Once upon a time a little girl child was born in the little seaside hamlet of Rockaway Beach. She was a fair-skinned, dark-haired beauty; the eldest of four children. She was obedient, loyal, kind, and loving to her family and they all returned in kind. The six lived a happy though sometimes hard life. For shortly after she was born, there was a terrible crash heard 'round the world causing almost everyone to fall on hard financial times. Her father, a successful furniture shoppe owner, was forced out of business. For who could buy furniture when one couldn't even afford sugar?
So down they went, like their neighbors and friends, falling on the jagged rocks of Hard Times. Gravy sandwiches and sugarless tea was the lunchtime fare when the little girl would dash home on her school lunch break. On occasion, however, because her parents so longed to give their children treats from time to time, the little girl would be given a nickel to see a double feature at the local movie theatre. Sometimes she chose to spend that nickel on a bag full of half-penny candy instead; especially if she'd already seen whatever was showing and didn't have to worry about missing that week's cliff-hanger installment.
The years went on, as did the hard times of the Depression. The girl, now a young woman, excelled at school, especially numbers, She graduated and in a short time landed herself a job with a large company as the assistant to the head bean counter. Her starting wage was $18 per week; a windfall by the day's standards! Everyday she would board the train from her little hamlet to the large island of Manhattan. Hair in pin curls wrapped in a kerchief, she and a gaggle of others would dash into the restroom and brush out their locks, rouge their cheeks and lips, and begin their day only to return home that evening with straight hair and faded cheeks. For hair lacquer was for the rich and for the famous actors gracing the great stages of the island.
Along with the scarcity of hair lacquer was that of nylons. Another luxury afforded only by those not living hand to mouth. The young woman and her sister would take turns climbing upon a stool and carefully drawing black lines down the backs of their legs to give the illusion of nylons. Shoes were resoled, socks darned, and dresses worn to threadbare before being replaced for that windfall of $18 was given to her parents to help sustain the household; a common practice of the times.
All this while, as the little girl grew, her industrious father, having lost his furniture store and therefore his livelihood, began the arduous task of relearning a skill at an older age; for how could he find work when younger men were available? The father steadfastly, by mail correspondence, worked hard and long and was rewarded with a degree in bean counting. Slowly and surely, he rebuilt his purse. In the end, he again found himself the proprietor of a successful business built solely on blood, sweat, and tears and the support of a loving wife and family.
The young woman observed all of this, as did her younger siblings, and modeled their lives to that of their parents. They each married and raised families by trying to mimic how they were raised. Times were changing, as were children, so failures were inevitable. But because they were taught by their parents' actions and attitudes to not give up and to always strive for better, in the end, they too, were successful in both family and business. They raised loving and supportive families who relied and leaned on each other through wars, through recessions, though sickness, and through death. They never gave up therefore they never failed.
I know these facts to be true for this in not a fairy tale but the story of my incredible mother, her parents, and my aunts and uncle.
~ Eileen Cassidy Bishop
