Summer of 1945

Browsing in a bookstore—again—I ran across a small volume titled Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart. The jacket indicated the summer of 1945, and so I purchased it, to absolutely no regret, but to my great pleasure, for, you see, I was in New York that summer too.

Hart had the three months off from college in Iowa, but took along her cello to keep in practice. Can you imagine traveling to New York for a summer, burdened by the load of a cello? I don’t recall there was much cello practicing, but what a time she and her girlfriend experienced. They had to find jobs, but stores weren’t hiring. However, with some slight connection through a friend of the family, they produced a letter to just the right person and got jobs at Tiffany, stationed on the main floor (jewelry) where Tiffany traditionally hired only men to work. But the guys were away, currently fighting a war.

Not a salesperson, but only something like a gofer, Hart, in a Tiffany uniform, carried valuable jewelry needing repair, from first floor to the repairman on an upper story. One time she dared to take a peek and ended up with pearls all over the elevator floor, with only seconds before the door would open. I won’t divulge how that episode ended. I recommend it for reading.

The girls barely made enough money to cover their livelihood, saw some celebrities in the store (didn’t actually meet them), and heard, as I did, about the Army plane that accidentally hit the Empire State Building and crashed. They had a great summer in New York, but it didn’t begin to compare with mine, but that comes later. However, on the book jacket, the publisher invites readers to make comments and gives its email address. I made comment and had a nice letter from the author, to whom the publisher had forwarded my letter.

My children and grandchildren have had, or are having, exciting lives in many areas of the world, but are so busy with theirs, they have learned little about mine. Maybe, if they’re reading my blog, they might learn what an exciting time I had when young, if I decide to mention it. But this blog is not really about me, but about Literature and Life. But then, I had a life too. And still do.

♥