Share your Chicklette’s

I’m not sure why we were out late during a snow storm but I remember it was dark and I was bundled up in my favorite coat, a brown furry coat with Nordic floral designs on the sleeves and around the hood. Before getting in the car, I remember my mother tying the hood tight under my chin. Chin ties never stayed where they were supposed to in the 70’s. They were basically a long shoe lace and they were always sliding up over the chin. I was five and my brother, Todd was 4. We sat in the back of our Ford Pinto bundled up together without seat belts on and my mom mumbled to herself as she turned on the radio. At 5 years old you don’t really question where you are going at night in the middle of a snow storm but now I do question it. Looking back now, I’m sure we were out looking for my dad in strip club parking lots.

As the car traversed along the snow packed streets of town, I bounced in the back seat chewing on my hood ties and thinking about Captain Kangaroo. “Todd, how many ping pong balls do you think Captain Kangaroo has?”, I asked. “A lot Worwi! (this is how pronounced Lori), he said. “I like it when they fall on his head.”, I giggled. Todd giggled too as his blond curls bounced out of his stocking cap as my mom came to a sudden stop. We both flew into the seats in front of us and abruptly bounced back to where we were sitting.

“Oh children, there’s a mom with two kids walking in this storm, I’m going to turn around and see if they need help.” My mom turned around and we pressed our noses to the cold window. Todd huffed and used his finger to draw a rainbow in the condensation. I gazed out looking for the wanderers. Sure enough there was a mother in a long navy coat, holding hands with two children about the same age as my brother and me. One was wearing red gloves, one wasn’t wearing any. The car stopped and my mother got out. In mere minutes, we had them in the car. The moms talked but I just stared at the kids. I like the girls red mittens but they wouldn’t have matched my coat. My mittens were white and new and I made sure that these snow walking kids could see my pristine mittens. The girl starred back at me. She wasn’t looking at my mittens. She was looking at my mouth as I chewed my hood ties. The knot perfectly fit in the space that used to hold a front tooth. I flicked it with my tongue. The boy without mittens touched my coat. I liked that he wanted to touch it. Todd just sat huffing on the window and drawing rainbows over and over.

The car stopped and we all got out at the gas station. Now it was tradition that every time we went to the gas station, Todd and I got mini Chicklette gum. The moms were using the gas station’s phone and doing grown-up things. The snow walker kids stayed next to their mother and Todd and I picked out our Chicklettes. The snow walkers all got back into our car and we drove them to a house. I ate my Chicklettes and continued starring at the girl with red mittens. She stopped starring at my mouth and when she looked at me for the first time in the eyes, I remember feeling something different about how she looked at me. I didn’t know what to make of it. After our occupants were safely delivered to some house a few minutes away, my mom turned to Todd and I and said, “We were angels tonight for that family. They don’t have a car like we do. Did you see their clothes? That poor boy didn’t even have mittens on and they had been walking for miles. I’m so proud of you for sharing your Chicklettes with those children. “ I didn’t say a word….I hadn’t offered that red mitten girl even one of my Chicklettes.

We said a prayer for that family after they left. I’ve never forgotten them. From that day on I became a person that shares. Remember to always share your Chicklettes.