Friday, April 02, 2004
DAY ONE COMES TO A CLOSE
Mr. Barrett came from the back room and said they would hire me. I would get 25-cents an hour and I was to “wait tables.” Amy, the other waitress could show me the ropes and Rosie, the cook, could show me the kitchen work. I was to wait tables, help with the dishes, keep the floor swept and run the register. I was always good with money so it was no problem to make “change.”
My heart soared. I had a job. Mr. Barrett asked Amy if she knew where I could get a room and she did, so he had her take me to see about it. I carried my brown sack and we walked the two blocks to the house. I don’t remember the lady’s name but she seemed nice, lived close to the Methodist Church, and showed me her “rent room.”
We climbed steep stairs to an attic room which had a bed and a dresser. The bed had a “straw tick” on an old iron bed. There was a window. The rest of the attic was filled with cast-offs of a life-time…….I felt I fit in just fine. I told her I couldn’t pay her until after I worked a week and she said that would be all right. The room rent would be $3.50 a week.
Amy and I walked back to the ice-cream shop and she showed me how things were done. Rosie told me how the kitchen was run and it all seemed logical so there was no anxiety on my part. There was always a rush before the movie and after so we were to have everything filled and ready. When Rosie was there she did all the cooking but when she was gone we did the “fry cooking.” It was a small but neat place…….the counter was at the front by the juke-box and then there were booths on each side wall back as far as the kitchen.
In no time I was taking orders and serving so the day went by quickly. We closed at 11:00pm. After the doors were locked Amy went her way and I walked to the house where I would be staying. The door was unlocked so I let myself in and climbed the steps to my room. I looked around in the dim light (a small lamp was on the dresser top) and got out of my clothes. There was no closet so I hung them over the wood chair near the bed. The heat was unbearable even at that time of night. I turned the light off and stretched out on the straw mattress…..it was uncomfortable but laying on my back I could see stars shining through the small window at the head of my bed.
I had a sudden surge of gratitude and peace…….the kind that passes all understanding. I thanked God and then offered the prayer I prayed every night at bedtime since I was a little girl. Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, But if I die before I wake……I pray the Lord my soul to take. God bless mama, God bless daddy and God bless brother Louis…..I had the overwhelming feeling that I was not alone.
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
My heart soared. I had a job. Mr. Barrett asked Amy if she knew where I could get a room and she did, so he had her take me to see about it. I carried my brown sack and we walked the two blocks to the house. I don’t remember the lady’s name but she seemed nice, lived close to the Methodist Church, and showed me her “rent room.”
We climbed steep stairs to an attic room which had a bed and a dresser. The bed had a “straw tick” on an old iron bed. There was a window. The rest of the attic was filled with cast-offs of a life-time…….I felt I fit in just fine. I told her I couldn’t pay her until after I worked a week and she said that would be all right. The room rent would be $3.50 a week.
Amy and I walked back to the ice-cream shop and she showed me how things were done. Rosie told me how the kitchen was run and it all seemed logical so there was no anxiety on my part. There was always a rush before the movie and after so we were to have everything filled and ready. When Rosie was there she did all the cooking but when she was gone we did the “fry cooking.” It was a small but neat place…….the counter was at the front by the juke-box and then there were booths on each side wall back as far as the kitchen.
In no time I was taking orders and serving so the day went by quickly. We closed at 11:00pm. After the doors were locked Amy went her way and I walked to the house where I would be staying. The door was unlocked so I let myself in and climbed the steps to my room. I looked around in the dim light (a small lamp was on the dresser top) and got out of my clothes. There was no closet so I hung them over the wood chair near the bed. The heat was unbearable even at that time of night. I turned the light off and stretched out on the straw mattress…..it was uncomfortable but laying on my back I could see stars shining through the small window at the head of my bed.
I had a sudden surge of gratitude and peace…….the kind that passes all understanding. I thanked God and then offered the prayer I prayed every night at bedtime since I was a little girl. Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, But if I die before I wake……I pray the Lord my soul to take. God bless mama, God bless daddy and God bless brother Louis…..I had the overwhelming feeling that I was not alone.
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
