The morning is rainy and dark. The wind is strong enough to blow even the heaviest limbs. It is the sort of day to stay close to hearth and home. It is a cozies and slippers sort of day.

Last night the storm woke me. I could hear the wind blowing and the rain on the roof. I listened for a little while then fell back to sleep.

I remember when a Carroll’s opened up in my hometown. Fifteen cent burgers were revolutionary. The parking lot became a Saturday hang-out spot. Kids were all over the place. Cars filled all the spaces.

On school nights, the hang out spot was the library. All the tables and chairs were filled with kids pretending they were there to do homework. The librarians were on alert. They threatened to make even the whisperers leave.

My town had both a Grant’s and a Woolworth’s. I liked the Woolworth’s more. It had a candy section, balsa airplanes, Golden books, comic books and inexpensive toys. I wandered the aisles feeing rich with my fifty cents allowance.

Santoro’s subs were just down the street from my elementary school. About once a month my mother would give us enough money to buy a sub, chips and a small drink. I remember how the shop smelled of onions and tomatoes. The menu was huge and was hung on the wall, but I didn’t need it. On Fridays, meatless days, I’d order a tuna sub with pickles and hot peppers. On other days, it was an Italian sub, also with pickles and hot peppers. If it was a nice day, I’d walk to the town hall, sit on a bench and eat my lunch. If it was cold or rainy, I’d stand at the lunch counter and eat. I loved the subs, but the best part of it all was leaving school for just a little while.

I had a diary, a Christmas present one year. The cover was pink plastic with an illustration of a teen age girl talking on the phone on the front cover. It also had a lock and key. I’d write just about every day and lock it when I was done. I hid the key. Looking back on this, I chuckle a little. I was ten or eleven. Nothing in my life needed hiding behind a lock and key. Little has changed since then.