”There are few things as relaxing as that serene Sunday morning silence.”
We seem to be in the most wonderful weather pattern. The days are in the 70’s and the nights are in the 60’s. Today we even have a bit of a breeze. I don’t mind errands. I love being out and enjoying the day.
When I was a kid, I sometimes drove to mass with my father. Other times I walked either by myself or with my brother. We could go to mass upstairs in the main part of the church or downstairs. Mostly we went downstairs as there was seldom a sermon. I usually glitched out during a sermon. If I wanted to be lectured, my parents were enough. Besides, I wasn’t really into sin. I’d read the hymnal, look around and get antsy. I only went upstairs if it was SRO, and I could sit outside on the steps. I was never really devout.
Sunday was usually such a peaceful day. Most stores were closed. The day was treated almost sacredly. Even my neighborhood which was filled with kids was quiet, but summer Sundays were a bit different. They were casual. We didn’t have a big dinner. My father often barbecued. It was always hamburgers and hot dogs. My mother made potato salad or pepper and eggs. There were always chips. Dessert was whatever we could find, sometimes cookies, sometimes watermelon, sometimes ice cream if we were really lucky. Sunday nights we usually watched TV. My mother used to cover the windows to keep the heat from the sun away so the TV was bright in the darkened room. I remember the flickering of the black and white screen.
The town pool was at the other end of town. Mostly we walked. I’d carry my towel and my bathing suit. I had a dime, the cost of admission. The girls’ section was to the left. It had benches and lockers. The locker key was on a sort of bracelet you could put on your wrist. I remember towels spread around the pool on the concrete. I remember teen couples on those towels. I sort of gaped on my way by. The diving board was at the far end of the pool. I used to dive off it. I’d stand ready as if it were an Olympic competition. I do remember one dive. I went so deeply I hit the bottom of the pool with my face. I cracked a tooth and split my lip. The lifeguard drove me home. I was ten.
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keepthecoffeecoming.blog 
June 2, 2024 at 6:23 pm
Hi Kat,
Today is cloudy and again we are under a severe thunderstorm watch. The forecast high is only 90°.
I remember when we had blue laws on Sundays. The grocery stores could remain open, but they had to cordon off certain merchandise which the state legislature determined were sinful to sell on Sundays. You could buy a chicken, but not the pot to cook it in. That must be a prohibition found in the first chapter of the first book of everything that’s sinful. 🙂 The only thing you can’t sell on Sunday these days is automobiles. Of course, liquor stores are closed and beer and wine sales are restricted to after noontime. God looks the other way on Sunday afternoons, especially during football season. 🙂
I remember when in Texas you had liquor stores, but liquor by the drink in a bar or restaurant was illegal. One could go to a liquor store and buy a bottle of booze, and then take it to a bar or restaurant. They could then sell you the mixers. Texas was the Baptist’s personal buckle on the Bible Belt. Between them and the Church of Christ folks anything fun is considered a mortal sin, including dancing.
There used to be private clubs which could sell liquor by the drink to their members only. Anyone could enter with a guest pass from the front doorman. We had a very smart governor, Preston Smith, who knew that the drinkers never voted. He told the liquor control board to stop allowing guest passes in private clubs beginning two weeks before the election. This action caused all the drinkers to get angry and vote for a state constitutional amendment to allow liquor by the drink which was on the ballot. It passed but only by local option. Some precincts are dry and others wet. The dry ones have had no business development since the 1970s when we got liquor by the drink. Why do Southern Baptists not have sex with the lights on? Because God might think they are dancing. 🙂
June 2, 2024 at 7:45 pm
Hi Bob,
We got to 75°. I went to the dump, and it was loaded with cars because the dump is closed Mondays and Tuesdays. I had a trunkful. I also picked up a few groceries and a Snickers bar.
Massachusetts was famous for its blue laws. Almost nothing was Lowe’s to be opened. The first chink in the armor was when they allowed stores to be opened at Christmas for shopping, no alcohol though. Stores covered their alcohol. Like yours, the law allowed alcohol after noon. Now, anything goes.
Towns here chose to be wet, allowing package stores, or dry, no liquor sold. My parents used to drive to the next town over where there were package stores. The town then went wet, but like yours, restaurants couldn’t serve alcohol but could provide sets ups so people would not totally desert those restaurants. It was cheaper anyway not to buy a drink.
There are some private clubs here, but their only advantage is the drinks are much cheaper. My father
was a member of the Redmen. My mother always said that is where she wanted the get-together after her funeral. We did just that.