IT TAKES TWO TO TANGO

Bill Murphy  2020    

I was young and impressionable at the time, hardly thirteen at most.  Impressions can be both negative and positive.  This one was a most positive impression, one that’s stuck with me all of my life.  

     It happened around 1953, the dawn of rock & roll.  Soft drinks were a nickle each, and came only in glass bottles.  When returned to the seller, you were paid a two-cent deposit on the empty bottle.

     On weekends, I worked in the Jitney grocery store that my father managed in Mart 51.  I did odd jobs around the store, keeping the shopping carts orderly, and bagging groceries.  I was also tasked with emptying the trash containers in the check-outs stands.

  I was emptying a bag of trash into the dumpster when I heard the distinct clink of glass.  “Oops, ”I remarked aloud, “Someone carelessly threw away a bottle.” 

     “No, not one, but two!” The remark came from Authur England, one of the store’s full-time employees.  “One bottle can’t rattle!”

     I stood frozen in my tracks, allowing this jewel of truth to sink in.  

    Almost seventy years later, when my grandkids and great-grandkids begin to bicker and fuss, most often as not pointing a finger and proclaiming, ‘They started it!’  I stop them with this simply truth: It takes two to rattle.

     Thanks Arthur, for sharing your wisdom!

 

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PRIMOS PIG OUT

© 2017 Bill Murphy

There are things from the past you never think you’ll see again.  Among these are gems your grandkids would find hard to believe.  I was amazed to run across this (poor) copy of a 50s restaurant menu.

During high school I worked weekends bagging groceries at Jitney Jungle #19 in Mart 51. Our pay scale was no where near what kids make today.  But then, our expenses where no where near what they are today.  I made 75c an hour – plus tips.

My father insisted (and enforced) that I put $5 a week in the bank.  From the remainder, I still had money for Friday and Saturday night dates (which usually included dinner and a movie) gas for Dad’s car, and enough pocket money for snacks and soft drinks until the next pay day.

On 75c an hour? Yes!

One of my favorite date-night meals was the heavenly Primos Fried Chicken Dinner. I wish the photo above was better – and the prices were the same today!

Honestly, I think they battered the chicken twice.  That thick and crunchy crust was Thanksgiving-delicious!  The menu says – Half Spring Chicken, Un-joined with F. F. Potatoes, Hot Roll, and Butter… $1.25.  Later, the price went up – to $1.50.

This was not a pigmy chicken.  It was a regular sized chicken, cut in half.  Take-out boxes were new then, and this delicious bird barely fit in the box! Growing boys, even on a date, find it difficult to share. We each had our own!

You know all the jokes about going to the drive in movies and not seeing the movie. Our excuse was that, thanks to Pop Primos, we were feeding our faces!

 

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