The Phone Book......

Way back in 1985, we bought our first home. It was in the town where I had spent my teenage years. In fact, it was the house next door to my parents home.

Right after our closing, a lady from the Welcome Wagon showed up at my front door.  Yes, there was such a thing as the Welcome Wagon. I know it sounds like a tradition from years gone by and I guess it is considering it was over 30 years ago.  I am not sure if something like that even exists any longer.

In the box of goodies she gave me was a yardstick from a local hardware store. a tape measure from a local tailor, a variety of coupons from local businesses .....and a phone book.

Not your standard white and yellow pages type of phone book.  It had a brown fake leather cover. On the inside was a list of medical professionals and the local hospitals.  On the pages were local business in order by their type of business.  For example: Jolene Cleaners was not under J for Jolene, it was under C for cleaners.

I was so excited to have this phone book and carefully listed the names, addresses and phone numbers for family, friends and businesses that we frequented.

Now held together by a rubber band holding it closed (the back binding split years ago).  It also became the place to keep Chinese restaurant menus, pizza menus.....in fact a lot of menu's.....

There are also newspaper ad's for places I wanted to call and find out about from vacations to specialty stores.

Some names and addresses were written very neatly using a Bic pen ( at least it looks like a 19 cent Bic pen blue).  Then there were cross  outs with new addresses and phone numbers. I can see when I started to get lazy and things were written in whatever was available.....no longer neat and in the same color ink.  In fact, I started using pencils so it was easier to erase.

I finally reached a point where I would tear a family member or friends new address from an envelope and stick it in the phone book.  I did at least try to file the slip of paper under the right letter from the last name.I found I had shoved full envelopes from Christmas cards with new addresses of friends into its pages.

I had the phone numbers from just about every job I ever had.......talk about a long list. Starting with my first job in high school through my many job changes in New York City, White Plains, Mamamroneck,  Dobbs Ferry, Montvale NJ and on and on. I could write one heck of a resume based on that information.

Sadly, as I turned the pages I saw so many names of people that are no longer with us.  I never crossed out those names......maybe it made their passing less final.....

I never realized when I first opened the pages of that phone book I would still have it all these years later..

I can't get myself to throw it away even though the only reason I open it anymore is for the restaurant menu's it holds.....well maybe it is because it holds more.....it holds my past.....from daughter to sibling to aunt to friend to PTA President to Girl Scout Leader to Bank Teller and on and on.

I have no old diaries (thank goodness)....but the brown book could tell part of the story of my life......my family....my friends....the jobs I had....the community/school involvement of which I was a participant.

I have photo albums and video's as records of my past......and a silly faux brown leather phone book that one day someone will look at and wonder why did she keep it???

Maybe for the memories it holds inside....thank you Welcome Wagon Lady.....thanks for the memories......

See you next week.......