Antiques, Ice Cream, and People

71 this morning, everything wet from the strong rains yesterday evening. I am grateful for the rain. Warmed up to 88 and very humid with another shower today.

Today was a dual-purpose day: booth work in Marietta and then a road trip to Zanesville, Ohio to pick up a beautiful buffet.

The booth work was easy, since we'd been to Marietta two weeks ago. But we'd sold the washtub set and a pantry cupboard so we needed to bring in something new. This is what we added today:

I admit, I just love this cabinet. The top is 1/4" thick black glass. It has all those drawers, and the side cabinet has slots for shelves, which are unfortunately missing but easily replaced. The cabinet itself is metal. I believe it came from a medical or research lab.

We then drove to Zanesville, but before picking up the buffet, I had to be sure to take Larry to Tom's Ice Cream Bowl . I'd been there before and wrote about it, but Larry wasn't with me then and I knew he'd love it. The 50's interior has never been renovated, and features cracked-ice yellow Formica topped tables, green and chrome dinette chairs, a soda fountain with original stools, and a candy counter featuring Heggy's homemade chocolates, an Ohio favorite. We enjoyed grilled turkey club sandwiches, and then, of course, delicious ice cream--Larry's was a hot fudge sundae, mine the same but with cherry chocolate chunk ice cream. I could not eat all of my sandwich or the ice cream but Larry had no trouble polishing his off. Needless to say, we didn't need dinner tonight. 

At a table near us sat a large family--grandfather and grandmother, son, daughter, and grandchildren. This obviously was an exciting event for the grandfather. He talked about how he had come here when he was young, and it was apparent that he was tickled to death to share Tom's with his son's family. I could not help but hear him telling this story: "When I was about 14 I had a huge crush on this girl. I was sure I was in love. I wanted to bring her here for ice cream but I didn't have any money. I knew I needed 55 cents to get her a banana split. So I started saving. It took me a long time to save 55 cents, a really long time. But finally I had it and I brought that girl here and bought her the banana split."

"Did she share it with you?" his son asked.

"I don't remember," his father said. And then, "Wait yes I do remember. No. She didn't share it. She ate it all."

"I bet," said his daughter-in-law, "that she asked you if you'd like to share it with her, and you said no."

"You're right," said the grandfather. "That's exactly what happened. I told her it was enough for me to just watch her eat it." The grandchildren listened to the story, but it was the adults who smiled. Including Larry and me.

We found the place with the buffet with no trouble. The lady who owned it had a little 4-year-old daughter, who insisted that Larry come and see her "kitchen". He obligingly went with her and reported that yes indeed, she had a kitchen all right--all child sized toy appliances, fake food, pots, pans, dishes, the works. Why she decided he needed to see it instead of me I don't know, but it sure made Larry smile.

After loading up the buffet, we were on our way back to the interstate when I spied a dresser on the side of the road. Did we stop? Of course we did, and re-arranged the van to fit the dresser in. This is an interesting piece, with 9 drawers and wicker sides and trim. It is in excellent shape except for one broke leg which can be easily fixed. We must have looked funny loading it, for sure, with drawers spread out all over the place to make the heavy thing easier to lift, but who cares when they can score something that nice?

We got back to Ripley and made a stop at Goodwill, because after all there was still a little room in the van. As I walked around the store, I noticed a couple come in holding hands. They were probably in their late 40's or early 50's, and honestly, they looked pretty rough--the old expression "rode hard and put up wet" came to mind. Apparently they'd not been together long. But as they walked around the store, I heard him asking, "Do you like this? What size do you wear, Hon? Do you like skirts? What about this one?" Somehow they made my heart glad; whatever life had thrown at them, here they were together, holding hands and caring about each other.

It was a good day, and it's good to be home again, as always. Larry is out in the gardens picking squash, worrying over his tomatoes and as happy as a bug in a rug. I'm worn out, and enjoying watching him as I sit on the porch and write this blog. The sun is going down, the flowers look beautiful, and the dogs are contented now that we're home. For the moment, all's right in this little corner of the world. I hope all is well with you too.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.