Mary Killen lived in Saint John, New Brunswick, and was one of my Mom’s best friends. Mary was elderly and lived alone and when she needed groceries she had to walk four long blocks and that wasn’t easy for her.
Mary’s route to the grocery store took her from her home at 220 Main Street just across the street from the Main Street Baptist Church.
From there she made her way to 239 Metcalf Street where my parents lived.
Then Mary turned down a steep, gravel pathway to a long set of stairs that led down the side of the hill to the grocery store in Lansdowne Plaza some 50 feet below.
Of course that meant after buying her groceries Mary had to walk back the same way and by the time she climbed back up the stairs and up the gravel pathway she was tired.
Mary would ring Mom’s doorbell to say hello, and Mom, from the top of the stairs would call down, “Mary come upstairs to our flat and have a rest and cup of tea with me.”
Mary always replied, “Marge by the time I get to the top of the hill I am too tired to climb up any more stairs. I just want to sit on your doorstep and rest!”
My Mom came up with a solution to Mary’s problem and said, “Well then Mary, here is a set of keys to our car parked in the Royal Bank parking lot across from the gravel pathway. You can rest there in comfort and read your newspaper until you’re ready to go home!”
So over the years, I remember seeing Mary in our family car many times, catching her breath and relaxing, reading her newspaper. I often enjoyed stopping to chat with her.
Many years later Mary passed away. I attended her funeral at St. Peter’s Church.
After the funeral Mary’s adult children invited me to her flat for refreshments.
While there, one of Mary’s daughters told us about a puzzling situation. “I found a set of car keys in Mom’s purse and I cannot figure out why Mom would have car keys since she didn’t have a car. She couldn’t even drive!”
Her puzzlement made me laugh and I explained to everyone the arrangement my Mother and Mary had.
Well these young adults were so amazed that “Old People” could find such a clever solution to Mary’s need for a rest after shopping!
Raymond Pierce is a Storyteller living in Toronto, Canada
A member of Senior Citizen Friendship Group <<JOIN US!
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