Hot Turkey Dinner, Please

As a child, my favorite treat was when Uncle Roy would drop off Aunt Marjie and me downtown on a Saturday afternoon.

Aunt Marjie always looked sensational in those days.  Barely five feet, two inches tall, easily over 225 pounds, she moved with a model's grace in her high heels.  She had her hair upswept and colored with New Dawn #27.  She wore a dress always--never owned a pair of slacks.  Her big hat, bigger earrings and polished make-up were just the outside of why she was well-loved.  I wanted to be like Aunt Marjie.

Aunt Marjie loved to take me to the theater.  We would go to the elegant Warner, or the ordinary Strand, but never the slightly dumpy Shea's where my friends and I went to see the Beatles' movies.  We would watch 56 cartoons, or take in Joan Crawford, Elvis or It's a Mad, Mad World! yet again.  I loved them all, from creepy Bette Davis to Elvis singing to the antics of Bugs and Daffy.

The best part was after the movie ended...a hot turkey dinner at W.T Grant's, or Kresge's (the forerunner of KMart) or Murphy's with the brass railings.  And always, always a sundae even if we were too full to speak.  To this day, I remember the somewhat salty gravy, the probably instant potatoes and the frozen peas.  Even then, I asked for extra cranberries on the side.

I was allowed to walk around the toy department only once, then I could pick out anything I wanted, within reason, of course, though sometimes I did get to pick out a bride doll.

Afterward, Uncle Roy or maybe Grandpa Hess would pick us up on Peach Street.  We would take a ride down State Street to the Dock on the Bay, watch the fishermen for awhile before we headed for home.

Those were good days.  I loved Downtown, the movies, the cartoons and the shopping.  To this day, I ask for extra cranberries with my hot turkey dinners at Bob Evans.  I miss Aunt Marjie still.  Her birthday recently passed, and I stood by her grave marker for a long time.. . Her hats and her earrings are fresh in my mind.  I wonder what she would think of the woman I have become.

Betcha she would love those hot turkey dinners.