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Walking the two blocks to the IGA on the corner of Darlinghurst Road, had been a daily ritual for Doris since she fled to The Cross in the early ‘50s. She cared not whether the shingle said IGA, Permewans or Franklins, because the small grocery store was located next to the TAB. Doris had picked up a few minor vices over the years, the gee-gees, smoking and a good gossip.
She loved this walk through the grimy streets even though homeless men littered doorways and set up camps in bus shelters. Live and let live was her motto. She was well known in her neighbourhood after a life-time of walking the streets. She “retired” when she turned 65, got her Senior’s Card and her pension and the nice people down at the Housing Commission allowed her to stay in her one-bedder just off Ward Street.
For Doris, life was sweet.
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9 comments:
brilliant. simple and strainght forward. a life she has made...
Another insightful pen portrait with a great visual portrait to match. A good gossip being added to the vices made me smile.
Joan, I felt your influence as I wrote this one, you know. In my head, I was going to track down the reasons why Doris "fled" to the Cross, but knew that would be heavy and full of angst, so somehow I wrote this and was well over the limit on the first draft which gave me the freedom to craft.
I love people like this ... full of character, yet unpretentious ...
imagine the stories out there on the streets...often dismissed or encapsulated as one 1 line biographies in the newspaper...wonderful stuff here.
Julie, these are the people I appreciate the most...Doris and the many like her.
Love it.
I Like Doris! She Has The Posture of an Army General viewing a battlefield!
She made a good life for herself. Simple and easy, yet good.
http://jingleyanqiu.wordpress.com/2010/04/08/it-is-all-about-you-the-jingle-limerick-award-and-more/
nice to see you in,
Happy Thursday!
This is my favorite kind of story. The simple lives of people that usually go unseen are often the most interesting.
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