True Christmas story. My family had a Flower shop for about 60 years that closed a couple years ago. My youth was much closer to "It's a wonderful Life" era than to the present, because I'm "seasoned" (old).
One Christmas when I was younger than ten (I was selling Christmas trees at ten) there was a snowstorm Christmas eve and we were even more behind than usual with deliveries. We would usually grab friends or family for extra help and a few bucks if they would take it, but this was down to my father, a snowstorm and, as it turned out, me.
As co-pilot, I had the map and flashlight, also knocked the snow off mailboxes looking for numbers and even delivered a few. It was slow going as the snow wouldn't let up and it was pitch dark at the end.
Finally, we finished and My dad didn't head home, but asked if I was hungry. Sure. Everything everywhere was closed in those days, but we pulled up to the Liberty Deli, just over the Dorchester line near Milton Lower Mills.
I'd never been in there before, but My mother always brought home deli on Sunday so I was familiar. Never saw those huge sandwiches before, though and a room full of people talking politics (not commonplace in my Irish neighborhood. Politicians were only discussed when you needed something and somebody knew one and not in front of the kids).
Although I took some kidding and condescension, it was my first memory of being in a different grown up world. Fast forward about 8-10 years and I get a job as a a vendor at Fenway park and find a kid in my high school that's a vendor too and finds a legal space for his VW bug there everyday, so I catch a ride with him for a while. Turns out he's the son or nephew of the owners of the deli and his brother is the program and souvenir vendor (highest on the pecking order) He quit after a while, but i still remember his name (pretty good since i don't remember a lot these days.
Funny how i remember that more than most Christmases. Always enjoyed getting out of my insular Irish Catholic suburb. These days everybody would be at some sandwich chain that looked the same no matter what part of the country it was in.
Happy Holidays Patjew.
