Today I got a wonderful surprise. My buddy on the Internet, Jim Pantaleno from my old neighborhood, and school in Brooklyn New York; Our Lady Of Lourdes sent me this picture. I will on occasion add others he sent me, and I will post them on the blog. Do you know what this is?Jim has from time to time sent me photos of the church, the neighborhood and re-kindled old memories, and in some cases has sharpened them.
If you don’t know what this is, it is a key. Not just any key, it doesn’t fit any doors except the memory door. It is the key that: allowed any kid five years and up to be happy for as long as Mom and Dad allowed us out doors. It was better than ice cream, candy and soda pop. It was used on evenings and days off from school. It allowed us to fly through the neighborhoods of Brooklyn, and travel at the sound of the wind in our ears! In all four seasons!
It is a skate key. You used it to close the two clamps at the end of each skate that held onto the soles of the front of the shoe. Too tight and your toes hurt. Too loose and you wind up lifting the front of your shoe off the skate, causing you to have to stop and reset the clamps. A leather strap tied your ankle area to the back of the skate. It was all you needed for fun. The wheels were made of metal and as you skated on the concrete sidewalks, they wore out, leaving holes in the wheels!
You could fly around the block probably 5 times faster than if you ran! You didn’t have sissy shoelaces and high ankle tops for protection. Your protection was your hands as you fell forward, scraping your knees. You got up in pain, and skated some more! We couldn’t afford bicycles in those days, plus there was no place to put one if you lived “Upstairs”. But you didn’t want a bike, or miss it at any rate. Skating was when there was no stoopball, handball or pickup game to play. You could amuse yourself, all alone, all day long.
If you were bored growing up in Brooklyn, you were probably tied up in some basement by an older sibling.
Please remember those that suffer, especially my good buddies Joan and Anita.
Thanks for reading.
1 comment:
Joe is so right when he says it was impossible to be bored growing up in Brooklyn. The reason is that out of necessity, kids were so resourceful at making up games that required little or no money. There were 20 different games you could play with a 15 cent Spaldeen. And we didn't need "playdates" or constant adult supervision. On summer days we hit the street at 8 am in regulation uniform: dungarees (not jeans) and Keds sneakers. We chose up sides and everybody played...you may have been chosen last but you played. (Life Skill Learned: Inclusion). It didn't matter what your race, religion or ethnic background was, if you could hit it two sewers in stickball, you played. (Life Skill Learned: Diversity). If there was a rules dispute you settled it by showing "odds or evens" fingers. (Life Skill Learned: Negotiation). We couldn't afford uniforms so we distinguished teams by "shirts or skins". (Life Skill Learned: Improvisation). In sum, Brooklyn was the proving ground for kids who didn't have much, but who learned to make the most of what they had. An astounding fact: one in seven Americans can trace their roots back to Brooklyn. Thanks Joe for helping to keep those great memories alive.
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