When I was a little girl, my mother would take us to Woolworth’s on the Barre-Montpelier road(Vermont). On the very best days ever, she would treat us to lunch. If someone asked me, then, what the very best place to eat was, it was the Woolworth’s lunch counter. Fries fried in good old heart clogging oil or maybe it was lard. The kind of fries that tasted like a cross between a McDonald’s french fry & a Lay’s potato chip. Perfection. My mother would shop while my twin brother & I whispered to one another, “maybe…today we can eat here” If we were good, my mother would take us to the back where the birds, mice, hamsters & fish tanks were. We could hang out for hours. As we got older, we could go straight to pets, while she puttered around just looking. You’d NEVER find a place like Woolworth’s today. Today we are all aware that you cannot have a junk/cosmetic/drug/pet store with a lunch counter in it. A lunch counter that held ashtrays for smoking. Gasp! Smoking beside young children who just had their fingers all over the birdcage shoveling french fries & second-hand smoke down their young throats. It was HEAVEN.
Everyone knew everything could kill you, but it seemed everyone accepted life ended, might as well enjoy it while it lasts. Now…ugh. The world is dangerous place with everyone shouting…”no sugar, no trans fats, no sodas, no diet sodas, no drinking, no smoking…WASH YOUR HANDS! In human history we have never been so OBSESSED with living forever & we’ve never been cleaner. Are we happier?
I don’t think so. I think we are all stressed with EVERYTHING going WRONG & we could…die. Well, that is no way to live. I like my vices, a few drinks a week, a couple of cookies after dinner, a fountain REGULAR coke. I don’t want to live forever. I want to live happily. I understand moderation. I like to have McDonald’s happy meal (boy toy please) once a month. I like the cheap five dollar pizzas at Little Caesar’s every other week with a movie as a family. We are busy making memories, don’t bother me about my health right now. I don’t look at what we, as a family, eat everyday, I stretch it over a week. To hell with obsessive food craze, we eat our veggies, tofu, humus, quinoa, we just follow it with a girl scout cookie or three. I want simple pleasures for my family. We have a big jar of candy left over from holidays. Nobody eats it. Because it is right there to take if anyone really needs a vice for having a crappy day.
Today, my mother & I walked into a living time capsule. No, it wasn’t a Woolworth’s. It was Green Valley Drugs in Hoover, Alabama. We both ordered a BLT on toasted white bread with a side of fries & a coke. Our waitress was probably in her late 50s. The wall was covered with faux wood panelling and the wall’s decorations? It was about 50 antique guns. The table was formica, the kind with the speckles in it. The food was perfection. I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone who was in a hurry or starving. The two woman running the whole lunch counter were both probably the owners or daughters of the owner. If you want to visit the 1950’s & even see some merchandise remaining from that time, this is the place to go. If you want to blow your diet for one hour on one afternoon– this is the place to go. If you want to hang out & talk to someone over food that doesn’t give a damn about your body. This is the place to do it.
I had my smart phone on the table, I felt like it shouldn’t have been seen by anyone in the place, they might know that I was visiting from the future.
I’m rambling again. I’m sorry. I find myself worrying about my health or my parenting… but today reminded me of the bliss of my childhood innocence. Innocence of childhood doesn’t happen anymore, with parents all freaked out about everything going wrong. Maybe I will focus on what goes right. Life isn’t a race, life isn’t a contest about who lives the longest because of what they denied themselves of. Our epitaph could be, “We did everything RIGHT, but we died anyway.” But that’s a bit sad. Nope. I’ll have the BLT with mayo on white, perfectly toasted Wonder Bread, with a side of fries & a regular coke with my mother. Best day ever.
Same old song & dance…Please support the Mom & Pop shops, the privately owned business, your local farmers, your awesome drug stores that have a lunch counter…these people are your neighbors, if they thrive, so does your community. Buy local, spend local, keep the money in your communities. Life is hard enough, can you imagine owning a drug store for over fifty years & people think your done for? Good Lord, you don’t know what you’re missing. Life is a one way ticket, make it great. Cheers. ~amy
Applauding loudly! What a stirring speech, Amy. Love your attitude.
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Yippeee, thank you, Reggie! ~amy
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I have just time-tripped back to my local Woolworth’s and yup – it was great! Holy smokes – what memories swelling back – such magic in this simple outing that holds many a special place in my heart as well.
Great post – and yup,I have to agree – life is about living – making the memories of the now – which means, moderation – which means balance — perfection in our crazy rat race struggle for it results in nothing but madness. Better to enjoy and relax a little than end up prematurely dead because of the endless stream of “shoulds, had betters, and if you don’ts” – in my opinion.
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Spot on, Pat. Thank you so much for sharing your memories & thoughts with me. I love finding like minded people when I go on an occasional babble! ~amy
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Well it certainly was a pleasure that was unexpected – but a very warm and fuzzy one – truly enjoyable 🙂
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Really enjoyed this post! It took me back to the early 1970s when my dad used to drop me and my grandmother off at the London Square Mall in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. My memories center around the Walgreens lunch counter. After finishing our shopping, my grandmother would buy me a triple-decker BLT with mayo on white toast with a lonnng toothpick (with plastic fletching) stuck through the perfect crispy triangles, The sandwich came with lots of fries, and I always ordered a chocolate malt! That was when malts came to the table in a tall footed glass along with the extra malt mixture still in the metal container in which it had been blended. (You got everything you had paid for–those were the days!) My grandma used to say I had a “hollow leg”! Begonia
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Oh, Thank you for sharing your memories with me, Begonia! I love hearing that I’m not alone in the GLORIOUS memories of the lunch counter at Woolworths. I forgot about the ‘fancy’ toothpicks…I remember wanting to keep it. I want a triple BLT now…and a malt from the metal container. I hope you have something similar around to relive those wonderful memories with your grandma. I’ll tell you, if you do, then it is just as delicious as it was then. Have a wonderful weekend! ~amy
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Love your post. I think the success of tea rooms in antique malls is due in part to the Woolworth’s experience in so many of us! Thanks so for sharing!
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Thank you so much, Janice. I was pretty sure most of us older (1980+) would remember Woolworths. Thank you for reading & have a wonderful weekend. ~amy
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Your post reminded me of how we’d go to the Lyons tea shops in London in the post-war period. They were self-service mainly with some help from waitresses who were called “Nippies” (as in nippy because they provided fast service). I used to love going to these with my mum and aunt, it seemed so exotic as a kid. I take no notice of all the health scares around, best to be sensible as nutritional advice changes day to day. I do my best to grow old disgracefully and live up to Hunter S. Thompson’s wise words: Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!”
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Oh, I was so hoping you would read this one because I knew you would add your infinite wisdom! The quote that you wrote down, is the one I tried to call to memory, but I was too lazy to look it up. I love your history & learning about where you’ve been & what you’ve done because it is so different then anything I’ve done. Adventures every where. Thank you for your wonderful comment & for sharing you personal experience you had as a child. Take care, Mo. Have a wonderful weekend. ~amy
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Reblogged this on Lavender Turquois.
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Love this post Amy. Been there, done that. I must say that the best immune booster is sharing saliva with a dog. My German Shepard was 2 when the first of my four children arrived. She cleaned the highchair, sucked bits of food from their little fists and wiped their faces with her tongue. They mingled. The kids were way healthy.
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Thank you for understanding what I was trying to convey. We’ve never been cleaner or safer, nor have we been so worried about our health…although i suppose when the black plague came though, health was of great concern. My dogs & cats were allowed near my children. I don’t know how a mom could have a baby without a dog to clean the floor, highchair & baby?! I have windows in the car & house open when the weather was nice enough. Bring on the Pollen, make us stronger. The kids help me in the gardens. I was more concerned with them finding a sippy cup of milk that had rolled under the couch, God knows when, & drink it. You did it right in my book! Thank you for reading this, Gretchen. I would like to buy a watercolor horse please. Can you tell me if there is another way besides PayPal? ~amy
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I sent an explanation about purchasing art to your email address. Did you receive it? Let me know and I will resend if you can’t find it.
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Did you send it to asaabsfables@gmail.com I can’t open 2me4art@gmail b/c it has over 10,000+ emails. I cannot put my computer through that…Please send it to the asaabs one b/c I will definitely get it! Thank you, Gretchen! ~amy
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I am just going to send this as a comment since I don’t have the entire asaabs address.
EBAY is the ONLY site where I exclusively use paypal. That’s because I have not been able to successfully navigate through all the steps to set up personal credit use on EBAY. I’m still working on that. But, for now, you can find ALL my aceo prints on
ETSY https://www.etsy.com/shop/Whitedogwatercolours
You can use your credit card in this store. ‘A Significant Horse’ is in my Etsy shop.. https://www.etsy.com/listing/156073929/horse-totem-aceo-watercolor-print-a?ref=shop_home_active_3
You can purchase 5×7 print for $18.50 from my website. http://www.gretchendelrio.com Just let me know any painting you are interested in purchasing and I will upload it to my site and send you a link.
I hope that I haven’t confused you. You can just tell me what you want and I will figure out how you can get it…..price, size, and credit card. You may want to peruse my ETSY store and WEBSITE. Also, if you see an original aceo on my EBAY store, I can move it to either my website of Etsy so that you can purchase it. This does have to happen before there are any bids placed on the art.
ACEO stands for Art Cards Editions and Originals. It is an art format started in 2007 by an artist on Ebay.
ACEOs are little collectible pieces of art. The size is always 2 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches. That is the size of a standard sports trading card. An ACEO can be created in any medium the artist desires.
ACEOs are highly collectible. They can be displayed in tiny frames made expressly for their size. They can be matted and framed to hang on the wall. Many people display their ACEO collections in the same kind of plastic sheets and albums that sports card collectors use. You might slip an ACEO into a greeting card as an extra surprise for a birthday, anniversary, or Christmas. ACEOs sell on Ebay for anywhere from ninety-nine cents to over one hundred dollars.
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I found your original comment!!! I have your beautiful painting of a wolf that reminds me of Blue & i plant to mail to you directly for your signature soon. Thank you so much, Gretchen. You’ve been very helpful to me. It is so beautiful. ~amy
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I will let you know when I receive it.
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Gretchen it sits on my bedroom dresser, i have to find your address again…i don’t even know where to look. My email? ~amy
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No worries. Gretchen Del Rio, 22808 Crest Forest Dr., Crestline, CA 92325
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Thank you, Gretchen. I still am wondering if i should let it go. I’ll let you know via blog if i sent it. ~amy
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Thanks for trip back to a simpler, less clean and slower time Amy. My memories of the Woolworths lunch counter echo yours, although I needed your post to nudge them back to the forefront of my brain. We certainly have made things more complicated! Making memories – that’s what it’s all about. Thanks for the memories. Ed
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Wow, thank you so much, Ed! It was a wonderful lunch with my mother. I felt so happy to be there & remember when we could eat without thought. Thank you for understanding what I was trying to say. I seem to be getting some comments about eating healthy…my point wasn’t made as clear as i’d hoped. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Have a wonderful weekend. ~amy
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I know what you mean. Last night I was enjoying my mushroom burger and fries and everyone was looking at me as if I were from outer space… I normally don’t eat that way, but if my body craves it then I will have it… As you said, there has to be balance in life… Too much of a good thing is bad and too much of a bad is even worse… Moderation and balance is the key… But people have to understand that what works for one might work for another… Take care, Lor
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Yes. Lor, i think if we deny ourselves of all food pleasures, then there is really not much to look forward to, is there? We all do the best we can do or want to do. Sometimes stepping outside a healthy diet for one meal out of a hundred can feel wonderful…just like going back for a nice healthy meal next time. I look forward to going to the lake b/c we stop for chips & dip…a vacation out of the norm, it helps to make life wonderful. I’m glad you ate your craving…it was YUMMY! ~amy
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I like your blast from the past in your woolworth story. I also try and support our mom and pop buisness in our area. They provide important services in our area. They are closer than running all the way into town for bread, milk or even gas.
I do agree moderation in everything. The average person sugar consumption has gone up by “Sugar consumption has more than tripled worldwide in the past 50 years”; http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/hghr/online/sugar-dilemma/
We wonder why diabetes is on the rise. We consume sugar in foods that we aren’t even aware. i know in Sweden alarm bells in the media went up when diabetes in children started rising. One concern was that sugar was being added to baby food and formulas… People have started changing what their kids eat. The Swedish tradition has been that children only ate candy or sweet treats on Saturdays. They were small amounts and it was concidered a treat. I see that more and more young families returning to that tradition of their youth…
Cigarettes causing Cancer was disputed by the government and major corporations for decades. Just as global warming has been under dispute until this new Climate change report came out. Our governments/Big Corporations don’t seem to be watching out for our health or enviroment. That is why I feel like we must. When the watch dogs report that Microwaves, wifi, cell phones are detrimental to our health, I pay attention and start reading what they are saying. It is up to the indiviual to decide for themselves what they choose to do. I am jumping off my soap box now. I just wanted to write down food for thought.
Happy Easter!
Honey
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Honey, I was remembering a time when health wasn’t an issue in my own childhood. We are 90% vegetarians here in this house. I don’t cook meat, but I don’t outlaw anything when we go out to eat. I know the dangers now, but sometimes i’ve got to do what feels good for my soul, not my heart. Reliving the memory caused by eating a BLT on white bread with french fries & a coke FELT WONDERFUL, because I don’t eat that way. I bought my family white bread for a change, a few weeks ago, because I thought they would think it was a treat. None of my kids ate it. They hated it! I appreciate your comments & the links to reports about all the dangers around us. I am aware of most of them…food wise. I grow my own fruit & veggies & herbs in the spring & summer. It was a post to remind us all of a time in our lives when we were just children & having no memories of the terror of sugar…Happy Easter to you too. ~amy
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I understand before you wrote this that you were eating well and concerned about your families health and welfare. I see that your kids are out playing in the garden with you and your husband, they are not sitting in front of a tv or video games. They are having a wonderful childhood eating fresh produce from your garden. The pictures of you and your family in the garden remind me of the 50’s with a modren twist. The world outside your garden might be the modern world. I see you finding a balance between the two.
I am not surprised your kids wouldn’t eat white bread. LOL They can taste the difference as what is good and what is not.I hope you and your family have a Happy Easter as well.Honey
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Oh, I’m so glad you understood my original post. I was traveling down memory lane & it had felt liked I had come full circle. Lunch with my mother, a time to enjoy her company over childhood comfort food. It was a gift & I realized how much time I spend worrying, instead of simply enjoying(i love my healthy food, but a good old standard from my childhood is necessary for me too). A vacation from my life. I was SHOCKED to find my kids didn’t like the bread! Shocked! I ended up toasting the whole loaf in the oven with olive oil & fresh garlic & basil…to help cover up all the over processed sugar bread. They loved it. Thank you, Honey. ~amy
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Awesome post! Brought back memories of my only visit to a Woolworth in Miami with my mom when I was 10. Still remember the jello with pieces of fruit salad and topped with whipped cream.
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Thank you, Jose! I was hoping former Woolworths fans would comment on their memories. Thank you for sharing yours with me…now I want jello with canned fruit & whipped cream. ~amy
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A+++ 🙂
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Wow! Really? Thank you so much! ~amy
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Great post, I used to love Woolworths growing up my brothers and I would spend ages in there looking at the toys and records, even as I write this I can smell the place, are local Woolworths closed In 2008 and the swinging bench we have at the bottom of the garden was bought in the closing sale, completely forgot about that 😉
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2008?! The one on the Barre-Montpelier road closed when I was about 15 years old…1985. A very sad day for me. Great place to spend a couple of hours, you never knew what they would have there. Thank you for reading it, Neil. Swing on! ~amy
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Woolworth’s in the UK closed all it’s stores in 2008 but is still going as a on-line shop
Spent a nice sunny afternoon sat in my Woolworth’s garden swing yesterday 😉
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Can you buy their french fries on line? A milkshake? Or just a smell would be good enough. I’m glad you went out for a swing. Making memories. ~amy
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Lol wouldn’t it be good if you could save a smell, I am always reminded of things by sounds and smells
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Oh Amy, you have given us all a free ticket into a capsule which travels back in time! Didn’t we all LOVE Woolworths?! We had those stores in England too; fabulous stores where you could buy everything! As a really little girl I can remember being too small to see over the counter and so wanting to see all the (frankly) slightly tacky Christmas decorations.
I love Green Valley Drugs. I hope it had a good ‘vibe’, for as much as I love it, sometimes, just sometimes a place like that can bring you down. It’s nothing to do with the food, it’s just that I have noticed that people who eat food like that ALL the time might just not feel like bouncing up and down with joy. I agree with you that “a little bit of what you fancy does you good”, but I do think that good food and fresh produce and caring about what we eat is synonymous with having a positive approach to life.
But of course, we all have to look young now, even if we live to 100. It’s a real and constant pressure which I don’t think will ever go away. And that’s hard.
I think I could open a dinner in my kitchen! Which is 50’s in style. I have even restored on of those cabinets with a drop down table with an enameled top. It is my most prized possession and was built in 1956.
I have to go now, back comb my beehive hair and put on some lipstick-ONLY JOKING!
Fabuolus post and a great read!- Karen.
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Moderation in all things, Karen. I was reliving a wonderful memory. The time when it doesn’t matter what the food did to me, but how it tasted. No worries about weight or health. We eat very fresh–soon to be our gardened veggies. I shop at Whole Foods, do you have those? Organic grocery stores. I also shop at a regular grocery store b/c it is two seconds from my home. We are 90% vegetarians because I won’t cook meat. The place wasn’t depressing at all. No one sitting there was overweight. I think everyone there was doing what my mother & I were. Taking a break from eating very healthy to having a nostalgic meal. I take my kids to McDonalds on special occasions because I remember it being my very favorite when I was a child. It felt like a holiday to eat something I seldom do. I am proud of the way i feed my family & myself at home, but I’m not going to put unhealthy food out of my life & feel bad about doing so. Because it made me feel happy to sit down & watch my mother pour ketchup all over her fries, like she used to. I had forgotten that she did that. I’d not seen her do so in many years. I was with my mother & I was happy. When i referred to aging well, the thought going though my head was all the women filling their faces with Botox & looking more like mannequins then real women…If you are going to eat real, I wish we could age real. Besides only women with a lot of money can afford to look that way…I’m rambling. Good luck with your beehive! 🙂 Have a great weekend. ~amy
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I do not believe we have never been cleaner. While cleanliness supplies and devises are myriad, there are millions who rarely wash and rarely bathe…and yes, some of them are handling your food. Yuck.
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I believe you are correct too. I suppose I meant educational wise? Yes. That is what i intended for the read to understand. ~amy
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