Amy McLenithan and her red food wagon are now woven into my morning routine.
Life is a tapestry, and country life has its own rich weave.
Around nine, after Maria and I have some breakfast together and go our separate work ways, I head for the post office to check on my Army Of Good Mail.
Hopefully, there are some checks waiting for me, there are two or three days a week usually.
(hint: Paypal, [email protected] or Jon Katz, Mansion/Refugee Fund, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.)
When I finally get my Strong Women Photo Show, Amy will be in it.
She is especially photogenic, I think, her face has so much expression and character. Like most strong women, she sort of defies the camera to take her photo, she doesn’t primp or pose, she is just herself.
Usually, I text her, using an Iphoto Cow Emoticon (she loves to show that to the farmers at her wagon) and tell her to put the decaf coffee on, I’m on my way.
I think I might be the only customer who drinks decaf coffee, so she needs some notice. My coffee is always sitting on the counter ready for me, the Battenkill Kill Dairy milk bottle waiting, along with the plastic cup of sweeteners and some wooden stir sticks.
If it’s quiet, we chat for a few minutes, Amy fills me in on the progress of her new food enterprise, Amy’s Country Wagon.
If she’s busy (I usually come after the breakfast rush) I just pay for the fresh and very good coffee (the coffee costs $one dollar for a medium-size cup) and sometimes a fresh-baked muffin for Maria (also $one dollar).
An egg sandwich on an English muffin with sausage is $4, so I can have a good and filling breakfast for $5, $12 including Maria and a muffin or two.
Her wagon is clearly doing very well. I know she is busier than she expected to be. Farmers and town and county highway workers are her first customers.
She tells me how many sandwiches and burgers she sold the day before, and what the menu is for the day. I feel very comfortable with Amy, she is open and honest and she has a fierce work ethic.
In her photos, Amy has a slight smile, almost a smirk that is her permanent expression, but her look belies a fierce focus on her work.
She is a businesswoman.
She is very serious about her food and pays attention to every customer and what they eat.
She also keeps an eye on the traffic going down Route 22, she knows an awful lot of the cars and their drivers.
Amy is in the best tradition of my Strong Women portraits. She just never takes a bad photo, and her face is always framed by the red food wagon.
This morning, I read that 1.7 million packages a day are now delivered to New York City every day, and the traffic and congestion are getting to be overwhelming. I reminded myself to be grateful that I live where I live.
I go to the post office first, text Amy, pick up the coffee and head home. I love having a hot cup of coffee at hand when I start to write.
Perhaps I will get to do that show one day, along with with Kelly and Robin and Mary and Kelsie and a dozen other strong women, including the one I live with.