THE TICK OF TIME PART 24

Aunt Mildred graduated from watch repair school and went to work for the Tick of Time clock and watch repair shop on 4th street, just west of downtown.  It was a small business but did pretty well in both sales of new time pieces and repair of broken ones.  They also had a contract to clean and repair meter clocks that were used in the oil and gas industry.  Mildred (I called her Mimi)  had the front repair desk that was separate from a big room to the rear where the clocks were serviced. There were five people who worked there including Fern Campbell, the wife of Oscar Campbell who did the clock work.  Fern greeted the people and helped with selections of watches which were in glass cases running along the entrance way to the store.  The only air cooling came from a water cooler that was mounted over the front door and constantly dripped water on people coming in.  Via the time travel, I knew what the future held while viewing their  present back in 1952.  I was to spend the Summer of 1953 with Grandma and Mimi and it was my most memorable Summer.  At least a part of it was due to the girl my age visiting her grandma right next door. I think I mentioned her before.  I did not know she was there but found out the next day when she came calling.  She was tanned with dark hair..very cute with brown eyes.  She wasn't exactly flushed with social graces as she told me that she had watched me undress the night before.  Her bedroom window was about four feet from my bedroom window and her bed was right next to her window as mine was next to my window.  She really rubbed it in.  She told me she layed cross ways on her bed, parted the curtains, and watched.  I was growing red in the face from embarassment.  She came across as a very honest, but not too bright of a farm girl.  I turned out to be right.  Back to tick of Time.  Knowing mimi would not recognize me, i must not be familiar with her.  She was stunning in looks; her face actually glowed with joy of some kind.  I decided to shop for watches to give some reason for lingering.  Fern helped me and i bought one.  I took it back to mimi and asked her what she thought of it.  It was a 17 jewel Gruen and she said it was a very good choice.  I glanced around and saw Oscar bent over a pot of Benzol cleaning a meter clock.  A very slight of stature man who could have played a dwarf in a play.  I wanted to scream at him  "Oscar, don't you know that solvent is cancer causing"   No one really knew about that stuff back then.  After spending some non suspicious time there, I left and decided to walk down to third street where the Norvell and Marcum clock parts supply store was.  A year later I would make a few trips there to pick up parts.  I planned the rest of the day and night.  I wanted to go down and sit on Grandma's swing and watch the circus out in front of the Club JE- RE- CO. Grandma and Mimi would be asleep and no one would notice.   (to be continued)