All her life she was a seller in “NarMag” and today she also shares that she does not set up her small stall every day to get richer, but because it supports her living
Perhaps there is no bourgeois from the Central part of the city who does not know this woman. But how many of us have thought about why she almost every day, regardless of whether it is freezing cold outside or the spring sun is hot, she stands patiently, modestly, without intruding and disturbing anyone at the entrance of a large retail chain in the market ” Krasnodar” or in the Boris garden, she knits baby slippers and arranged small bouquets, which she sells for pennies. I’m sure she knows full well that for many of us, the likelihood of her selling a flower is more than nil. Every second person rushes past her with hunched shoulders and doesn’t even look at her makeshift stall, next to which she stands on a seat made of a piece of cardboard.
Although it is hard for her to hear what we are asking her, grandmother Ganka from the Banevo district tells us her story while on March 8 she sells bouquets of daffodils to passers-by in the Boris garden. People stop by her all the time. And she tells them that in the morning she picked the flowers herself from her house in Banevo district. And even though she seems strict at first, because none of us would know that she can’t hear what people are saying to her and gets very tense when they stop by her on their way out, all of her buyers are bound to smile widely at her attitude . Why? When she is given pennies for a bouquet of 5, 7, or 9 fresh spring flowers, she always hands over twice as much, supposedly without wanting to.
Grandma Ganka tells us that she is 96 years old, she was a saleswoman all her life in one of the chain stores from socialism – “NarMag”, now she receives a modest pension, but it is enough for her at the moment because she lives with her children in the city. She also shared that she does not set up her small stall every day to get richer, but because it keeps her alive, vibrant and in good health for her 96 years.
I remember with nostalgia the time of DetMag, NarMag, TSUM, RUM, GUM and Korekom – the folk, children’s, central, regional and city department stores. And also “Foodstuffs” and “1001 goods”, as well as Horemaga – the abbreviation of HOTEL-RESTAURANT-MAGAZINE.
While we are talking with her, little Elia and her father stop in front of the buckets of dipped flowers. They order a bouquet of 25 daffodils, but grandma Ganka hands them at least over 50. The 5-year-old girl tells us that she will make mom happy with the beautiful bouquet for her holiday. But the child does not stop here for the first time, because he knows that we must help each other. Only a few days ago, she and her parents bought the martenichki from the old woman.
And yesterday, everywhere in Borisova’s garden smelled of daffodils, which even the most sophisticated among us stopped to buy from the old woman.
