Friday Night Lights

At night in the country, there were very few lights unless you could see one in a neighbor’s window far away or the headlights of a car passing by.

On Friday nights in summer, it was common for my parents to do their weekly shopping because the stores were open late. It became a community affair in the small downtown area.

In addition to the sounds of car engines as they passed by, there was also the thump-thump sound they made as they crossed the railroad tracks in the next block.

People milled around stopping to chat with friends and neighbors. Some sat in their cars and waited for friends to find them. With all the store lights on and car headlights, it was so much brighter than what we were used to in the country. It was a nice change.

One thing I always looked forward to was a stop at the dime store, where the main attraction was the candy counter. Mom and Dad gave Monty and me each some money which we spent on penny candy.

After the shopping was done, we settled in the car which Dad parked in front of the dime store, or as close to it as we could get. If the weather was warm, we rolled all four windows down. If it was really hot, we opened the doors and left them open.

So many people gathered there that we knew. We sat and watched for a while. We always had friends stop by to visit.

We headed home around 8 PM when the stores closed. My brother and I were in bed soon after.

During the week, I was surrounded by my family and all of the farm animals that I loved.

Then on Friday nights, we joined the community for an evening of shopping, penny candy, and visiting with friends.

The little girl that still lives inside me remembers it well and likes to visit there from time to time.