re: Did your mom leave you in car to run in to store growing up?

On the way home from the grocery store one evening, my mom pulled into a neighbor's drive & left my brothers and I in the car. As she got out, she told us not to get out of the car for any reason in a very stern manor. While we sat waiting, we noticed the house across the street was on fire.We talked about it for four or five minutes before my oldest brother got out to run tell the adults what was going on. When the lady my mom was visiting answered the door, my mom heard him and yelled, "I told you not to get out of the car!"

After he told them what was going on, and they called the fire department, we were laughing about how we were scared to come tell them the house was on fire and that made my mom mad. Pretty sure she said, "Don't be idiots."

ETA: My mom dropped me off at a birthday party in Vidalia. After eating cake and ice cream there, they decided to take us to the skating rink in Natchez. A bunch of us boys got in the back of the birthday boy's dad's truck and rode across the river and back. It was really cool to do, I'm talking more fun than skating, and was the 1st thing out of my mouth when I got home. My mom told me I could never go play with that kid again because his dad let us do that. She taught fifth grade, and had high expectations for her high IQ youngest son. To this day, it would kill her if she knew how much weed I smoked the year I flunked out at LSU.

Yes. And I was also allowed to watch "violent" Bugs Bunny and other cartoons. Believe it or not I NEVER had the urge to throw someone off of a cliff like the Roadrunner did to the Coyote.

No AC. Windows half way down. Bon Marche parking lot had its own heat dome

Yes. I preferred waiting in the car 20-30 minutes to going in to what was a completely boring place, unless it was Schweggmanns in Gentilly. Then I'd look at the fishing gear or head to the magazine rack.

Parked in the fire lane in front of Winn Dixie / TG&Y in Zachary.

I forgot about minithins.
I was working in a convenience store, and one day management came in and pulled them all out of the store.
I think they had to come up with a new formula.

No she sent me in to pick up her cigs and beer and sent my brother in to pick up the bad checks

Sure. No one but the owners of the Ford and Chevy dealerships had A/Cs in the cars and she knew nobody was gonna abduct me, the windows were down, and I wasn't going to start the car.

Small town of around 2,500 honest folks.

Yep, I'd fall asleep on the way to town and she'd roll the windows down and leave me in the car if I didn't wake up. I'd eventually get hot, wake up and go into the store.