During my pre-teen years my family lived just a couple of blocks from the city block that housed an elementary school, the junior high, the recreation department, the local city gym - used by the Jr. High for PE, the rec department for basketball games, the high school for basketball games, AND was used as an auditorium for the entire community and the schools. The next blocks were the main downtown area, so the main part of town was not too far from our house. It was a simpler (and safer) time and at 11-13 I was allowed to walk and really just ramble all over our part of town. So was our dog, Pal. He was well known :)
On Saturday afternoon one of my friends ( five of us lived within two blocks of one another) and I would sometimes walk downtown ....... passing the elementary school ... a quick swing on the empty play grounds.... by the junior high.... up and down the granite steps of the old post office....... maybe stopping to watch the cokes fly by on the conveyor belt at the bottling plant across from the schools..... then into one of several drug stores on the surrounding corners to sit at the counter or in a booth to enjoy an ice cold coca cola. Maybe having a slaw dog if we wanted to splurge with our allowance so early in the week. Or catching the Saturday matinee and enjoying the movie, a coke and popcorn all for $.40 at the theater located in the block between two of the drug stores.
Just a normal Saturday afternoon in most small towns in America in the sixties I suppose................ But we did have entertainment that may not have been available in every small town. Well, maybe not any other small town. Maybe only in Atlanta or even New York City........... Well, maybe not any other town of any size. We had entertainment at our Belk Hudson store. I always loved going with my mom to Belk Hudson and being entertained while my mom shopped in the fabric department. The entrance off the main downtown street opened onto the floor that housed shoes, the men's department, hosiery, and cosmetics. The top floor housed women's wear, the children's department, and lingerie.
But, if you parked in the parking lot you actually entered what was considered the basement. The basement housed housewares and dry goods (fabric, etc)..... AND.... THE MYNAH BIRD. That's right.......... our Belk Hudson had a talking bird that lived in the store over the drink machine in a sitting area. Very entertaining. And very loud! He was a rude bird now that I think about it. He whistled at all the ladies and yelled out cat calls and insults. There were certain words and phrases that he would repeat. All the local children knew what to ask him to either get a response or just get him rilled.
Just normal life for those of us who grew up with him. I bet the ladies in housewares wanted to poison his bird seed by Saturday evening.
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