Coming up next is the thirtieth part to Diane Richardson’s “When I Met My Hubby,” but first let's talk about food.
We all eat to live, and our working days are spent making the money to buy the food or in some cases growing the food we'll eat later. With the modern supermarket and online delivery, it can seem easier than ever to get exactly what we want, when we want. But there's always little hiccups here and there, due to lack of funds, lack of time or lack of options. Today's stories show some creative ways for older buds to go food shopping and to get their square meals.
Frances Bryce
09.07.2021
Detours
The city offers many buses, trains, and the subway. To get from Point A to Point B I have become accustomed to walking out of my door if I needed to go to anywhere on South Street on a plan and hunch to 2nd and Lombard that I planned on. Sunday, the day of the Farmer’s Market is open at the above address- 2nd and Lombard, my intended destination. As we approached 15th and South, the driver alerted the passengers that the route was blocked, and we could wait until SEPTA informed us that the trip could be continued (Detour).
30 minutes later we were informed that the blockage was still in effect, and he would be returning via another route. The driver offered a very sincere apology. I began to think of my options, buses run infrequently on weekends and holidays. 15th and South is quite a distance from 2nd and South. A possible solution, wait on Broad and Lombard and return home.
No buses in sight, I was fortunate to get a bus on Broad and got off at Walnut Street. Still a sit and wait (who knew how long). I began to walk to one of my favorite places, Reading Terminal, with a previous stop in Rittenhouse Square with a book in my bag. The wait was short.
At Reading Terminal I was able to have lunch, purchase a meal for later and all the fruit and produce that I missed at the farmer’s market. A detour can be another way of not letting a bus detour stop me from using another plan to have a great day. There are many other routes that let me achieve a day that I had not planned.
My final bus route ended at 23rd and South. The area has a wonderful yogurt with which I rewarded myself for such a pleasant day. No detour stopped me.
We now return to our continuing story, “When I Met My Hubby, Part 30.”
Diane Richardson
11.08.2022
When I Met My Hubby Part 30
Today I would like to tell you about my Hubby’s cousin Ron. Ron lives across the street from a large church in South Philly that often holds weddings and funerals. Whenever either is held, Ron gets all dressed in a suit & tie and attends the services. He goes to the funeral repass services and the wedding receptions where there is a buffet of food, drink and pastries all homemade from family members.
He goes over to the church early in the month to get a monthly program of what’s going on so he can plan his monthly activities. He shops at Goodwill and Salvation Army for suits and ties. He’s always the one of the sharpest uninvited guests there. After he eats, he always packs up a few platters to take home. Then comes back and packs a few more to go. None the wiser. He’s been doing this for years. Even going so far as volunteering to sometimes clean up so he wont be considered a stranger.
He never has to go food shopping or cook. He always has plenty of homemade food and pastries on hand.
If you want to transcribe for Best Day, then email us at info@bestdayofmylifesofar.org. You can also share our older buds' adventures by donating to Best Day, subscribing to our newsletter, sending a note to our older buds, or following us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. And if you or the older buds have any stories of food and how they find it, then you or they can submit stories through our portal right here. We're especially interested to stories from Black older buds, but we're always looking for stories from older buds of color, older buds with disabilities, LGBTQIA+ older buds, older buds of any gender or sex, older buds of any religion, and older buds who just plain break the mold.
And don't forget to maintain contact with the older buds in your life. If you can't be there in person, please call them, email them, or message them on social media. And if they're using teleconferencing or remote events for the first time, give them a call and help them set things up. Check in on them to see how well they're getting used to these programs. Buy them a computer or an internet package if they don't have one of their own. It's a human right, after all.
Curated by Caitlin Cieri