While I was selling seeds, trying to sell enough to win a "free" telescope, I knocked on the door of the big house on the corner. That’s all we kids knew about it at the time. That, and the fact that two really old people lived there. The woman seemed nice enough, but the man was grumpy, and, because of that, we kids kept our distance.
It took some courage for me to knock on that door. But I did, because I really wanted that telescope. I had noticed that the big house had a nice yard with lots of well-tended plants. That made me think that maybe, just maybe, the old people would like some seeds.
After a few minutes, nobody had come to the door, so I knocked again. Still nobody, so I decided to leave, disappointed. Just as I reached the sidewalk, I heard a voice yell, "Well, what do you want?"
"Uh", I said, trying to regain my courage, "Sir, I’m selling some seeds. Maybe you’d like some?"
Actually I was stuttering a bit more than that. I was really scared, as the old man looked really angry. I think I woke him up and he was a but grumpy because of that.
"No. Go away little boy." He said, gruffly.
"Wait a minute, young man!" a woman’s voice yelled. "Don’t be so harsh on the young man", the kindly voice continued, "After all, he’s trying to earn an honest living."
"Oh, all right", the old guy said, turning around. He went back into the house and the old lady came out to talk with me.
"My name is Lola. Would you like to come inside?" She asked.
I was frightened, but Lola seemed like such a nice person that I accepted her invitation. After entering her house, I looked around. It was great! The walls were covered with bookshelves and display cases, which contained lots of rocks. Beautiful rocks of every type and color.
I was enthralled immediately, both by her wonderful rock collection and by her immense charm. We must have sat in her house for hours, talking about lots of things. Even her husband joined in, looking a lot less frightening now that I knew him a little better.
After talking for hours, it was time to leave. I wanted to do something to show her how much I liked her, so I handed a few packs of seeds to her.
"How much?" she asked.
"Free", I said. "These are on me."
She smiled, and accepted. I paid for those seeds myself, out of the money I made mowing lawns.
I then made it a point to visit Lola and her husband every week, at least. We talked about many things. She showed me her rock collection, her cacti, her plants. She told me about her children, and took out her old picture collection. This was all very fascinating to me, as an older person had never opened up to me like that before.
On my birthday in that same year, Lola gave me one of my most valued possessions. She gave me a pair of beautiful bookends, made of some wonderful layered stone. I’ve managed to hold onto these for all these years, and they still bring back memories of that kind old lady.
Unless otherwise noted, all photos and text is Copyright © Richard G Lowe, Jr.