I was raised in Chicago, Illinois.  My mom used to get all the sales papers together from the grocery stores and then make a list for each store.  I would take off then and do the shopping.  I was very young, around 8, 9 or so.  This was in the late 50’s.

One time when we were broke, all Mom could find was a Canadian quarter.  She told me to go and get a quart of milk for the baby.  I went to the nearest mom and pop store about 2 blocks away.  When I took the milk to the counter, the man told me that he couldn’t take the Canadian quarter, and he was very cold and unkind about it.  He seemed to be scolding me or something for trying to pull a fast one.  It was totally innocent, but he didn’t handle it that way.

I put the milk back, and as I went out the door he was telling me that no one is going to take that Canadian quarter.  I didn’t say anything.  I just walked on down the street to the next mom and pop grocery store.  When I brought the quarter to the counter, the man was real sweet to me and commented that the quarter was Canadian and smiled about it.  He checked me out and I was on my way.

When I went by the other grocery store, the first man was standing outside his door.  It looked as though he was watching for me.  He just stared at me walk all the way past his store.  It made me feel like he wanted to say something like “I told you no one would take that Canadian quarter”.   I had no feelings about caring if he saw that I had the milk, but when I have thought back on it for whatever reason from time to time, I have always felt that he was standing out there, because he wanted to rub it in.

The other day, though, I was thinking about it, and I just wondered, ‘could he have possibly felt bad and was going to tell me to come on in, and he would let me have the milk for the Canadian quarter’.  I don’t know.  I just always remembered him as a very unkind person.