Thursday, February 14, 2013

Soda fountain memory..

 
Today we are invited to write using some of the many styles of poetry, forms and various tools and  incorporating them into one poem..since I arrived late on the scene at dversepoets.com I have worked on only a few.  This I had already written for Valentine's Day and thought it might do as it is more prose, story, a rhyme or two, colloquial.




Driving the Coca Cola truck was a job he loved..
uP/ D
        o
         w
           n   ramps ..loading - unloading crates..
shipping bills - inventory - neon signs as gifts..
people made the day go around..not the clock
ESPECIALLY,  when he delivered to Woolworth's general store
in San Diego..







..he timed his arrival to coincide
with her coffee breaks ..(after the ice was broken)
She was a tall brunette with a shy smile..
her demeanor  made him feel at ease..
She worked behind the counter at the soda fountain
most days, on her feet all day,  with
her nose in a book when she had the chance..Friendly to all,
she made lifelong friends wherever she went..
He wore a white cap, pushed back on his head,
pushed a hand cart
to wield heavy loads  (and us)..

His laugh was deep yet soft; he was respectful and polite and
she said 'yes' when he asked her for a date
They went square dancing regularly
He kept his beat up Chevy well tuned
.... ordered a fudge sundaes...
she was partial to a 7UP float
with vanilla bean ice cream..
They double dated with friends..he wooed her with HUGE
glittery Valentines and birthday cards..
always signed them "All my love, Eddie"
For many years they both worked hard, he at the lumber mill,
then driving trucks delivering pop and beer..she at the shipyard during the war, the cannery,
and the post office..
Many happy years and many friends later,
After 60 years, she had boxes of his saved cards
They had a wonderful old craftsman home once,
where I remember chickens, a cow, a porch swing, and
the moon.. a dog named Butch. my teddy bear...
But there were many locations as they were like nomads moving
many times between WA. Ore. & CA.. always with my great granny in tow..
I was his first grandchild and I loved him so much.
He rolled his own..smoked until he had cancer at age 86..
I visited him in
the nursing home.
I told him that he looked more handsome every day...
and he winked and smiled back at me the same familiar way ;-)
Grandma live another 12 years..
I never doubted their love for each other,
How they missed one another when he was on the road all those years,
but she would sit on his lap and hold his face in her hands
and they would talk for hours and hours.....
I'll never forget them and all the memories..

12 comments:

  1. Such love filled memories ... they were so much in love ... wow !!!

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  2. beautiful...you told their story well...ha, great minds...i have the same d-o-w-n in my piece....and tonight i just wrote about my time on the loading docks...so i was right there...so much detail of their lives and texture you gave it...really a beautiful piece....

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  3. oh wow...what a wonderful love story...thanks for sharing a bit about the magic..loved how they met..how he timed his arrivals to fit her breaks...deep sigh....

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  4. Katy, reminiscing a lifetime, must be so lovely to have known love and your grandparents so well.

    My maternal grandparents had 10 children, and only had eyes for each other.

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  5. it never ceases to amazes me when i see couples how have been together that long, and they get along and love each other and everyone around them seems to fall apart

    kooky kinesthetics

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  6. ..ah, lovely memories... and weird.. your grandma really looks like my grandma from mother side at first glance... i had to look at the photo closer and she did looked like Lola (that's how we call grandma in our language)... great series of memories here... smiles...

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  7. This is a wonderful Valentine's love story!

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  8. Heartwarming and love-affirming!

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  9. hey saw your note over at dverse...and hope you are feeling better today...ack...no fun being sick...

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All comments, constructive and otherwise, are welcome and appreciated here. Thank you to those who show an interest in my quirky style of writing, photography, painting, and presenting a feeling or thought and for stopping by A Dwelling by the Sea..