Check out the Part One of this story here, and next week I’ll share Part Three, the final installment. As I said in Part One, Fred Nichols (owner of the A&P) basically hired me on the spot. Said I’d start off as a bagger. “Between customers, you can get up to speed on the layout of the store so you can point folks in the right direction if they have trouble finding things.” Then he handed me a piece of paper. “Here’s a map. We move things around from time to time, but this is basically it. When can you start?” “I could work after school a couple shifts a week and on weekends until …

I’ve worked at the A&P since I was seventeen. Seems like I started just yesterday and I’ve been there forever. Does that make sense? Spent a summer scooping ice cream down to The Town Scoop when I was fifteen. That was my first job. The Scoop’s deal was hard serve. Appropriately named. It’s one thing to eat ice cream, it’s a whole other thing to wear it. Big sticky patches of it on your tee shirt, your shorts, your face, the whole shift. No thank you! The next summer, I worked as a chambermaid and waitress over to Henderson’s Lodge and Cabins on Moose Megantic Lake. We’d have people from away who’d come stay for …

Charlie’s been in overdrive with his poetry, and I’m grateful for that. I’m still getting used to being back at work with my eye not being 100%. I find I’m a little more tired than usual. I think it’s because my good eye is having to work overtime because the vision in my other eye is pretty blurry and a little distorted. Still, it’s good to be easing into life and finding my new normal. I’m appreciating every minute of it, especially coming home to our little love bug, Cora, putting my feet up and kicking back with the big guy. Anyhoo, here’s Charlie’s latest. They say “move it or lose it.” I guess that’s …

It’s been a year since our neighbor, Vincent DiSalvo died. His wife Sarah had an open house on Sunday afternoon to mark the occasion. She’s doing pretty good, considering. A bunch a people showed up and it was a nice get together. Folks told stories about Vinnie, of course. What a great guy he was. How he could fix anything. Never charged for it, either, though he wouldn’t say no to a meal. And dessert? He’d always ask for seconds. Vinnie touched a lot of lives, and Mahoosuc Mills misses him. But, like in a lot of small towns, we take care of our own, and some have stepped up to the plate. Charlie’s one …

After two months off, due to my eye situation, I finally returned to the A&P last week. Felt like a kid going back to school. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Check out this post. It’ll bring you up to speed. Returning to the A&P was like coming home. It put some normalcy back into my life, and I can’t tell you how good that feels. I’m still getting used to my eye not being 100%. I thought the bubble would be long gone by September. “They,” meaning the internet, said these sorts of bubbles are usually absorbed back into your body in six to eight weeks. Eight weeks was September 1, and my bubble …

After a certain age, your body changes. You and I know this to be true. The fat in your butt inches it’s way ‘round your stomach. That extra plumpness that was keeping your breast perky has headed south for the duration, taking up permanent residence on your inner thighs. Your hair migrates from where you want it to someplace else, where you don’t. Then there’s the feet. Women, like me, tend to get bunions caused by shoes that are too tight, too narrow or too high. In short, they’re cute, but impractical. Hey, you have to suffer to be beautiful, right? Men get what Charlie and his friends call “old man feet.” I don’t even …

Early Saturday morning, dog walked, I’m in the yard dead heading my leggy petunias. All of a sudden, I hear a commotion coming from behind our shed. Going to investigate, I turn the corner and see a flash of orangey brown fur and wings flapping. Took a sec to figure out it was a fox killing one of our new neighbor’s chickens. So, I start yelling and waving my arms and the fox runs off. Poor chicken’s done for. I go get a kitchen garbage bag to put it in. It was gross, let me tell you, but it had to be done. Frankly, I was glad I hadn’t eaten breakfast yet. Just as I’m …

I ran into my old friend Joan at the DQ the other day. She was ordering a banana split. “Hey there, Joan,” I says. “What are you celebrating?” (See, I knew it had to be a special occasion. I mean, you don’t order a banana split for nothing, right? Joan goes, “I just went for a stress test. You know, to check out your heart. Make sure you’re not about to keel over.” “Oh, I’ve never had one of those. Were you nervous?” “You betcha. Number one, I don’t like to break a sweat. Ever. And B, I’m not what you’d call real athletic.” “I hear you.” “Still, I wanted to ace the test. Mostly …

You can’t underestimate the power of a good night’s sleep. It’s true for kids, and personal experience has taught me, it’s true for seniors, too. What with my eye situation and the heat, sleeping good has been a challenge for both me and Charlie. ‘Til last night. I’ll let the Poet Laureate of Mahoosuc Mills tell you all about it. The Couch She’s pitching about Like a boat on the sea And pulling the covers Right off of me A night without sleep That’s what I’m dreading I know exactly Where I am heading The couch That is where I always go The couch When she gets to fidgeting so An island of peace Where …

Well, it’s been four weeks now since the emergency eye surgery to reattach my retina, and I’m doing pretty good, I think. It’s weird how you can spend over 60 years taking your eyes for granted, never thinking about your retina, and then, Pow! That’s all you can think about. The whole thing’s pretty amazing. In the olden days, I’d have been blind in that eye for the rest of my life for sure. Yikes! I’m still not back at the A&P. I decided to take the rest of the summer off, and go back the day after Labor Day. There are plenty of college kids who are glad to pick up the hours. I …