"OLD" Friends

Remember when, in the 60s and 70s, one marketing strategy manufacturers used to entice shoppers to snatch their laundry soap off the grocery shelf was to include a “gift” inside each “specially marked” box? Customers proudly stood in line at the cash register, confident their detergent was, in fact, “stronger than dirt,” and a bit smug that they were savvy enough to spot and take advantage of an added bonus – a bath towel. Who cared that it was yet another item to be laundered and therefore increased the need to buy more detergent. It was free!

Oh, and what lovely towels they were. They were decorated with big splashy roses. Red and pinkish roses, in all their full-bloom glory, from one end of the cloth to the other. Speaking of fabric, one must assume that in order to package each towel along with the powder detergent, it had to be fairly thin. It may not, however, explain why the texture of every towel was like that of an emery board.

So there we were, back in the day, my “old” friend and me, at the A&P in our small Southern Indiana hometown. In a hurry, we’d split the shopping list, Carol taking one half of the store, me the other.

What happened next created one of those moments when time stands still. Often in those instances, it takes a second to comprehend just what has occurred. But on this day, unfortunately, I knew exactly what I had heard. And then I heard it again.

“ROSES!”

It was Carol, at the other end of the store, on the detergent aisle. She’d spotted the brightly colored box that we’d just seen advertised on TV for the hundredth time. With the same zeal as the lady in the ad, though with not quite the same size viewing audience, but believe me, it was big enough, Carol was reenacting the commercial.

Just the other day we were again together in a grocery store. Trying to select the best fruit, with the produce manager restocking right next to her, Carol kept dropping bananas on the floor – then placing them back on the display.

I will forever be grateful she didn’t burst into a rendition of “I’m a Chiquita banana…”

I wouldn’t have put it past her though. She still has the spunk to do such things and does so without shame. I just think this time it slipped her mind.

Age has its rewards. Like two “old” friends still shopping together.

Carol (Proffitt) is an original in many respects...only one of which is being a charter member of WOOF. For a story about her delightful mother, check out WOOF: Women Only Over Fifty!

Diana aka d.d. dawg