted out: “Hey, I’ll look good on your hips!” The bakery had high shelves lining the walls with more antique cookie jars than I’ve ever seen in one place and I’ve seen a lot of cookie jar collections in my travels. I would never drive to this part of town alone which is probably a good thing because I’d be in that bakery way too often. I really do wish they’d outlaw sugar. If I had to buy sugary products under the cover of darkness I might have a chance of staying on a diet. I don’t like to drive after dark. My eye doctor, today, said I have the beginnings of cataracts and that’s what gives us old duffers the halo around street lights and headlights, making night driving so annoying. My cataracts are not big enough for him to start nagging me to let him remove them---his words, not mine---so I have a few move years of staying home after dark.

‘Old style’ seemed to be this week’s theme. At the senior luncheon I saw one of the best bands I’ve had the pleasure to see in a very long time. The music teachers who made up the band played six instruments between the three of them including a bass, fiddle, acoustical and regular style guitars, banjo, and a washboard. They played what they called “porch music” which was a blend of mountain music, prohibition era songs and stuff you could picture yourself singing if you were living in the book, The Grapes of Wrath, dirt poor and on the way to California to look for work. What made the show doubly good was in between the songs the teachers talked about the history of the genres they sang, their instruments and old time singers and song writers who influenced modern music. And all that for $6.00 including food.

It was a busy week but I’m starting to bore myself writing about it, so I’ll quit while I’m ahead. I want something big and exciting to happen it my life. Something bold and good that will cause me to wear the letters off my keyboard as I tell the world about it. Maybe next week.....maybe then I'll invent a 'years eraser' and I'll be twenty-two again and singing on stage with Taylor Swift. ©