Out Of The Blue

I don't know why I thought of this—I'd forgotten all about it until just a moment ago. When I was a child, and my mother would take me shopping with her to the old Sears department store in Ventura, we'd always stop by the candy and nut counter to get some roasted cashews. They were put into a pink and white striped paper bag with a silver scoop. The bag always felt good in the hands because it was warm, and the aroma of the cashews was heavenly.

When Joel was very little and I was expecting Micah, we lived in a duplex not far from the Sears, and we'd walk there to window shop. When I could afford to do so, I'd stop at the same counter and get a bag of the cashews to share with Joel, just as my mother had with me. Not long after that, Sears vacated the building to move into a mall, where they had another candy and nut counter. I think the tradition of selling nuts and candy to eat while shopping ended in the 1980s.

Like I said, I don't know why I remembered this, but I'm glad that I did!