Groceries

Elmer Phud could remember a time when he couldn't carry $25 worth of groceries. Granted, he was only about six or seven at the time.

Saturday was the traditional day for farmers to go to town for their weekly or bi-weekly shopping. Back in the day, farmers grew just about every thing they needed to get through the week. But they still needed staples such as flour, sugar and to socialize. The woman folk would go into town earlier in the day, do the shopping and then back to the farm. If they were lucky, the kids got to go along. The stores were not the big box types you see today. They were mostly just small mom-pop operations. The owners knew their customers, by name, and the types of staples they needed the most. Candy for the younger crowd was not one of them. You bought candy at the drug store. Super markets had not yet been invented. Twenty five dollars would buy a lot of groceries. So many in fact, it filled up the back of a pick-up or the trunk of a car. Today $25 of groceries fills up a small shopping bag.

After evening chores, the whole family would go into town to socialize. The grown-ups would go off into a special building. Elmer never knew what went on in there because the younger crowd was never allowed in. It was a very mysterious place.

Elmer & his brother Don never had what today’s younger generation call an allowance. They were given a quarter each for spending money, told to keep out of serious trouble, thereafter ignored for several hours. They had, along with all the other kids, the run of the place. A quarter! They were Saturday night rich!

The wonders of what they could buy! Elmer & his friends went to see a double feature Cowboy-Indian movie, had a drink and popcorn. Roy, Gene, Hopalong, Geronimo & Red cloud all rode across the screen. Later they went into the cafe, which by the way, served food, beer, allowed card games and pool. They shared their change to buy a hamburger to split. With ketchup, mustard. The wonder of it all!

Next to the cafe was a concrete culvert shipping yard. Elmer spent many an hour running and playing in this area. Shooting bad guys was a very popular thing to do. The town kids against the country boys and girls. Not far away was the town park. Today, as an adult, the hill is just barely noticeable. As a kid, it was large. They would run up & down, wrestled & just have a good time. Well after dark. No adult came looking for them. Not once. Because it was a small town, if Elmer got into serious trouble they'd hear about it soon enough.

Today, at least in larger cities, a parent would no more think of letting children play without supervision than they would go out in public naked. In other words, they would not. The Saturday movie matinee with it’s cheap popcorn & drinks are all but gone. Replaced by videos and other forms of entertainment. Parents go to the movies with the kids. Never letting them go alone. At least up to an age they can go with a group of friends. Kids would be arrested if they were seen playing in an industrial park. The town public parks all close not long after dark.

Yes, those large two-for-a-nickel candies are long gone, along with the carefree days. Its more like 75 cents a small bar now. Today one small bag of groceries will cost $25 or more. Which even a mature person can carry in one hand. The small towns, as with reasonably priced groceries, are becoming a thing of the past.

Its a wonder Elmer & friends go into a grocery store these days.