Christmas Memory No. 1

We all have those memories that just stick.

Christmas season 1999. Downtown Grants Pass, Oregon.

My best friend and I convince our moms to take us to the pharmacy and antique store after school. Bing is singing and the greenery is draped over all the awnings of the buildings. At the pharmacy we sit at the wooden counter and order hot chocolate with vanilla cookies. We keep having to get refills of the hot chocolate because they serve it in these tiny brown diner mugs that hardly count. Refills are 25 cents. The vanilla cookies are those little wafers that come in pink, brown and white. The pharmacy only has white. We order these because we think the cast of White Christmas would eat these with their hot chocolate.

There are three antique shops near each other on 6th street and we slowly walk though each one. We all pick out what we would buy if we could. A blue and white set of china, white kid leather gloves, a beaded sweater with golden grape clusters that clink when you walk (we tried it), a plaid riding cape with big green buttons and a bakelite vanity set.

That memory brings such warmth when I think back on it. Is there anything better than antique stores at Christmas? It is like all of those Christmases past are right there contained in one store. You can picture the people who owned those items, wore that sweater and you can feel their anticipation and seasonal merriment. When you see all of the simple vintage ornaments and the silvery tinsel you can immediately picture a time of scaled back, down to earth celebrating. Trying on the white gloves you can picture sixty years ago, the two girls going downtown after school, to try them on.