oldkicker
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- Joined
- Aug 23, 1999
- Messages
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....who ran a neighborhood grocery store a couple of blocks away from where I grew up. She ran the store with her husband Al. Even though the real name of the store was Al's Food Store, we all called it Vicky's.
When I was a kid, it seemed as though Vicky was ancient already. She was no more that 4' 5" tall, with bandy legs that might have boosted her height a bit if they could be straightened out.
Vicky and Al were landmarks in the village where I grew up. Vicky's was a common meeting place for us kids. We'd coax a nickel out of our mothers and stop by Vicky's on the way to the play fields for a popsicle or a coke.
Vicky's also had a penny candy display that she was constantly wiping tiny little fingerprints from.
She always welcomed us in her store and got to know all of us by name. When we'd act up, she'd wag a bony finger at us and tell us that she'd be telling our parents about our transgressions. She'd smile while she said it and never reported any of us.
As the years went on, Al passed away. Cancer got him. He was a chain smoker and had a ready supply of his brand at the store.
Vicky, unbelievably, shrank even more as she got older. She was a common sight walking the streets of the village. She visited her family and took a brisk walk to church each Sunday.
Eventually her store, and all of the stores in the village, closed down, put out of business by the big chains. The stores returned to being houses, apartments and garages.
Still, Vicky persevered.
Eventually she "got the sugar" as she put it. She still managed to get around, until she lost a leg to it. It seemed ironically unfair that such an itty-bitty person would lose that much of herself all at once.
But still she carried on.
I saw Vicky for the last time a couple of months ago. I hadn't seen her to talk to her in several years.
She still knew my name. And asked about my Mom and Dad by name too. She smiled up at me from her wheelchair as we reminisced about the old days.
I never really thought about it before then, but Vicky was a friend of mine.
From yesterday's paper....
Victoria "Vicki" Savo died Monday at xxxxxx Home & Hospital.....She was co-owner of Al's Food Store with her husband, Albert from 1945 - 1973, retiring in 1973.
Fare well old friend.
When I was a kid, it seemed as though Vicky was ancient already. She was no more that 4' 5" tall, with bandy legs that might have boosted her height a bit if they could be straightened out.
Vicky and Al were landmarks in the village where I grew up. Vicky's was a common meeting place for us kids. We'd coax a nickel out of our mothers and stop by Vicky's on the way to the play fields for a popsicle or a coke.
Vicky's also had a penny candy display that she was constantly wiping tiny little fingerprints from.
She always welcomed us in her store and got to know all of us by name. When we'd act up, she'd wag a bony finger at us and tell us that she'd be telling our parents about our transgressions. She'd smile while she said it and never reported any of us.
As the years went on, Al passed away. Cancer got him. He was a chain smoker and had a ready supply of his brand at the store.
Vicky, unbelievably, shrank even more as she got older. She was a common sight walking the streets of the village. She visited her family and took a brisk walk to church each Sunday.
Eventually her store, and all of the stores in the village, closed down, put out of business by the big chains. The stores returned to being houses, apartments and garages.
Still, Vicky persevered.
Eventually she "got the sugar" as she put it. She still managed to get around, until she lost a leg to it. It seemed ironically unfair that such an itty-bitty person would lose that much of herself all at once.
But still she carried on.
I saw Vicky for the last time a couple of months ago. I hadn't seen her to talk to her in several years.
She still knew my name. And asked about my Mom and Dad by name too. She smiled up at me from her wheelchair as we reminisced about the old days.
I never really thought about it before then, but Vicky was a friend of mine.
From yesterday's paper....
Victoria "Vicki" Savo died Monday at xxxxxx Home & Hospital.....She was co-owner of Al's Food Store with her husband, Albert from 1945 - 1973, retiring in 1973.
Fare well old friend.
Smart. I miss Betty and Al too.
Nice thread.
