44 : Adiós, Nagle's

It wasn’t a conventional way to spend a Sunday afternoon. But when Mom found out earlier that week that the old novelty store – Nagle’s – was shutting its doors due to Mr. Nagle’s retirement, we decided to make one more trip out there to visit the old place. Nagle’s was the store of choice throughout all our growing up years. Once a year. Two dollars apiece. And we always put those two dollars to good use.

So on a drippy day of zero sun – I certainly wasn’t complaining – we took two cars out to Florissant.

First, a stop at Grandma’s. She brought over her elderly Latina neighbor to meet Yali. No Inglés.

“Muy lindo!” she exclaimed to him.

I’d heard that said to him more than once down in old Colombia. (“So cute!”) Probably the most common phrase the grinning little niño had received throughout our entire stay there.

Before she departed, Yali gave her a kiss.

“Dios los bendiga!” she told us as she made her departure. (“God bless you!”)

Right as Francis walked in with boxes of Little Caesar’s for a late lunch.

After we finished, Rose psyched herself up for a little shopping. “Let’s shop till we drop!”

“Fifteen minutes later, all Snicketts kids have dropped out,” Carrie-Bri added.

Most of the six kids are not shoppers. At all. So the fact that we stayed at Nagle’s for at least 45 minutes total, check-out time included, was saying something.

Puck, however, could last a little longer than the average Snicketts.

“What should I buy, Mom?” he asked, mildly upset. “I can’t decide! I can’t DECIDE, MOM!”

Since I was about three yawns away from a nap, I couldn’t help him make a very clear decision. But he ultimately made some nice picks with a combination lock, duck call, train whistle, and plastic business card holder which he decided to use as a wallet. Oh, and a whoopee cushion. Possibly his favorite purchase. Which he definitely used on Oxbear as a trial run during dinner.

As Puck settled into the backseat of the car for the drive back, Carrie and Rose noticed that he was sitting on an entire bed of Legos, which I hadn’t seen yet myself.

“How is that comfortable, Puck?” they laughed.

“You should try it,” Puck urged. “It’s quite nice.”

Meanwhile, Grandma found a balancing eagle for Yali. He played with that the entire half hour ride back to the Big House.

A happy little send-off to good old childhood memories.