Noah’s Journal

Since last I was here, much has happened — kids went trick or treating, we gained an hour in our day, and I went on a week-long writer’s retreat.

As I packed the projects I would work on during my week, I spotted Noah’s Journal and stuck it in the bag. The little black book was given to me on Mother’s Day in 2012 by Noah’s parents, Matt and Jessica. The front pages of the book lists prompts intended to help me tell about my life and times. Noah is my almost-two-year-old great-grandson.

On first receiving the journal, I began writing daily, inspired by the questions. But alas, as often happens, writing projects that don’t have a deadline are put on the shelf to be finished later. “Later” arrived with my retreat and since that time Noah’s Journal has become a priority again.

About 20 pages into the book it occurred to me that when he’s old enough to appreciate these stories, Noah may not be able to read my handwriting. It’s not that bad, but many schools no longer teach or use cursive writing … it’s all keyboarding.  So, now I print.

The prompt this week is about my varied employment career. I’m telling my great-grand about my first job, in 1950, at S.H. Kress (Variety Store) in Denison, Texas, where each counter had its own cash register and employees had to know math well enough to make change and count it back to the customer (who was always right). I was to keep my space clean and stocked and above all I must always look busy and not talk talk to my friends who might come in the store to shop.

For this I was paid 40 cents an hours, $3.20 for a day’s work (with 5c withheld for FICA). For a teenager, it sufficed.

I hope someday Noah enjoys reading this book as much as I am enjoying the writing.