stopped by

a local independent pharmacy

with a name that ends in ”II”

even though

they have no store with “I”

after its name

and

fell into a time warp

i was

in an old five and dime and drug store

both rolled into one

the aspirin

and many other things

looked like

they had been there for ages

with a slight yellow tint to them

 some

were the only ones

left on the shelves

time stood still

in that little store

nothing had changed

in years

it had slipped

through the cracks

and then

i looked closer

and

 saw the rest

there were

tiny glass animals

 titanic coloring book

wild buck notecards

men’s dress socks

magic tricks

meercat attack animal warning signs

chocolate milk

grill mitts

mermaid activity books

comfortable chairs for waiting at the pharmacy

golden books

necco wafers

animal suction cup toothbrush holders

a metal cigarette box

with an exotic woman on it

saying

‘i stole your boyfriend’

face powder

 ceramic neon sandal

fax service

 how to tie nautical knots book

 prescription delivery sign

kitten puzzles

postcards with puns

dream catchers

a grab bag for $1.00

filled with

old greeting cards

you had to take your chances

it was all whimsy

and old-fashioned-ness

mixed with

medical supplies and drugs and novelty

and a dash of

twilight zone

 i loved discovering

all of

the special things

about it

and the best of all

was

 the tiny woman over 80

standing vigil at the front register

who rang up the order for a total of

$3,403.26

a young manager

quite pregnant

 on her way out

stopped

when she called to her for help

 came back

to fix the slight overcharge

and said,

‘now, don’t give her change for $3,400, she didn’t give you that much’

it was

$1.75

for my tiny glass giraffe

she nodded

so

  sweet

unruffled

full of grace

her hair was done

wearing

matching earrings and necklace

 the beautiful older woman

was relieved

when i paid cash

i gave her 2 worn singles

 she gave me

a shiny quarter back

wrapped my animal

in tissue paper

folded it into a little bag

she smiled

and told me to come back very soon

 i will.

—

time flies over us, but leaves its shadow behind.
– nathaniel hawthorne

—

image credits: longs drugs 1938, salvador dali, persistence of time 1931, getty images