Jeanette Joy FisherMemories and Shopping
Think before you buy.
Long ago, in another life, I had a neighbor who became a great friend. Ruth Wiseman lived across the street (more like a pathway) in Valley of Enchantment. I think I want to move back just for the name and the trees that make a gentle quivering forest sound in the soft wind.
Ruth was one of the first shoppers on TV way back in the mid seventies. She loved to stock up on bargains. One night, Ruth slipped and fell into her glass coffee table. Her husband Jim came and yelled for my husband Brian to help. Brian, a former paramedic returned home crying. “She’s gone,” he said. I could not wrap my mind around what he meant.
A few days later, Ruth’s shopping order arrived. Jim brought me the package and said Ruth wanted me to have the nightgowns and enjoy them. 34 years later, I am wearing the blue lace one of the two I have left and wondering what happened to the tangerine silk.
The blue and the mauve beaded gowns have been though pregnancies, nursing babies, losing our daughter Sara, losing Brian, and more. Both gowns look like the day they arrived.
Do you still have things in your life you purchased years ago? Think about your purchases lasting a lifetime. Maybe even someone’s other than you.
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Wow, I remember Ruth as the adopted grandma who actually baked pies (unlike my own dear Grandma who I only knew to make “spoon candy”). I remember when she died, but you and dad spared me of the details. I want to see the gowns. Thanks for sharing this interesting life story.
I have a few items I’ve kept over my lifetime…the one that brings a smile to my face is when I dig through my bathing suit drawer & run across a suit from when I was 13 yrs old. I still remember the times when I wore it having fun times with friends. 😉
What a great article. I do a lot of thrift store shopping and I always am mindful that my purchase was once loved by someone else. (dugg, stumbled & added to delicious)
34 years later, now that is amazing! You must have really cared for them. Thanks for sharing
Life is so precious.
I usually get rid of things mostly due to the fact that I move often and don’t keep things that are not used/needed. However, I do have an bowl/ashtray (no, I do not smoke) that I purchased at a consignment shop in West LA many years ago. The store is long gone and now “The Grove” sits in it’s place. As I was contemplating whether or not to purchase it, a celebrity walked up to me and complemented on cool it looked. Taking the compliment as confirmation, I splurged. Later I noticed that -Daum Nancy France- was etched into the bottom of the glass. The bowl reminds me of happy memories of that day and what a great deal I got on a collectors item/antique.
What a nice story to remember how someone touched your life in a different way and how their gift has walked you through your life.
JMM