Painted front and center on a detailed mural at the Regional Market Diner is the likeness of Linda Middlemore, a dark-haired, soulful woman, working as a waitress, dressed in blue and holding an order pad forever ready for hungry diners. Her smile is one that loyal patrons would see almost every day for 42 years at the Park Street landmark, once known as Dygert’s. She was 18 years old when she started and only retired in recent months due to chronic leg pain, which kept her from the fast pace needed to work in such an environment.
She died last week.
A seven-year breast cancer survivor, Linda suffered a massive stroke from which she never regained consciousness...
The last couple days I have found myself stewing over something or another, and each time I would try to sit down to write a column on what I’m thankful for, I’d just stare into space. Of course I have countless blessings in my life, but I couldn’t think of any that I wanted to share, since they all seemed so cliché. But you know, cliches are what they are for a reason – because they make sense. (Side note – it’s a well-known fact to anyone who knows me that I always mess up cliches of any kind – I’m not sure what that says about me…)
First, while I (and many others) can grumble over money matters, I am grateful to be working during this economic nightmare...
