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Coffee With The Princess!
3 years ago
Coffee With The Princess!
Happy 7-11 Day!
**Giggles!**
If you have been following me for a while now, you know about my strange love for convenience stores, especially the 7-11s they had on down near the house in Lexington Park, Maryland and St. Simons Island, Georgia. They were places of fun for a kid like me! Comics, candy, and games! It would be into the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s that the one near the village or the airport had some of the best games. Asteroids, Star Castle, Vanguard, and even Street Fighter and Ye Are Kung-fu! But they also kept at least one, possibly two pinball games in there. Star Trek and KISS were the two I remember from my childhood and then later all sorts came and went. My mother was always horrified by my spending habits when I was growing up, but Pop kept telling her that I would learn as I got bills and such. "Let her be a kid, honey," Pop said one day over coffee as I went running off to play, giving my folks their much needed peace and quiet.
Pop often would go to the one in Lexington Park, Maryland to get cigarettes and beer, often taking me along in the AMC Rebel, when it was still this metallic gray and before it was painted this horrible punk-yellow! Gross! My Big Sister would smack me in the back of the head and say something like, "It's sunflower yellow!" And I would stick out my tongue at her because Pop would be lurking behind her, ready for a "Lesson in Parenting! - Special Move: Attitude Reboot!" A sharp smack to the back of her head or something the humming of the thumb connecting with an ear often did the trick which also would start a firestorm of noise to which Mom would clear the house. "No yelling in the house!" she would scream back and my Big Sister and I would watch Pop say, "Yes, ma'am!" quietly and then scowl at us. I was smart enough to move, but my Big Sister was not. Like to guess what happened? Nevertheless, we would go outside for we had this HUGE backyard, a few acres or so with the vacant lot behind the clubhouse ... well, it was a girl's little playhouse, but I liked it well enough. My Big Sister often went in there to burn one, stinking it up and making me go inside and whine about it. Pop would send my Big Sister to her room down in the basement near the hot water heater and the laundry room. She told me years later that she would sneak boys in and smoke pot ... and I've gotten to the point of laughing about it now, but back when, gawd! Hell no. Though, as I said before, it was a fun time to be alive!
If we were kicked out of the house, Pop used that time to do a run to the convenience store or to the exchange on base for smokes and supplies, meaning cigarettes, beer, and booze. My Big Sister tried to get me to smoke, but I hated it right off, saying no thank you. It would be years later and on stage that I would light up a cigarette in a stage play about the roaring twenties, dressed as a flapper. Funny according to Mom, but that's ok. But the runs were times to ride with the top down on the Rebel and just be groovy. Pop was often happiest when he was driving and I was told by his ground crew, especially Ace, the mechanic, that Pop loved to fly. The closest I got to flying as a little kid was sitting in the cockpit with my special helmet I was given by the commanding officer of the base. While I have long since lost the helmet, I still remember that fondly.
Later in my life I would work at a few of these stores, one that was a convenience store and then the other which was the liquor store. Mom used to make the joke that either I needed to be on some street corner, pimping my wears out ... and Pop gave her a scowl which he told me later that Mom was just upset that I had not lived up to my potential, but later she would make the running joke comment about me being more of an ATF jockey or agent. I got the feeling that she was being a bit mean, so I told her that I could go down to the end of the strip mall there around the corner and get a gun. "There's one there that looks like Dirty Harry's big gun. I'll go to the backyard and shoot beer cans and liquor bottles as my part in doing the recycle thing. Maybe after that, I might go and get some more beer and booze too." Pop sat there, glancing over at my Mom who was ghost white and horrified. She got up and stomped off. Pop just said, "Wow!" I had never talked back to Mom before, often swallowing my anger and it was almost immediately that I felt ashamed and guilty. Pop just patted me on the head and said that he would handle it later when she cooled off. But, Mom was frosty for the rest of the visit. It would be a few months before we would speak again and I got the "You don't call anymore!" speech which told me she was ok. Mom never liked me working at the store, but my Big Sister pointed out since Mom got married at 18, she had never worked outside of the summer job at Tasty Freeze on St. Simons Island, the place where Mom met Pop while he was stationed at Glynn Co, the base out on the edge of Brunswick. "She'll never have an idea what it's like to punch a clock, honey," my Big Sister said, probably before she took a long drag off of her pot or took a shot of booze since we were on the phone and it was another notorious 3 am Phone Call. Dear God ...
Still, I find myself remembering the times as good times. Comics, candy, games, and so many good memories too. It all comes back to me when I step through the doors of most convenience stores.
BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Happy 7-11 Day!
**Giggles!**
If you have been following me for a while now, you know about my strange love for convenience stores, especially the 7-11s they had on down near the house in Lexington Park, Maryland and St. Simons Island, Georgia. They were places of fun for a kid like me! Comics, candy, and games! It would be into the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s that the one near the village or the airport had some of the best games. Asteroids, Star Castle, Vanguard, and even Street Fighter and Ye Are Kung-fu! But they also kept at least one, possibly two pinball games in there. Star Trek and KISS were the two I remember from my childhood and then later all sorts came and went. My mother was always horrified by my spending habits when I was growing up, but Pop kept telling her that I would learn as I got bills and such. "Let her be a kid, honey," Pop said one day over coffee as I went running off to play, giving my folks their much needed peace and quiet.
Pop often would go to the one in Lexington Park, Maryland to get cigarettes and beer, often taking me along in the AMC Rebel, when it was still this metallic gray and before it was painted this horrible punk-yellow! Gross! My Big Sister would smack me in the back of the head and say something like, "It's sunflower yellow!" And I would stick out my tongue at her because Pop would be lurking behind her, ready for a "Lesson in Parenting! - Special Move: Attitude Reboot!" A sharp smack to the back of her head or something the humming of the thumb connecting with an ear often did the trick which also would start a firestorm of noise to which Mom would clear the house. "No yelling in the house!" she would scream back and my Big Sister and I would watch Pop say, "Yes, ma'am!" quietly and then scowl at us. I was smart enough to move, but my Big Sister was not. Like to guess what happened? Nevertheless, we would go outside for we had this HUGE backyard, a few acres or so with the vacant lot behind the clubhouse ... well, it was a girl's little playhouse, but I liked it well enough. My Big Sister often went in there to burn one, stinking it up and making me go inside and whine about it. Pop would send my Big Sister to her room down in the basement near the hot water heater and the laundry room. She told me years later that she would sneak boys in and smoke pot ... and I've gotten to the point of laughing about it now, but back when, gawd! Hell no. Though, as I said before, it was a fun time to be alive!
If we were kicked out of the house, Pop used that time to do a run to the convenience store or to the exchange on base for smokes and supplies, meaning cigarettes, beer, and booze. My Big Sister tried to get me to smoke, but I hated it right off, saying no thank you. It would be years later and on stage that I would light up a cigarette in a stage play about the roaring twenties, dressed as a flapper. Funny according to Mom, but that's ok. But the runs were times to ride with the top down on the Rebel and just be groovy. Pop was often happiest when he was driving and I was told by his ground crew, especially Ace, the mechanic, that Pop loved to fly. The closest I got to flying as a little kid was sitting in the cockpit with my special helmet I was given by the commanding officer of the base. While I have long since lost the helmet, I still remember that fondly.
Later in my life I would work at a few of these stores, one that was a convenience store and then the other which was the liquor store. Mom used to make the joke that either I needed to be on some street corner, pimping my wears out ... and Pop gave her a scowl which he told me later that Mom was just upset that I had not lived up to my potential, but later she would make the running joke comment about me being more of an ATF jockey or agent. I got the feeling that she was being a bit mean, so I told her that I could go down to the end of the strip mall there around the corner and get a gun. "There's one there that looks like Dirty Harry's big gun. I'll go to the backyard and shoot beer cans and liquor bottles as my part in doing the recycle thing. Maybe after that, I might go and get some more beer and booze too." Pop sat there, glancing over at my Mom who was ghost white and horrified. She got up and stomped off. Pop just said, "Wow!" I had never talked back to Mom before, often swallowing my anger and it was almost immediately that I felt ashamed and guilty. Pop just patted me on the head and said that he would handle it later when she cooled off. But, Mom was frosty for the rest of the visit. It would be a few months before we would speak again and I got the "You don't call anymore!" speech which told me she was ok. Mom never liked me working at the store, but my Big Sister pointed out since Mom got married at 18, she had never worked outside of the summer job at Tasty Freeze on St. Simons Island, the place where Mom met Pop while he was stationed at Glynn Co, the base out on the edge of Brunswick. "She'll never have an idea what it's like to punch a clock, honey," my Big Sister said, probably before she took a long drag off of her pot or took a shot of booze since we were on the phone and it was another notorious 3 am Phone Call. Dear God ...
Still, I find myself remembering the times as good times. Comics, candy, games, and so many good memories too. It all comes back to me when I step through the doors of most convenience stores.
BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
