Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Walkin' Down Main Street

I remember.....

Hangin' out in Gilbert's Garage on Johnson Street
The ol' pipe-stove in the back of the garage
And the pile of coal off to the side of the office
The apple trees and the pecan trees
And cats........

Walkin' in Cofer Brothers Store
The dirt floor in the front
And the squeaky, wooden floors in the back
The old, oak barrel that held the pickles
The peppermint stick candy for a penny a piece

Cruisin' through Brookton's
The only place in town that sold bellbottom jeans
And the shirts of flowers and rose gardens
And an electronic cash register

Wonderin' through Allen Pharmacy, where I worked as a teenager
The old remedies on the shelf under the Rexall Brand
Mr. Cagle in the back of the store working on another ancient watch
Sittin' in the waiting area and playing checkers with the Veterans

Walkin' under Farrell's gas station overhang and smelling the gas from the pumps
Hangin' out with the guys who pumped the gas and changed the oil
Puttin' pennies in the gumball machine...2 for one penny!

Dreamin' through Crowley's furniture store
Thinkin' about that first apartment and how that lamp would look in the corner
Thinkin' the fabric on that sofa burns my eyes
Lookin' at the price tags and hurrying out the front door

Jumpin' cross the railroad tracks
Thinkin' 'bout the time the Goatman came to town
Or when the train wreck evacuated the town
Or puttin' pennies on the track before the train came through town
To squash 'em and put 'em in my pockets

Landin' up in the ol' feed store
Where the men of the town gathered to buy their seeds for the spring planting
And the Mary Jane candies..oh, the Mary Jane candies
And yet more checker boards.....

Endin' up on Bruce Street
A place you weren't suppose to go..."you can't go there, white-boy"
And listenin' to the ol' black men playin' their blues
On banged-up, Woolworth's guitars
And wantin' to understand...and to dance!

I miss my ol' Main Street
But she is gone.........
She is gone.............

I was walkin' down Main Street
And I remember.......
Lord, don't ever take this away from me!

Good Night, Lithonia......we hardly knew ye!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

What's gone? The businesses and people or Main Street?

Hidden Wizard said...

"The Way We Were" is "Gone with the Wind".....

Anonymous said...

The small town was swallowed by the big metropolis and became just another memory.

Anonymous said...

This is a great tribute to a small town. Did you hear all the newscasters mispronouncing Lithonia on the day of Coretta Scott King's funeral? I heard Lith-OWN-nee-a and LITHO-own-knee-a and Litha-onia but I did not hear Lie-thon-ya.

Lauri

OconeeMark said...

Hey Wizard: I know these places, and so I almost know you. On the way toward Bruce Street, you could buy beer and ice at Curly's. If you were old enough to have a driver's license, you were old enough to buy beer. Ice: all your cooler will hold, twenty-five cents. Lithos Onia

OconeeMark said...

Hey Wizard: I know these places, and so I almost know you. On the way toward Bruce Street, you could buy beer and ice at Curly's. If you were old enough to have a driver's license, you were old enough to buy beer. Ice: all your cooler will hold, twenty-five cents. Lithos Onia