Going
downtown to shop with Mom was a major event every few
weeks. Our four huge department
stores aligned themselves neatly on Rue Ste. Catherine, with Eaton's
beginning the walk,
located beside the two huge variety
stores, Woolworth's and Kresge's.
When
you are four or five, these stores
seem even huger. I could not imagine
any store more interesting than Woolworth's with its rich variety of
products.
In a distance corner, blue budgies
and yellow canaries sang their caged songs. Yes, real animal life.
Turtles crawled
in circular globes, and goldfish too
swam in rectangular tanks beside them.
"Cruel to keep birds in cages," Mom
said, denying me a bird of my own. "Besides, one dog is enough for any household."
Past
the gaudy cosmetics with new
colors of purple and orange lipstick
and nail polish, to the huge toy section. I liked the smell of crayon
boxes and
the blankness of coloring books, and
the stands of Little Golden Books. It was the doll clothes that most
interested
me.
The dresses hung on pastel pink and blue hangers, and the white nylon socks came in transparents sacks.
The
black rubber shoes with ankle straps mimicked our own real shoes.
After I studied the clothes for
my dolls, I checked out my other favorite, paper doll books.
Our
counters served lunch to thousands
of downtown workers, secretaries and filing clerks and retail store
workers, and the sound
of dishes clanging and cash
registers ringing punctuated our meal time. Later I would graduate to
hot dogs,
French fries, and chocolate malted
milk shakes, but then I ate healthier food.
Grilled
cheese sandwiches, with a
slice of dill pickle on top. And for
dessert, Boston cream pie. Mom ate club sandwiches and coffee in a
sturdy
white cup. As we left, we passed the
cake counter, with its efforts to lure in child consumers, and a
favourite of my friends
was an ugly looking cake with a
plastic doll stuck right in the middle of the flour and sugar.
Fortunately, no one had invented
butter or cream substitute, and all
the icing was made of real butter and real sugar.
Clutching my small purchase of doll
clothes items, we happily made our way back to our safe life at 91 Rue LaPalme.