The Monday after Thanksgiving...Bitchy Betty redeems herself

Total transparency, my previous post about Thanksgiving should have been Part One of a Three-part series, inspired by my friend, Joyce/  I forgot to mention this in the previous post.  

Because I didn't paint "Bitchy Betty" in a very positive light in the last post, I decided I would tell something good about her.  

In Western Pennsylvania, the Monday after Thanksgiving is one of the biggest days of the year.  It is opening day of Deer season.  Schools are closed.  Greatest day of absenteeism in the workplace too.  I am not kidding.

Seriously, one of the best days of the year.  Truly, it is the only time of the year that men actually participate in "planning".  Who knew they could decide in menus, departure times, who needs to bring what, etc.  

In our household, my dad left the day after Thanksgiving to go "Deer Hunting".  He left with his dad, a couple hunting buddies, years later, my brother joined the caravan.  These four or five days were celebrated all over by wives in the Commonwealth.

Besides picking out good jigsaw puzzled, "Bitchy Betty" introduced us to Downtown, the Monday after Thanksgiving.

Downtown, meaning Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  Us meaning me, my mom and brother, my Aunt Judy and my first cousins, Stephen, Jennifer and Janet.

"Bitchy Betty" organized a day for us "Downtown".  In Western Pennsylvania, we use the word "downtown" to describe going into the city or town or village.  We go "downtown."

So, the kids got word that we were going "downtown" not really knowing what that meant but we were excited nonetheless.  Something new.  And Betty B organized it.  Odd because Betty did not like kids.  At all.  She was one of those people who never should have had kids.  Thank goodness she didn't.  Being a mom was not an innate thing with her. And being a grandmother was not at all her thing.  This was the only time she took the initiative to do anything with us.  So unlike my mamaw (my mom's mom).

My Aunt Judy picked us up, and off we went.  We were dressed up, like really dressed up. Stephen had a sports jacket, the girls in nice skirts and sweaters (adorned with holiday pins, presents with red ribbons) and our hair looked amazing.  We picked "BB" up and off we went, downtown.

I distinctly remember going and parking the car and taking the bus Downtown.

We got off the bus in front of Kaufmann's Department store and the holiday windows.  Now please understand, Kaufmann's was almost a verb.  "I need to Kaufmann" or translation, "I need to get to Kaufmanns."  Kaufmanns was the most gorgeous store ever, with a great restaurant inside, The Tick Tock.  If you counted the hours I spent in Kaufmann's s as a kid or young adult, i bet it would be decades.  My mom had a love affair with Kaufmann's, and we only shopped at the Monroeville store (or later Westmoreland Mall store).  To be "downtown" in the mothership was awe inspiring.  We should have checked her pulse and my Aunt Judy's too.

 To this very day, we still open Christmas gifts in Kaufmann's boxes.  We covet them.

Kaufmanns "downtown" was famous for its clock on the corner of the outside of the store.

  

At the Kaufmann's window, KDKA Radio was broadcasting live, the annual Children's

Hospital Drive.  I can still see Jack Bogut in the window, huge headphones, the call letters on the microphone, the clocks, it was amazing. I honestly think it was the trip that made me want

to work at a radio station. We watched in amazement.  The radio station we listened to in the morning was right there in front of us.  We stayed long enough to hear the " Start your heart, eat a Farkleberry tart and tear the world apart, Farkleberry, Farkleberry".  If you purchased a farkleberry tart, proceeds went to the hospital.  My dad thought this little jingle as amazing. You could purchase the little tarts and then they came out with the turkey.  My dad was all about the turkey.  Standing there in front of the window, watching and listening was no doubt the coolest thing that had happened in my nine-year-old life. 

We listened to KDKA all day, every day.  We laid in bed as a family listening intently to hear our school district called for snow delays and closings. We listened to Pittsburgh Pirate games, and we could sing the jingle, K-D-K-A Pittsburgh, 1020...can still hear it coming from the radio above my parents' bed.  Seeing what we heard come to life was so cool.

Until we walked INSIDE of Kaufmann's. Inside this department store, it was a cross between Disney, Stephen Spielberg and Willy Wonka magic. The store smelled like Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, the chandeliers look like something from Disney and the escalator floated. It was all magical.  

On the first floor, there were two things I remember, the makeup/perfume department and on the other side, this confectionary department.  They had the most beautiful chocolate covered apples and pretzels and orange slices.  Everything was lovely.

 We went up the escalator to the restaurant.  We stood in line, and they called our name.  We entered this huge restaurant with enormous chandeliers, round tables with centerpieces and tablecloths.

At your place setting, there was a paper placemat, which also served as the menu.  The menu was list as Rudolph, Dasher, Dancer, Donner, Blitzen, Prancer, Vixen, Comet and Cupid.

Each Reindeer name was a different item.  

I remember the very first time the waitress asked me, I sat up straight, perfect posture, and said "I will have the Rudolph" like I was somebody.  I was.  I had a gold holiday pin on my sweater, my hair looked great, my legs were together under the table, and I was having the Rudolph in a grand ballroom.  It did like the ballroom from the movie Titantic.

We ate our lunch and went to another floor.

What happened on whatever floor it was, was the coolest. We walked in and there was this giant Christmas tree, perfectly and precisely decorated. But this Christmas tree, she spoke to you.  She asked your name, what you wanted from Santa, where we were from, a whole conversation.  Amazing. We were all enthralled.

After speaking to the Christmas tree, we left and took a streetcar to either Gimbels or Hornes Department store.  I am not sure which one. Gimbels was famous for the outside Christmas Tree on the corner of the store.  Again, we looked at all of the store windows that told a story.  I do remember the 12 Days of Christmas group of windows that were amazing.

Inside the store, a Holiday Sophistication that was something five young kids from Delmont, Pennsylvania had never experienced.

Up the elevator we went to the "Christmas Floor".  As the elevator opened, it was a black room with white amusements, like a Ferris wheel that was white, puffy clouds hanging from the ceiling, an amazing Santa Claus and everyone involved was dressed like the most adorable elf.  We rode the amusements, sat on the lap of the perfect Santa Claus and then we entered the "shopping hall".

Inside the shopping hall, you decided whom you were purchasing for, it checked on a paper ticket, your cash went into the envelope, it was all pinned on you with your name, and we (the three oldest) were allowed to go into a room BY OURSELVES AND SHOP!  Glorious!  We shopped by ourselves!  We bought for aunts and uncles and learned that giving was fun.  

The younger kids had to have "helpers" aka elves but not us...after we purchased our gifts, we took them to the wrapping center, and they wrapped our gifts.  While we waited, we had hot chocolate...like we were at happy hour without our folks.  It was so cool.  We loved it.

And finally, we made the trip to the last remaining department store, with our shopping bags filled with treasures we had picked out.

The last windows were amazing too.  They entertained us and we were starting to drag.

We got on the bus and made our way back to our car.

There were so many things about being Downtown that day.  Everything was huge, lovely and perfect.  It was so sophisticated, so festive and so magical.

We did this trip a few times.  The first one is always the best.  I never ordered anything from the menu besides the Rudolph.  My cousin Stephen opted out for hunting, Todd soon went hunting too and the trip fizzled out.

What didn't fizzle out was the magic of opening day of deer season.  My mom and I would carry their bags through 12 feet of snow, barefooted, if we had too, to get them to leave.

Not hating on men, but there is something just as magical as a chandelier, when the men leave for a few days.  My mom and I ate Lady Borden's Bing Cherry Ice-cream for dinner one night.  You know why?  "Because we can".  That's what my mom said.  I slept in bed with her.  The house stayed clean, and we "ripped" (shopped, we called shopping, ripping) and had the best, laid back time. 

When I think back on those days, I smile.  Honestly, that was shopping.  It was the best.  Makes me sad that boxes are delivered to your door, and you retrieve them in your bathrobe. As I am writing this, my daughter texts me her Christmas list, via Amazon.  Gag me.  So tired of looking at Jeff Bezo's girlfriend on his yacht, all toned in the two piece.   

And her is her Christmas list, you click it and add it to the cart, and it comes to your door. 

Oh Addie, we could have had the Rudolph together.