Remember when a trip New Orleans took a whole day by car,
Or a half-day on the Louisville and Nashville railroad.
Remember the "Hummingbird Express"...
The brightly colored engine...
Sleek. Leading a parade of gleeming silver cars
into the old L & NB station on Reynoir Street.
And the old locomotives with
Steam billowing.
Screeching.
Grinding to a halt
Remember the conductors
Smiling and greeting each person individually.
Reaching out a friendly hand to help you climb on board.
Remember the young soldiers from Keesler
Wearing their summer khaki uniforms - duffel bags by their sides -
Bound for places you never heard of.
Remember the Porters dressed in white linen.
The dining car with crisp white linen table cloths,
The heavy silverware set meticulously - waiting for the guests.
Remember ...
When going to downtown Biloxi on a Saturday afternoon was really "going somewhere".
Everybody dressed up to see and be seen.
The crowded Biloxi sidewalks dotted with popcorn in front of Kress's.
Remember the leathery brown little man near the Avelez Hotel Arcade,
Leaning against his stained pushcart - almost dozing off
Muttering "FRESH HOT TAMALES"
To approaching passers-by.
Remember the beggar with no legs.
Sitting on a tattered blanket
On the pavement in front of Woolworth's.
Those empty, blind eyes raised heaven-wards
As if waiting for the miracle.
His rich baritone voice
The rapturous old spiritual welling up
From the bottom of his heart and further from his past -
See him rattling a battered tin cup -
And the cigar box half full of pencils by his side.
Remember dropping in a few coins,
And how he paused from his singing - only a moment to say
"God Bless you".
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Remember Pockies next door. That spotlessly white painted brick store on Howard Avenue across from the first National Bank? The Valentine's Day window display . |
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Remember the shelves of toys waiting inside? Erector Sets, Tinker Toys, Lincoln Logs, |
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Beany and Cecil Comics |
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.And one store over - Houk's Gift Shop.
Remember the window display -
Never failing to capture a passing viewer.
The wonderous collection of real American Indian Jewelry -
Hand tooled leather billfolds.
Large and small carved statues - wood, ivory, and jade.
Remember the Mexican Jumping Beans.
How they wiggled around the enameled china bowl
Trying to escape the relentless Biloxi sun.
Inside - Mr. Houk himself, sporting a yellow-gray moustache
Waving his faithful companion cigar in a blue cloud of lingering smoke.
Remember the military store on the corner of Howard and Lameuse,
The façade covered in blue glass tiles -
Windows plastered tightly with signs:
GOING OUT OF BUSINESS SALE
The sale that lasted over three years!
Remember the ladies with their quaint hats -
Gentlemen wearing Stetsons or Straws.
People smiling at friends and strangers alike -
Stopping at the street corner to talk .
Conversations that went on, forever.
About anything, everything, and nothing.
Remember the store bags,
Thin brown paper store bags that split unexpectedly.
And the strangers stopping to help retrieve the contents...
Another long, long walk home - feet tired and aching.
Suppertime.
Homework.
Bedtime.
Remember the Show Room at Pringle's Ford
Latil's Chrysler, Dodge, Desoto..
The Studebakers, Hudsons, and Ramblers...
Thirty Cent a gallon gasoline.
Drive-in Restaurants and Drive-in Movies
Fifteen Cent McDonald Hamburgers.
Those Sunday family auto rides ...
The trips to Home Pride Milk just east of Main street
For the thickest milk shakes ever made.
Or to Borden's on the corner of Caillaivet and Howard -
For a sundae so large, it turned to "soup" before you could finish it.
And from New Orleans, Brown's Velvet Butter Pecan Ice Cream,
For one brief month in the late spring.
Russell Stover chocolates at Easter time.
Elmer's Gold bricks.
A cherry coke at Kimbrough and Quint's soda fountain.
Playing Cops and Robbers, Cowboys and Indians.
Cork pop guns,
Digging Foxholes.
Back then, war was a card game.
Sometimes we would just get silly -
Spinning around, getting dizzy, and falling down - just for the fun of it.
And when we were really bored,
We'd sit on the curb and count the cars passing by.
But there was always something to do...
Jumping on the bed.
Pillow fights.
Running till you were out of breath.
Remember laughing so hard that your stomach hurt
Do you remember your first visit to the Star Grocery and Meat Market?
It was right next door to Clower's furniture company -
Almost across from the People's Bank.
Remember the smell of the fresh fruits.
Apples, Peaches, and Pears
Lying in open wooden crates, swarthed in blue tissue.
Black crayoned prices on tattered cards
Dancing on a twine stringer stretched above.
Remember the labels on the ends of the crates...
Each one a masterpiece!
Remember eating Kool-Aid powder without sugar?
Purple tongues.
Stained fingers.
Upset stomachs!