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Waiting for breakfast, I was caught in a mental pan of reflection……
Members of time, way back
Before New Jacks and skinny jeans
I recall shout outs by mama, before going in
When streetlights were the stars at night, twinkling
Sugar water was my breakfast of champions, even then
Tang was the red bone up the block down to run trains
My sneakers was busted, once a year reupping on Super Pro Keds
Roundup was all block, running for days, until caught by friends
Pops was on the corner drinking Gin and Juice, with same old dudes
Black Spades chasing Javelins, only to be down with each other truce
Zip guns was arts & crafts, like pouring wax in skelzees bottle caps
Stickball was played by stealing brooms from wherever they laid at
Whacking Spauldings until all balls are roof(ed) and can’t be found again
Seasonal Click-Clacks, Tops, roller skates and Yo-Yos, Slap-boxing skills all for play
Screwing out elevator lights to play “corners”, hitting hard enough to see stars
Roof jumping factories, harassing night watchman, almost getting hit by cars
Wrestling on cardboards, putting sleeper moves on friends and bouncing and cutting flips off dirty mattresses,
Water flowing from open hydrants, cutting open cans on both ends, wetting cars passing by even when they said we can’t…..
Running the dozens and snapping on each others, even talking about each others mamas!!!
At night splitting up boy/girl, for some run, catch and stuff when no grownups were looking
All in the daze, as reality flips over in my mind, How I came up in Bronx in the 1970s…….
“Two stacks of pancakes please”, as I pay for my breakfast for my grandson, not far from where and how I came up…….Good Times!!!
PEACE
