New Shoes and Groceries
Eisenhower Recession, 1958
Recession was not a word
I knew at age 9. I had heard
of unemployment, saw
Mr. Salmi down the street
just sit on his front porch
all day. His son, Buddy,
borrowed lunch money
from me twice but
recessionwas still vast
and abstract until
the Sunday I helped my dad
load his truck and a man
walked in holding his daughter
by her hand and his baby son
in his arms. “Excuse me, Sir,”
he said to my father, “are you
hiring? I know how to drive
a truck.” “No,” my father said,
“it’s just me here.” The man
looked down at the floor
and said, “I sure could use
the work, Sir. I’ve been
laid off from the Ford plant.”
“I’m sorry,” my dad said quietly.
The man turned to leave
then pointed around the garage,
“I could clean up for you, Sir,
sweep the floor, wash your truck?
I sure could use the work, Sir.”
My father answered softly,
“No, my sons do that for me.
I’m sorry.” I watched the man
walk out holding on to his children
and saw my dad’s eyes darken
with the pain of a brother father.
Recession, unemployment,
just words for me but my dad
could see the man’s children’s new shoes
and family groceries and the pay check
that would not be there to buy them.
(Previously published in Lips Journal)