A Philly Yo = Honolulu's Aloha
“. . . A wounded heart
will heal in time,
and when it does,
the memory
and love of our
lost ones
is sealed inside
to comfort us.”
Brian Jacques
“Memories are bullets.
Some whiz by
and only spook you.
Others tear you
open and leave you
in pieces.”
Richard Kadrey
“The past
is a foreign country;
they do things
differently there.”
L.P. Hartley
[/]
When I was a little kid
my Dad,
a WWII Veteran,
was a very modest businessman.
He owned a small
English Ford truck
full of affordable merchandise
that he sold on his route.
Profession:
Installment Sales.
A Modern peddler.
Dad's business consisted
mainly
of the fact that housewives
in every ethnic neighborhood
of gritty Philadelphia
knew him,
bought from him,
owed him money-
which he kept track of
in small loose-leaf notebooks.
Johnny The Dress Boy.
He had other street names
in other neighborhoods.
His name was not John.
was Gone
since November;
I had seen teachers
crying that day.
The Beatles
had first been on TV
Sunday Feb 9th.
Something New
and Fresh
was blowin` in the wind.
It was 1964.
as on other school holidays
I sometimes went to work with Dad.
We left the suburbs early,
drove into the city,
ate street food in the car;
We made our own day.
I shyly talked to ladies
who pinched my cheek
and gave me cookies:
Polish, Italian, Jewish,
Southern Style,
Store-bought.
Dad would sometimes park
in a tough neighborhood
and leave me in the car
while he ran into a store
or upstairs in a house.
Then I observed
the activity of
the living streets
through a child's eyes.
Looking back I wonder:
was I watching the merchandise,
or was it "watching me"
giving me a reason
to be part of the scene?
When pantyhose appeared,
dad placed and filled
racks of them
in mom & pop
neighborhood stores.
Photo: Hidden City Philadelphia Link
My dad was friendly
with people of
every status,
every shade of skin color,
and everyone liked him.
The only fear I ever saw
in him had to do with
the Philadelphia Police,
unsmiling, predators
of drivers and the streets.
[ An earlier policing culture - earlier day ]
My suburban schoolmates
and I watched
the first NASA space flights
on TV's wheeled into class.
Some of the other kids
used the "N" word
on the playground.
NOT space age!
NOT cool.
I knew better
and despised their
ignorance.
this August
Philadelphia exploded:
the Columbia Ave Riots.
Places I had been
were burning on TV
and in the newspapers.
Places where Dad made a living.
I learned a lot on those streets,
in that city of neighborhoods.
A lot about work
and a lot about life.
Dad did not carry a lunch pail.
He was his own man.
Today we would call him
an entrepreneur.
Eventually, he launched
a janitorial company
becoming a "real"
Small Business Man.
"When you work for someone else,
you are making money for them."
Dad used to say.
Looked at closely
this attitude values
workers.
And he treated them right,
even when they made missteps.
He trained them.
He bailed them out of jail,
he drove them around,
loaned them money for cars,
but he fired some too,
often saying:
"Some people
don't know what work is."
Alternately he would observe:
"Some people
just don't know what dirt is."
[ we were in the cleaning business ]
Dad taught me by example
that business comes down to
providing a real service,
so you can hire people
who need work
to feed their families,
If you do it right
you make money
to feed yours.
Our employees,
some of them,
learned the business
and started their own.
.
One great guy,
Jerry Gardner,
essentially became
dad's business partner
and a trusted
family friend.
Work is dignified
and deserves appreciation.
I knew that
dad felt a deep
obligation
to make the payroll
on time.
Pretty good approach to
capitalism I think!
I had a nice middle-class
upbringing;
but I also cleaned
offices and factories
all over the city
with co-workers and
customers from
every neighborhood
in town,
of every background
and skin color.
I can speak
with an Oxford Don,
or a "bum" in the street.
And I make eye contact
with each of them.
I know the people
who go to work
every day
in the dark,
on the bus,
who keep society
functioning.
Thanks for the education
Dad.
Can we stop
for a soft pretzel?
[-]
Thanks for visiting
dear Friends
Warmly, cloudia
"Some people strengthen the society
just by being the kind of people they
are." -John W. Gardner
"The good neighbor looks beyond
the external accidents and discerns those
inner qualities that make all men
human and, therefore, brothers."
Martin Luther King
Motivation is the art
of getting people to do
what you want them to do
because they want to do it.
Dwight Eisenhower
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