Age 5, 1954 AD being ‘babysat’ by my wild grandmother who operated an old café in Winnipeg located on busy Portage Avenue near the Thompson Drive corner.
I became interested in the jovial McGavin’s Bread delivery man who used to stop mornings to drop off a load of bread. He was like actor Jack Carson, the kind of crackerjack guy who would be popular with young kids. I asked, or more likely he asked, if it would be ok to take the wide-eyed kid for a ride out to Kirkfield Park (where I had never been before) and then drop me off on his way back.
What an adventure and treat, standing in the van (no passenger seat) leaning against his seat as he made his stops! After he dropped me on the other side of the divided main street, I had to run across between cars to get back to the café.
Age 5. Someone older hadn’t thought out that possibility. Scary stuff, but I recall the traffic stopped. Might have been two of these trips before some adult put a stop to this, ending my fun. Likely my mother who worked part-time at the café.
I saw him in his truck years later, still working on Portage Avenue and looking pretty serious, and wondered if he remembered a little kid he once indulged for a very early unique memory of mine about exploring life down the busy road heading west and travelling far to an unknown, distant land with an amiable grown-up pal in his magic bread van.