... for this amusing remembrance. A story of some small incident(s) occurring twenty or so years ago, but not of any particular interest to the general public. My children, now grown, and gone, had a habit of persuading me to walk with them from their dad's office around the corner to a small strip mall. Where there was a drop off/pick up store front for a local laundry. The cleaners he used for his business suits and starched white shirts. (You did not think I was doing the starching and ironing, did you?)
There was an older, small, round black woman who worked there, along with an assortment of young people. The teens were likely after school help, just looking for part-time work to make a little income for funding various needs and desires. But we were regular enough as customers that the girls became acquainted with the black woman, who was the only full time employee. Her name was Mamie.
They would beg and plead and pester until I would agree to take five minutes to walk with them around the corner to see Mamie who always had a lollipop available for little people. We would walk, along the edge of the paved area, where there was a drive through window for people to pick up without leaving their vehicles. And the requisite black hose that would cause a bell to ding, ding for employees to know there were customers waiting to pick up. Kids could not resist jumping up and down. To ding, ding dingdingdingding the bell.
I had completely forgotten about this regular visit we made to the laundry lady, until I walked by a MasterKleen store today. Saw the little black hose, lying looped out on the asphalt near the drive-through window, and thought of Mamie, with her little grey curled chin hairs. I am sure she is somewhere up above, sitting on a cloud, passing out lollipops to little people bouncing around, testing out their wings.
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