Cashiers Check for Candy

From first through third grade, I walked seven-blocks to school everyday. And everyday before I left, my mom would give me a dollar bill. On the way home from school, I would stop at a little convenience store everyone called “The Deli” and buy a dollar’s worth of candy all of which I would eat as I walked back home. It was a nice little set-up.

Then, when my family moved from our home near Greenlake in Seattle, gone went the days of walking to school and stopping by The Deli. But, despite the passing of such great past-times, I still got my daily dollar bill and found other places to spend it. One place in particular was a local chain drugstore called Bartell Drugs. They had well-stocked candy shelves, with a variety of items unmatched at other stores and prices fit for a little girl and only a dollar to spend.

As time went on, the daily dollar for candy faded, but later came back as larger bills, mainly from my dad. In high school, my dad would hand me a $5 or $10 bill and say, “Go Bartell buy candy.” And I loved it. It was kind of our thing. I knew he was half kidding, but I also felt like he actually thought I would spend it all on candy.

Even now, my dad hands me cash and says, “Go Bartell buy candy” and these days, that cash now comes in checks, in larger increments, that would buy ridiculous amounts of candy. It cracks me up, but then at the same time, I think it as his way of trying to take care of me.

My parents have known that for the last month and a half I have been very preoccupied with my essays and applications for school. They are super excited for me to go back to school and have been very supportive. Yesterday, I received a cashier’s check in the mail with this note:


He honestly thinks I shouldn't be wasting my time cooking and should spend more time writing essays. No mention of “Go Bartell buy candy,” but it was a special reminder of “Daddy Oh Life Lesson #3: Eat” and his way of letting me know that he and mom are thinking of me and still want to take care of me.

P.S. As evidence of “Daddy Oh Life Lesson #4: Study” he wrote the above note on the back of a sheet of vocab words he was studying. Always studying, yes he is. Oh, Daddy Oh...