Fair's Store

 I had the word "fair" in my morning crossword puzzle.

The clue was "dry forecast". Other clues could have been "Feeling so-so"," light-complexioned", "equal division", "festival" etc., as is the case with so many clues depending on their usage.

But what sprang to my mind was Fair, as in Fair's Store.

 It was the neighborhood store of my childhood. Because it served many "horse and buggy" farm families in the outlying area around town, it carried a wide array of merchandise from straw hats to bulk foods. In the center of the narrow building was a pot-bellied stove that glowed hot through all the winter months with rounded stools nearby to pull up for a quick warm-up Oiled wooden floors kept down the dust. Fluorescent lights with pull strings buzzed overhead to light the shelves that climbed from floor to ceiling.

But best of all was the penny candy case - all the tantalizing goodies lay behind slanted glass and had to be retrieved by the slow, bent fingers of George Fair himself as we stood with pressed noses agonizing what our pennies would best buy. In truth I remember only a  few of the choices - Mary Jane's, licorice, Bazooka gum, candy cigarettes, Klein's Lunch Bar (which was always tempting as it wasn't as expensive as the Hershey Bar for a nickel but wasn't as good either!) Luden's cough drops as well as the more harsh Smith Brothers, And then there was always the tempting nickel bag of Good's potato chips that hung on clips nearby! The weekly allotment of a nickel and a penny just didn't stretch far enough! The irony was that we had tons of candy at home and a huge tin of potato chips that always residing in the back stairway to the upstairs! But nothing is more exciting than one's own currency and resultant choices!

Fair - also a beacon of childhood pleasure.