A Crisis In The Morning

It was in the midst of a phone conversation with an older senior when I thought about this embarrassing incident that had occurred in my youth. I called this woman to confirm a trip to Atlantic City, NJ for the following week. Somehow, we got on the subject of how life was 50 years ago, and the most pleasant conversation ensued. It was wonderful to discuss the way things were then. We talked about the merchants who pushed their carts through the streets while chanting in song the services that they had to offer, such as sharpening your scissors and knives or yelling “Fresh fish for sale”. We were recalling how blocks of ice were delivered to the homes and placed in a cold box to keep perishable foods fresh. We talked about how we would walk everywhere to do our food shopping or go to a movie or relax in a park.

That’s when I brought up the subject of how inexpensive things were then. This lady mentioned that when she worked, half of her salary went to buy clothes. She recalled that blouses were about $5.00 then. I told her I did not have the luxury of keeping most of my salary. My paycheck went to my parents to help with the household bills. My mom made sure that I opened a Holiday club account, though, and I had a small allowance for the week. Then I mentioned an incident when I was only 20 years old. I worked in an office in Manhattan. To get there, I would travel by subway every day from my home in Brooklyn. Here's what happened on that day.


Early one morning, I got up as usual to bathe and dress for the workday. I donned my undergarments, stockings, a skirt and high heels. My blouse was draped on a hanger. I kept my pajama top on while I brushed my teeth, put on my makeup and carefully combed my hair. Noticing that I was running a little behind time, I took a couple sips of coffee and gulped down some orange juice. I put on my coat, grabbed my purse, and ran out of the house. The subway station was a couple of blocks away and I had to catch the train to downtown New York by a certain time or I would not make it to work on time.

It wasn’t until I arrived at the office and took off my coat that I realized I had forgotten to put my blouse on. No one noticed that I had quickly put my coat back on. I was simply mortified. It was too late to go back home. So I told my boss that I would be right back and rushed into the elevator and then out of the building. I walked to the nearest dress shop and purchased a white blouse for $2.50. It was the cheapest one that they had. When I got back upstairs, I went to the ladies room and changed into the blouse. I shoved the pajama top into my purse, and then with a sigh of relief I returned to the office.

You know, I never mentioned the incident to my employer, or to anyone else in the office for that matter. Remembering it, I realize how naïve I was. I can laugh now at the occurrence, but the situation was monumental at that time. How innocent we were then!