Hazard's Glory Years

1947 ... Well, here I sit on Henry Combs’ Double Cola steps trying to strap on my skates. Gosh, Gene Baker’s boys are busy over there and I guess I’ll have to wait until the last one leaves before I can venture across the street. You see I love doing all kinds of turns, etc. while watching myself in Gene’s big glass windows. I lose myself and am free to become Sonja Henie on rollers, or whomever I choose. Oh, well, I guess I will skate down this side of East Main (Big Bottom) right now. Here I go, “Howdy, Mr. Garnett”, “Doing good today, Mrs. Bell”, “Mrs. Draughn, you say you love watching me, thanks a heap.”Well, they’re still busy as bees here at Seals, but it is clear enough for me to skate back through the lot there to see what Bill, George and the rest are up too. “Howdy, fellers, thought I'd check in on you working boys!” What’s that, someone hollers from up above the garage, and it’s Kathleen. She doesn’t skate much so I think I’ll take off my skates and go up and sit on the steps with her. “Hey, wait, she beckons, I’ll come down and we can go over to Collins’ Grocery and get us a pop and a bag of peanuts.” Oh, boy, something to eat. Through the door we go and there is Preacher Vermillion behind the counter. He grins from ear to ear. I found out that Preacher (Ernest) gets real red when confronted by a girl, so I manage to siddle up to the counter, “Howdy, Preacher” that is all I needed to say cause he got so red I thought he was on fire. Kathleen got our pop and peanuts, we paid for them, and started out the door. Standing there on the steps I looked around and there was Taylor Bingham sitting in his chair, leaned back against his home, enjoying the afternoon sun as it was about to go down over the mountain. I waved at Dora Baker and Lil Bit sitting on their porch. Lil Bit was my buddy.I hear Kathleen’s mother hollering from her front door, so I am going to bid Kathleen “bye now”, put on my skates and skate up to Gene Baker’s to see if they have closed for the day so I can practice my Sonja Henie routines. I love his big plate glass windows. I was sort of sorry to see the old Faulkner House go cause I loved to skate by and talk with old Mr. Faulkner, but I guess progress was ready for Hazard but is Hazard ready for progress. It sure looks so from the eyes of this beholder.