Buffalo Gal

I am reading Laura Pedersen's book by that title which is serving to bring back similar memories of growing up in the Buffalo NY area.  I was actually born and raised in Sloan, just a hair east of Buffalo toward what is now the Boulevard Mall.  My memories stretch back further in time to the Broadway Market and Sattlers across the street at 998 Broadway - a 10 minute bus ride from Sloan (or trolley ride when I was really young), or an hour's walk.  Sattlers had some of the best bargains around, it you had the muscle, stamina, and courage to go after them.  I always got my Italian leather dress shoes from the loaded sale table in the middle of the first floor.  You literally had to elbow your way into the fray, grab anything that looked like your size, and manage to hold your own place at the table (three and four shoppers deep!) while trying on the shoes that were wired together through holes right in the back of them.   If you were lucky and more resilient than some, you walked away with a super deal on awesome shoes, or handbags, or whatever was on those special piled-high sale tables.  I'd have to leave the store early enough to run across the street to the market for fresh kielbasa, eye watering freshly ground horseradish, killer rye bread, and farm fresh tub butter for the weekend breakfast the next day.   The farmers had to close up shop early so they could get ready for another day that started at the crack of dawn.  We definitely appreciated having that bustling market available year round - lucky for the good folk in Buffalo, it still exists, and still bustles during the traditional holiday seasons.  Try it some time.  It's quite an experience.