Mrs. Gurnett...

I was looking for something to snack on this afternoon and found a bag of oranges in the refrigerator. My protocol is to thin cut the peel leaving much of the white pulp. It's called pulp... right?
In doing this, I had a childhood flashback. Amazing!
My family moved to Florida when I was around the age of 7 and there were lots of kids in the neighborhood. Along the back yard was a utility easement wide enough for a pickup truck to collect garbage. The kids were allowed to play there instead of the street.
I recall going with the neighborhood kids to see an old woman who resided on the end of the block.
Her name was Mrs. Gurnett. I'm unsure if she worked or was retired, but I got the feeling she was a nurse or social worker. After school, several of us would go to her back door and call her name. Kinda slowly... Mrs. Gur-nett... and wait a few seconds before repeating the call. Mrs Gur-nett...

Just like magic, Mrs. Gurnett would appear with a plate of goodies for us to eat. It could have been sliced apples, chocolate or thin slices of orange covered with sugar.
Yes, the sugar orange slices were my favorite.

Over the years, I've had a few Deja Vu thoughts when I passed by the confection aisle in the grocery store. While I've been avoiding candy with sugar... if I had to choose it would be a cherry or orange Gummy Bears if I couldn't find the sugared orange slices.

I don't remember the reason we stopped going to see Mrs. Gurnett. Possibly an adult was 'letting us off easy' by fabricating a story that she moved. The house was vacant for a few years and knowing what I know now, she must have passed away and didn't have family to inherit the property.



Mrs. Gurnett... thanks for the memories!