Going for a Walk

My name is Lois Prince. My husband John and I have lived in this town all our lives. I can tell you about every store and every house, and who lives there. Even though this is the county seat, there aren't more than 2500 people living here. There is a historic old courthouse, built almost a hundred years ago, with the rest of the town laid out in a grid around it. The town owes its existence to the coming of the railroad in 1884, although trains passing through here now don't even slow down.

After graduating from pharmacy school at the State College, John went to work for Bob Stephens at the City Square Pharmacy, across from the courthouse. I had worked there since I was in high school, running the lunch counter. I got to know everyone who would come in for lunch every day, for a tuna salad sandwich and a cup of soup.

Even though John was older than me, I knew him in school because he was friends with my older brother David. John and David were both on the school baseball team. John finished pharmacy school and started working in the drug store. Every morning, he would take his coffee break, and sit at my lunch counter. Eventually I got him to ask me for a date. A year later we were married.

After 5 years, Bob retired and sold us the drugstore.

After 40 years, we sold the drugstore to a young couple, just getting started. John and I helped out in the store for 2 more years, to help get them started. John was 72 when he retired, and I was 68. We lived in a 3 bedroom, wood frame house on a quiet street, just 3 blocks from the drugstore. Almost everything in this town is 3 blocks from the center of town.

Even though we were retired, we still kept busy. I spent more time doing volunteer work at the church, and John and I made deliveries every day for Meals on Wheels. John volunteered as a crossing guard at the elementary school, and got to know the children and their parents. One day he pulled a child from in front of a speeding car.

Every evening, we still found time to sit on our front porch swing with Roscoe, our Daschund puppy. Every Sunday, after lunch at the church with our friends and neighbors, we would walk home, hand in hand. Remember, nothing in this town is more than 3 blocks away.

It was five years after we retired that I had to go away. I didn't want to leave John and Roscoe. I didn't want to leave our son James and his wife, Beverly. I didn't want to leave our grandchildren, David and Audrey. John comes to visit me every Sunday. He always brings me fresh flowers, and I look forward to our quiet talks. Then he walks home alone.

Today, I get to walk home with John. He brought me fresh flowers, as he always does. The marigolds and daisies are lovely. I take his arm, as I always did, and we walk toward Main Street, past the courthouse.

We walk past the church where we were both baptized. The church where we were married 58 years ago. The church where our children were baptized, and were married. The church where John told me goodbye.

As we walk on down Main Street, we pass the real estate office where young Ralph Stevens sold us our house, 55 years ago. He still works there part time, but his daughter and grandson run the business now. Ralph and Martha became our best friends. John and Ralph still go fishing when they can. Their son Matthew grew up with our son James and they are still best friends. James and Matthew are partners in the John Deere tractor dealership. They have a big new facility out on the state highway.

We walk past June's dress shop. Fifty-eight years ago, June's grandmother, Elena, sewed my wedding dress. It was so pretty, all white, with lace and pearls. It still hangs in our closet. I was so proud to see our granddaughter, Audrey, wear it to walk down the aisle to wed Robert. Elena was the best seamstress in the county, but she passed 25 years ago. Her granddaughter June took over the shop and has kept on Elena's tradition.

Then we come to our drug store, where we spent so much of the time we had together. It looks like young Jimmy Waldron is doing well since we sold him the store 10 years ago. He has new window displays, and everything looks neat and clean. There are no big chain drug stores to compete with in our little town and just one clinic with two doctors. Jimmy has kept up our tradition of being everyone's neighborhood pharmacist, taking a personal interest in everyone's health needs. He works closely with the County Medical Clinic, with Doctors Morton and Ralston.

John always made sure everyone had the medicine they needed, even if they couldn't pay for it. Jimmy has kept up that tradition as well. The store is closed on Sunday, but if anyone needs medicine, they can call Jimmy. He will come in to take care of it for them, and even make a delivery if necessary.

The County Medical Clinic is across the square, opposite the courthouse. Doctor Jacob Morton has practiced there for over 50 years with his wife Pat, a registered nurse herself. For the last 20 years, he has been joined by Doctor Ralston. Jake and Pat were at my bedside with John when I told John I loved him and told him goodbye.

Next we stop to look in at the travel agency. I've always loved to look at the displays in their window of the exotic locations I never was able to travel to. I dreamed of the palm trees and beautiful sandy beaches in the posters displayed in the window. You might wonder why such a small town would have a travel agency, but it shares office space with our insurance agent, David Spencer. His wife Nancy runs the travel agency, while she also works as David's secretary and receptionist. Nancy wanted John and me to spend 2 weeks in Hawaii for our wedding anniversary, but then I had to go away.

As we walk past the school, we come to the corner where John serves every day as a crossing guard. He is here every day from 7 to 9 in the morning, and from 3 to 5 in the afternoon. All the children know him as Mr. Prince, and he knows all of them by name as well. He gets plenty of hugs every day, and Moms will sometimes bring him fresh baked cookies. Teachers invite him to their class parties, and he speaks to their classes on safety.

It was a Friday afternoon in October, and all the children were excited that school was out for the weekend. A group of 5 boys were racing each other down the sidewalk towards John's crosswalk when he told them to stop to wait for the traffic. We don't have a traffic light in our town, but we do have some 4-way stop signs. Nine year old Bobby Fagan was too excited to hear John's order to stop, and started to dart across the street, right in front of Nora Armstrong's Buick LeSabre.

John was quick to reach out and grab Bobby by the back of his jacket, and pull him back to the curb, just as Nora tried to brake the big car to a stop. I was so proud of John when the mayor and the police chief gave him an official citation for saving Bobby's life. Bobby and his parents, the school principal and superintendant as well as all the students and teachers, were in the auditorium that day to congratulate John.

Nora, bless her heart, was so devastated by what had almost happened, even though it was not her fault, she sold her Buick and never drove again. That was probably for the best, since she was already 80.

Past the school, we come to our street. I've always loved the big elm trees that line each side of the street, their shady branches hanging over. There are a few cars parked along the street, visitors perhaps on this Sunday afternoon. I recognize Sue Strickland's Dodge sitting in front of David and Nancy Spencer's house.

David Spencer, our insurance agent for the past 20 years, and his wife Nancy bought the house on the corner. Like the other houses on our street, it is a 3 bedroom wood frame house, built after the war for the returning servicemen and their young families. It is painted a lovely lemon yellow with white trim, and sits on a large corner lot. There is still a sturdy swing set in the backyard, and David never put up a fence so all the neighborhood kids could come over and use it.

David bought the insurance agency from George Armstrong, who had been our insurance agent for 30 years, since we were married. George and Nora's son, Arthur, had retired from the Navy, and worked for the Ford dealership as the manager of their service department. Arthur married Jimmy Waldron's mother, Amelia, after Jimmy's father, Anthony, died of liver cancer when Jimmy was a teenager.

Anthony Waldron, known to everyone as Big Tony, worked for the railroad. He was the foreman of the section gang that maintained the track for 50 miles each side of town. He started working there on the day after he returned from the war in the Pacific. He worked every day until he was too weak to lift a sledge hammer.

David and Nancy moved to our town from Des Moines, where he had worked in a large insurance agency. Nancy worked in a travel agency that made travel arrangements for their corporate clients. This was before everyone could do all their own travel reservations on the internet. David was doing well in his business, and they managed to save enough in 5 years to buy his own agency from George.

They bought this house from Bobby and Susan Jones who had to move into an assisted living facility nearer to their children in the next state. David and Nancy never had children of their own, but David kept the big swing set in his backyard, and they delighted to watch the neighborhood kids come over to play. Nancy was always baking cookies and cupcakes for the children, and to take to school.

David and Nancy lived at 602 Cherry Hill Lane. Across the street, at 604, lived Ralph and June Simpson. Ralph and June are both teachers at the high school. June teaches English, and Ralph teaches PE, and is the football coach. In the summer, Ralph and David teach Drivers Ed. Ralph does the driving part, while David teaches the classroom part. Together, Ralph and David are responsible for all of our teenagers becoming safe and responsible drivers.

Ralph and June's daughter Beverly was born a week after I gave birth to our son James. On their first day of kindergarten, James took one look at the blond, blue-eyed angel in front of him, and was immediately smitten. They were inseparable through grade school, either on the play ground or on David and Nancy's swings. Through Junior High School, and their early High School years, they did go to parties and movie dates with others, but by the Junior Prom they were again an exclusive couple. James graduated from State College with a degree in agricultural business, and he and Bev were married within six months.

Jim and Dorothy Fagan live next door to the Simpson's, at 610 Cherry Hill. Their son, Bobby, was the little boy that John saved from Nora's Buick when he was 9. Bobby is now in his junior year at State College. Bobby was an all-star running back on the high school football team (doesn't hurt to live next door to the coach), and is a starter on the varsity team at State. He also plays shortstop on the baseball team, and is on the Dean's List every semester.

Jim Fagan is the postmaster for the town. He runs the post office, and supervises the 3 letter carriers that serve the city routes. He also has 4 contract rural carriers that deliver mail to customers in the country side. Dorothy teaches sixth grade, and is looking forward to retiring when Bobby graduates. They have never missed one of Bobby's home games, and they are accomplished tailgaters. Jim Fagan's hot links are legendary at State College games.

The house at 609 is empty now. The For Sale sign has been in the front yard for some time. Stevens Realty has not been able to find any serious buyers, even after reducing the asking price. The lawn always looks nice; Ralph makes sure that the grass is kept mowed every week.

This house was once a loving home to Robert and Jean Farmer, and their twin sons Robert and William. Robert was the sales manager at the Ford dealership, and made a good living for his family. Jean always had a new car, and always wore the best clothes. Jean had always been a stay at home mom. Angela Williams was a loan manager at the dealership. Billy and Bobby were 10 years old when Jean learned of the long lunches that Robert and Angela were having at the Starlite Motel. Jean and the boys moved back to her parents, and filed for divorce. Robert and Angela were fired, and the bank put the house up for sale.

Finally, we are in front of our home, 612 Cherry Hill Lane. This is the house Ralph Stevens sold us 50 years ago. It has changed very little. I can see John has had it painted recently. It is a light green with white trim. There are white shutters on the windows, and the door is white as well. John has kept up my flower beds and rose bushes, probably with Bev's help. The grass has been freshly cut, probably by James and David. The large planters by the front door are filled with begonias in full bloom. The magnolia tree in the front yard has large white blossoms. John had planted that tree the first year we lived here.

I recognize some of the cars parked in front of our house, and across the street. James and Beverly are here, as well as David, and Audrey and Robert. I also recognize Jake and Pat Morton's Buick SUV.

Hand in hand, John and I walk into the house, passing the living room and dining room to the bedroom. Everyone is standing around our bed. I can see Audrey looking away, sniffling. She is holding on to her husband, and James and Bev are holding each other. I turn to John standing beside me; he wraps me in his arms, kissing me tenderly.

Together, we go home.