Page 13 from my Mom's address book (1966)

Wow.

So much history on this one little page.

C. Edlund. Our neighbor, Chester Edlund. He was married to Esther Edlund, no kidding. Chester would go out drinking on Friday nights at the municipal bar (The Munie). When he came home, he'd sit in the car in the driveway and honk the horn until Esther opened the garage door.

Fantasia. The beauty shop where my mom got her hair (and her large wig) fixed by Betty Kelsey. My sister Lisa and I would go along with Mom (why??) and hang out at the salon while she got her shampoo/set. Fantasia eventually changed owners and became Abroe's House of Beauty, the site of several bad perms for me. Abroe's is also where my mom first got her hair frosted and began using a toning rinse called "White Minx," to get rid of the brassy color.

Fin Fare. Fast food, Minnesota style. They sold deep fried walleye fillets and the only cole slaw I've ever been able to eat. This was one busy place on Friday nights, conveniently located in the shadow of Sacred Heart Catholic Church.

The thing that really gets me about the address book is my mom's handwriting. It reminds me of all the notes to teachers: "Please excuse Molly's absence. She had a sore throat." And also the notes we'd take when we underage girls went on Mom''s errands to Quik 'n EZ Superette: "Two packs of Marlboros, please." My favorite Mom letters are those she wrote me in college, when her concern about my high-strung nature and my affinity for liberal arts came through loud and clear between the lines.

It's like time traveling reading the other phone numbers in the book: Chas. W. Sexton Company, where my Dad worked for 35 years. Both of my grandmas. Ruby Carlson, my strange piano teacher. Everyone in mom's bridge club. All the neighbors. Ann Springer, my bossy best friend from 1st grade. Dr, Johnson, our lousy dentist (hey, thanks for nothing).

Funny, I've never been much of a "numbers" person. But I still know so many of these by heart. 529-6664, 332-3501, 529-3006, 588-7415, 588-8990, 537-3631.

Hello? Everybody? I miss you like crazy.