Message Found On A Sidewalk

           

The local "Sidewalk Sale" is held annually on the hottest week of the year, in some sort of a Midwestern Ritual of Masochism. Perhaps it was held in response to the 5 months of winter we must endure each year. The four square blocks of the downtown retail district becomes littered with tents and canopies, underneath which are closeouts, knick-knacks and other items of a "frou-frou" nature. It is a big mother-daughter event, and, with the exception of a few out-of-place men (i.e.: yours truly), a feminine gathering. This is not a bad thing as a glistening epidermis in a summer dress can be a delight to the senses.

All of these conditions made my discovery of the above note more poignant. Was this the final cry for help from some rejected girl? A plea for reconciliation? And what had caused the rift? Why was mom leaving? And why was it written on the back of a Christmas card?