"Growed Up' Small Town

I was just sitting here thinking about the old days, back when I was growing up and the town I lived in and all the people I knew.

Growing up in a small southern town had a lot of good times and bad, but oh, how I miss it. Yea I still live in a small town, it’s a totally different kind of small town and no where is quite like where you were “growed up” is it?

Our town was very small, so small that everyone knew you who lived there. It was very nice because we had our own little community.

There were no major stores in our town. There however was a small store. A family owned Quick Stop where you could buy bread and milk and a limited amount of groceries. The Grossman’s they owned it and lived in an apartment above the store.

I remember, you could get daily made fresh barbeque around lunch time. I can still remember stopping by on Saturdays and getting a few of Mrs. Grossman’s pulled pork bbq sandwiches, if I remember right even back in the late 1980’s they were like .75 cents a piece, what a deal. They also had the old Soda Fountain with the bar and the chrome round seats that you could sit at and drink your coke at. That was something else, and Mr. Grossman, for just a little more would make you a great ice cream float, wow those were the days.

A Soda Fountain, that’s something you don't see very often these days anymore.

At the Quick stop, in the summer time you could buy fresh vegetables from the garden if you wanted too. I can remember going up there with pennies, you could buy bubble gum back then for a penny. Okay I am going to show my age on this one, can you remember when you could buy a candy bar, and I am talking one bigger than you buy now and it was only .25 cents. A pack of cigarettes was way less than a dollar if I remember right. Since the time I lived there the Grossman’s retired and Mr. Grossman has since passed away. I have to admit, LOL when I was growing up I thought they should have been retired many years before that. They didn’t have kids to carry on the tradition so the last time I went through there looking around, the store was boarded up with an 8’ chain link fence around it.

We had a post-office that was also the town hang out for us. We used to sit in the parking lot at night and watch the red light change colors and drink beer, boy was that exciting. LOL, you could walk in front of the post office and look in the glass window and see if there was anything in your box. I use to get mad as heck when they would tell me what was in my mailbox before they would even hand it to me.

Like I said earlier in this blog, everybody knew everybody and everyone's you’re your business. If you wanted to know anything, just go to the post office or the First Baptist Church, you would get 411 and find out what was going on in town without even asking to be told if you just listened.

Grandma happened to be on the Town City Council and was a member of the Church and on several Church Committee’s till her death. Boy, granny would always come home after Church or from hanging out at the Town Hall and give me all heck about what she heard I was doing around town, she could tell me who I was dating, who I was seen smooching with, who I was hanging out with and how much money I had in my pocket just from the local gossip. Heck sometimes I think they knew what I was going to get into even before I did.

We had neighbors who grew fresh gardens and sold their produce down on 12th Avenue, it was kind of like a road side Farmers Market. I remember going down to one truck all the time, it belonged to Mr. Spann, I think he was sweet on my Grandma, anyhow I would go down and buy tomatoes. I would tell him I need fifty cents worth of tomatoes. After that stop I would be carrying a large bag of tomatoes home. What we pay five dollars for today would probably cost us thirty cents back then. I don't know if everyone got that many or if he was just being generous cause of my Grandma, and my family and the fact that fifty cents worth wasn't many "tomaters" I guess. But he sure did give us a lot. Then there was corn on the cob, grandma would send me down to buy a dozen and he would always throw in some extra. What a guy! And he always said “he knew I was a growing boy and needed to eat.”

Times sure have changes back then everybody looked out for everybody. Now a days no one wants to get involved in anything that has to do with helping you or lending you a hand. Back then if you needed help with anything you just picked up the phone and you would probably have two or three car loads of folks come over to lend a hand with whatever it was you needed help with.

LMAO, did I forget to mention getting into trouble around a small town. You think no one sees you, until you get back home and then you know they did. I used to do things and before I got home the “Grandma’s” were at the door tapping their feet with that look in their eyes. Boy did I get my butt chewed out many a day when I got back home from some of my adventures.

And the time I was 13 and got caught drinking down by the river. There were eyes everywhere, even if you couldn't see them. I remember the time a friend and I wanted to buy beer. At the time I had money and he didn't. We actually found someone to buy us some beer, but it cost me a six pack for him too. His name was Bill, they people around town called him “Bicycle Bill” because he had a souped up bike with believe it or not a 12 volt car battery in a basket and had it equipped with a cb radio, Bicycle Bill was way a head of his time in communications. Anyhow, my friend wanted some beer and I wouldn't give any to him. Well, I was out walking around and he caused me to drop the beer and two cans busted, talk about getting mad. But who could I tell, I wasn't supposed to be drinking, I was only 13 at the time. But sooner or later I did get even with him, boy did I!

I could go on and on about living in the little country town but I am running out of typing area and I am sure you are running out of patience to read further.

If you have ever lived in a small country town when you were growing up then you can probably understand where I am coming from if not then you don't know what you have missed in life.

Happy Holidays!