TBW Daily Diary

Had a pleasant surprise visit from Bob's sister-in-law Jacquie and niece Trisha Boyer today . . . Another casualty of the snow storm was Jon and Larry's week-long vacation in Las Vegas; flight canceled until four days after scheduled departure date which wouldn't have made the trip worthwhile . . . A reminder that we will be closed Monday for the Federal holiday . . . Our second story bay window overlooking the street is covered with a sheet of snow/ice which at some point will plummet onto the sidewalk. We have posted a warning sign. For those of you walking in the city be advised that there is as much danger from dangling icicles above as there is from icy sidewalks below . . . This afternoon Bob and I were remembering our Valentine's Day celebrations in elementary school. The "mailbox" was constructed a week in advance and covered in tissue, red construction-paper hearts and those lacy paper doilies one buys at the 5&10. (You do remember the 5&10, don't you? Woolworth's, Murphy's, Kresge's, Furlow's, etc., each an emporium for life's little necessities all in one place.) You and your classmates would buy these sacks of mixed cards--some large and some small--and you would spend a whole evening trying to decide which card was most appropriate for which classmate. (Mom always insisted that I send one to everyone in the class, even if I didn't like someone much.) Then one morning you would smuggle your Valentines into the classroom and try to slip them into the box without being seen . . . On THE DAY a couple of boys (never girls) would be appointed postmen, and with all of us in our seats, the mail would be distributed. Did anyone send us a card? Is your friend seated across the aisle getting more cards than you? The 'rich kids' sent heavy cardboard greetings with little lollipops attached. Would we get one of those? Could we hide our disappointment (or embarrassment) if we didn't? . . . When it was over, we had punch and cookies and we all scurried home to really look at our greetings. We weren't as interested in the sentiment as we were in who didn't send us a card . . . Then we knew who to cross off our "best friends" list . . . Come to think of it, maybe we were simply in training for adult life; we all have experienced the guilty feeling of receiving a Christmas card from someone we left off our list AND in reviewing those we did receive we note (somewhat miffed) that Aunt Agnus, the Smiths in Delaware and that nice couple we meet at the shore DIDN'T send us one . . . (And if you didn't get one from us, be advised that Bob does all our greetings, so don't blame me) . . .