Hello, Dolly

It must have been between 1980s – 1990s. Dolly, my friend Joe’s mother-in-law  was managing a carpet store on 34th place and Western Avenue in Chicago.   She turned out to be a very good  friend, as well. Mondelli Carpets was the name of the business and catered almost invariably to a higher end by appointment.  Typically, when I needed to stop there, I would say, “Hi or Hello” to her daughter Lynn, Joe’s wife, or Dolly.

This day, Dolly was behind the counter watching her TV when I opened their front door. After the bell stopped and the door closed, I called out “Hello Dolly” that sounded like a echo of the TV, that was playing the same phrase in an ad, “Hello Dolly.”