Walking to our local post office, I cross the busiest intersection in Newton at Exit 17, where cars come barreling off the Turnpike (known to local residents as the Circle of Death) onto the windiest crossover in Newton (where the walkway in front of the hotel built over the Turnpike becomes a public thoroughfare which in the calmest of weather becomes a wind tunnel which blows without mercy). Not only is this the most direct path to the post office, but this is the most direct walk to Walgreen's (which recently moved into the 19th century building that once housed the Cadillac dealership.) Walgreen's? Who would want a Walgreen's in what they see as their neighborhood. Not I, said the goose. Not I, said the cat. Not I, said the pig . . . Well, as it turns out, in the middle of the day on Sunday when I did NOT feel like getting into the car and driving to Staples, and I had already started my taxes, I was looking for any excuse. But I told myself that I really needed highlighters in 6 different colors. Yes, I really needed them. Oh, and I needed fresh air. But when I actually did walk to Walgreen's, it was empty of people, full of stuff -- even food including cans of chicken soup, and eggs and milk (oh, I could always make Egg Lemon Soup at the last minute -- except they had no lemons -- or I could make popovers! Yes, why not!) I wondered, "Who ever shops here?"
Getting back to my story, today, on my way to the post office, on one of the windiest days of the month (yes, I know, March comes in like a lion), I crossed that busiest of Newton's intersections, and climbing the stairs to the windiest crossover in Newton, at the top of the stairway, I saw a very wiry, very old woman (yes, old women can be wiry, too!) walking towards me, full of energy, proudly carrying large bags filled with stuff, Walgreen's printed on the plastic bags. The woman's face was glowing. To make conversation, I ventured a hello and said (God forgive me), "Isn't it wonderful to have a Walgreen's so close by?" She practically shouted her thanks to the heavens as she called back to me with a grin, trotting down the steep stairway to that busiest corner in Newton: "I told my sister. Walgreen's is my Christmas present!"
In Bavaria, where Evergreens dominate, and often are walls of green, the local custom while walking in the mountains,especially when encountering little old women, ancient sprites of the wood, with wicker baskets on their backs, is to greet them with the salutation: 'Grussgott'!, 'God's greeting to you'. In Newton, in the Brave New World, the greeting has been transmogrified to 'Walgreens'!, whom many take as a greeting from God, the closest Newtonites will ever get to a 'wall of green'.
ReplyDeleteWe have a chain "drugstore" within walking distance, but it is not a pleasant shopping experience so now I only go there for true emergencies (laundry detergent on Sunday afternoon). It has changed names twice in the past decade - now a "Rite Aid" - and has begun to carry more and more "storebrand" items in place of the good old brand names. They no longer carry low-tech but effective pharmacy items, such as powdered sulphur or boric acid. Even when they do have the basics, e.g. rubbing alcohol, the price is 3x what it is at some other places.
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