Nostalgic but more, this outing on a hot summer afternoon
Guided by a dear friend who lived in Madison as a youngster and teen.
I, by contrast, a Yankee in birth and mannerisms, saw for the first time
A Madison that hadn’t previously revealed itself—until this afternoon.
We rode past parts of town new to me but perhaps a bit painfully old to her
The remnants and restorations she’d not visited since her father’s passing.
Past the hospital, still standing and in use, where my friend was born
Past the building where she had been a telephone operator.
“Telephone operator,” I almost shrieked. That’s what I had wanted to be
And then questions poured from my mouth: When? How long? What memories?
Patiently she answered each question, provided such interesting glimpses
With humor and a storyteller’s gift–all on a hot summer afternoon in Madison.
