A Division of

drapery boutique_

•

,'•-••••• •

A Fruitful Ride
In The Rain

JULIANNA SIMON SPECIAL TO THE APPLETREE

y father is very
thrifty — per-
haps even com-
pulsively so.
When I was growing up, my
family never once owned a ma-
jor appliance that wasn't a
dented floor model purchased
at a discount price. Dad got
them ridiculously cheap, and
they usually worked all right.
To this day, if Dad buys a pre-
sent for any of us he leaves the
"reduced for quick sale" tag on
it out of sheer pride in his buy-
ing prowess.
If an item isn't on sale, he
simply doesn't buy it. One of
his favorite jokes plays off this
theme: "Some
kids get dropped
at the doorstep by - — -
a stork, but we
got you on blue-
w I e-
light special at
KMart and they
charge extra for delivery so we
had to carry you home."
On a family vacation 10
years ago, Dad talked me into
a "father-daughter adventure"
that entailed bicycling nine
miles in a thunderstorm to
buy oranges on sale for 5
cents less per dozen than they
cost at the store around the
corner. Indulging my father's
quest for cheap oranges, I
soon found myself riding

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M.:`;9;•1
• —
Juvenile
umiture

through the pouring rain.
There were huge puddles in
the road, so we were practi-
cally drowned by the spray
every time a car went by.
After an espe-
cially ferocious
dunking, cour-
tesy of a pickup truck
that almost ran
us over as well
as drenching
us, I howled in frustration,
"Why are we doing this? This
is crazy!"
Dad abruptly braked his bike
(bought on sale at 60 percent
off the sticker price) and turned
to face me. I skidded to a stop
just inches short of his rear
wheel. Even with his drenched
clothing and the rain dripping
off his nose and chin, Dad
looked dignified.
"Juliann," he said, "it's real-

ly very simple. You know I
grew up during the Depres-
sion. My family had to take in
boarders to keep a roof over
our heads and food on the
table. My job was buying gro-
ceries and household goods for
my mother. In my whole child-
hood, the only time she ever
said anything nice to me was
when I brought home supplies
at a good sale price."
With his words, my cranki-
ness, washed away. I reached
out and squeezed my father's
hand. Then we both pedalled
off with a clearer sense of the
force behind our journey. I
can't say I was exactly enthusi-
astic about riding all that way
in the rain, but I was buoyed
by a deeper sense of under-
standing and compassion for
my father. ❑

JULIANNA SIMON is a family counselor who of leads father-daughter workshops with her father, Dr. Sidney

/=

Simon, author of Forgiveness: How To Make Peace with Your Past and Get on with Your Future. She lives
in Massachusetts.
Reprinted with permission from Where the Heart Is: Stories of Home and Family copyright 1996 by
Chick Moorman and Personal Power Press. Paperback, $14.95, Personal Power Press. Available in book-
stores or directly from the publisher, (800) 797-4133.

Visit our
showroom &
discover our
beautiful
Ragan Infant &
juvenilefirniture.
Cribs, Chests,
Armoires, Baby
Caddy's,
Cradles, and 3
Tier Changing
Tables.
We also carry a
great
selection of
nursery
accessones:
Comforter
sets,
Mattresses,
Blankets,
Lamps,
Window
Treatments,
Wallpaper, and
more!

0

ff

250 Coil

Innerspring

Crib
Mattres:.

88
9'1

In vinyl.

•
value $220,
usual db
$139.88

each

N

on

off
Glider Rocker

259 98

each

usual db $435

Proppy Pillow

Choose from an assortment
of patterns

1998

value $32-39

each

ME AS CASH

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m

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