“There are two bins, one for drink bottles and glass, the other for general waste. Garbage is collected every other day, and bottles and glass twice a week. Tenants have to throw their waste into the bins located at the back of the ground floor.”
“This apartment is on the fifth floor,” Peggy said.
“Yes.”
“So I’d have to go down five flights of stairs to…”
“Four flights, dear.”
“Oh, four flights just to take out the garbage?”
“I’m sorry, but there’s no garbage chute at the moment.”
“Could I see the back stairs?”
“Certainly. Just go through the door at the end of the corridor. Look at whatever you like, dear.”
When in trouble, Peggy Castle sometimes turned to her remarkable Uncle Benedick. Benedick Castle had experienced the ups and downs of life. From the time Peggy was old enough to remember, she had listened to Uncle Benedick extolling the virtues of Benedick’s Tonic Elixir with his sweet, enthusiastic voice.
“…Ladies and gentlemen, this medicine is not a chemical drug, nor does it achieve health by gradually stimulating overused glands, tired muscles, and dulled nerves, which would eventually lead to the breakdown of the entire bodily machine. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a tonic, aiding the natural rejuvenation of glands, regeneration of cells, reconstruction of muscles, and revitalization of blood. Now, who here will be the first to purchase a bottle of our three B Elixir? Tonight’s price isn’t the regular $10, not even half price at $5, nor the special advertising price of $2.50, but an incredible fire sale price of just $1! For only $1, you can rebuild your health!”
That was twenty years ago. Peggy was only four at the time, an orphan too young to feel the pain of losing her parents. Uncle Benedick and Aunt Martha had taken her in, raising her as their own. The days of selling patent medicine were long past, but Uncle Benedick still loved to reminisce about his youthful days as a medicine hawker, which allowed him to travel the country, as he put it, “living off the yokels.”
