In 1969
when coffee 
was still a dime,
when you could sit 
in a diner for hours
stirring cold coffee
until the spoon clicked
like a clock
watching the window blur,
a red wheelbarrow
tipped on its side.
When children
played red rover
after dark,
adults read
by the fire,
lamplight soft
on the page,
someone turning 
a chapter
as the house settled
into sleep