Every day of my childhood, yes, every day, my grandma and I would drive Morena Boulevard, make a left up Clairemont Drive and go to the neighborhood market. Grandma and I would enter the automatic door, she with her full size cart and I with the quarter-size one made for minis like me. Right after we'd enter, we'd divide the list and conquer the groceries as a team.
While strolling up and down the aisles, grandma would almost always find a neighbor, a racquet tennis mate, or a familiar face with whom to pass the local gossip or catch up. This was the Keil's experience. It was a dry Cheers, a place where people may not have known your name, but they knew your face. And they smiled, quite often they visit too. It was an exceptionally friendly and welcoming place.
Cans of peaches, cottage cheese, Lawry's Taco seasoning, Kraft slices, turkey sausage, tomatoes, Folger's instant decaf, lettuce and ground 'round, as we called it, would fill our carts and we'd reconvene at the front. While in line grandma would grab one Snickers bar and add it to the batch.
She ate one Snickers every day of the latter half of her life. Just one. It was her treat. Sometimes for me, the treats that I liked to get were the raspberry hot cocos or Zebra or Double Bubble gum. Though it's been well over fifteen years, I still recall the taste of that chewy gum.
Almost always we would know the cashier and would visit with them too. The baggers would pass our aisle as they knew that I liked to help and would bag our own groceries. We'd then take our bags, get back in Snagglefang and drive home to enjoy our treats.
After after grandma passed away and after I went to college, my accessibility to the old neighborhood dwindled. It wasn't until recently that I started shopping there again and to my absolute HORROR Keil's was closing. CLOSING!!! This sweet community hub was being pushed out by the increasing rent and a corporation. The people who had worked there my entire life were being let go and the neighborhood market was coming to an end.
I knew that there wer but a few days left, so I went to the Keil's and filled my basket with the familiar items of old. As I was on the verge of crying in this place that I considered an extension of my grandma, I ran into a friend who is a volunteer at my nine-to-five. He and I visited for about twenty minutes beside the onions and their accompanying produce. In the back of my thoughts, I realized that this visit was a little gift from grandma. She knew that this moment of closure wouldn't be complete without the full Keil's experience.
I visited for the last time with one of the cashiers and with a heavy heart, I walked out those automatic doors for the last time. It broke my heart as I sat in Snagglefang, crying and clutching onto my bag of goodies. I thought, "This is it. You really can't go home again."
This fall has been one of change. Not merely the leaves or the weather (ironically ours is increasing in heat); one of these changes has been particularly exciting and terrifying all in one. I recently moved to a new house, a completely new neighborhood and I even have a new member of the family, but more on my new baby later.
Of course my cat child Bella-Beep has come along and she is less than completely happy with the move, but she is adjusting nicely. It's taken some settling, but I think that Bella and I will be ok. This is a completely foreign neighborhood to me, so it's taking some trials and errors to figure out traffic, lights, lanes and where to go for food. Thus far, I've been deemed a regular at one taco shop, one drive-through-cafe, and one brewery and I've only been here a week! What does that say???
I was having a bit of trouble finding groceries - obviously with so many takeouts. I asked my friend who helped me find this home and is far more familiar with this area than I if he had any recommendations. He said, "Yeah, follow me." So we both jumped in our cars and he took me to the nearest grocery store and what do you know...
You can go home again.
In a completely different part of town, in this period of change in my life, here was something quite familiar and something I loved ready to welcome me to my new home.
My first night here in the house with Bella, I made a comfort meal that would make my grandma proud.
Almost every dinner we enjoyed at grandma's would be accompanied with pears in a bed of cottage cheese laying atop a leaf of lettuce. It was usually garnished with paprika or cinnamon. I had neither at the time, so I used turmeric, which was delicious.
I can hear her sweet laugh and I'm so grateful to God that of all neighborhoods I moved to, grandma was already here waiting for me at the Keil's up the street.
Until next time when I tell you about my new baby,
Your humble author,
S. Faxon
