I find history in the most unexpected places.
Like lunch.
Today we stopped in at one of St. Petersburg's oldest dining establishments: Munch's. I looked at the photo above our booth.
This is the elementary school down the street from the diner. Lakewood Elementary School, 1964. That little girl in the front row so could be the heroine of my novel. Hello, Glory!
Or maybe this is better. Again, in the front row. Long hair. With her friend Frankie sitting behind her. Except where are his glasses? How about the boy with the Safety Patrol sash? Remember those?
While pondering the pictures, I ordered lunch. Fried green tomatoes --the specialty of the house. Yum. And they were out of french fries so Adele the waitress offered me FRIED OKRA. I thought I'd died and floated to heaven.
What a perfect culmination of eating and learning.
Certainly okra must be brain food, right?
Just what I need, to revise and polish.
Okra's charms have so far eluded me, but I love the pictures on the wall. I haven't thought of Safety Patrol in many years. Seeing the SP guys going out always signaled the three o'clock bell and freedom!
ReplyDeleteWhen you were having lunch you were two blocks from my daughter's house.
ReplyDeleteI like breakfast at Munch's. I don't like okra. My sister, Barbara, loves the stuff.
An elementary school friend posted our class pic from that era on FB and I was amazed by all the St. Pete classmates who commented.
Oh yes, and the guy who posted the picture was Norwood's SP captain. Those were the days. : )