Neighborhoods are complex mosaics that change according to the general population at the moment, and the place of that moment in time. Our community was founded in the post-World War II housing boom that developed the land surrounding New York City. It was these little towns and villages that became the storybook destinations for urban parents looking to raise their children in green open areas comprised of other families much like themselves. The homogeneity of the suburbs remained legendary for decades.
For the past several years, I rarely see a familiar face on my drive through our local lanes. Most of the families I used to know have moved. I still get together with my closest friends, but the wave-and-smile acquaintances are stored in my memory, and when I hear news of someone I used to see at PTA meetings, it makes me recall an incident they were a part of. Like the mom of one of Son’s elementary school friends who called me after a play date at our house to say her son just told her I put chocolate milk on the cold cereal the kids had for snack. I told her I didn’t. The cereal was Cocoa Puffs. The milk turns chocolatey all on its own; that’s the beauty. She was appalled and so was I. Cocoa Puffs are one of the wonders of childhood. Her poor kids.
Our house is down the street from the elementary school, and every single time I pass that building it makes me smile. For a few years after we first moved here from Brooklyn, I worked as a lunchtime aide at the school monitoring the students in the cafeteria and on the playground. The hours worked well with my freelance writing schedule, and it gave me an opportunity to soak up the local culture and get a fix on the natives. By the time Daughter was in junior high and Son the fourth grade, I had moved on to a full-time job nearby that was close enough for me to go home for lunch.
One day during that school year, I dashed home at noontime to grab a quick bite and check on my kids who were off from school for some holiday. As I came upon the school, I could see a trio of youngsters galloping single file across the roof. Oh God, I thought, I wonder if the parents of those little delinquents know how they’re spending this day off. Just as I finished that thought, the lead delinquent turned to yell something to the others and I saw the logo on the front of his sweatshirt and I knew he was mine.
I slammed on the brakes, jumped from the car before it even came to a stop, and raced across the blacktop to the drainpipe where the daredevil kids who climbed on the roof made their escape. I knew that schoolyard like the lines in my face. After a minute, a body started shimmying downward, and when he dropped to the ground I could see it was my friend’s son with his bright red hair and freckles. He went pale with altar boy guilt when he spun around and saw me there and I said, “You’re in big trouble, mister,” and he looked at me like Please Don’t Tell My Mother, but it was too late because I had already contacted her telepathically, and he jumped on his bike and went mad peddling across the ballfield, but I guarantee you she was tapping her foot by the front door waiting for him.
The next juvenile delinquent down the pipe was Son’s best friend, and as soon as JD#2 hit the pavement, he turned to yell a warning up to Son about the fate awaiting him, but I plastered my hand over his mouth mid-shout. We both looked up as a pair of legs swung over the side of the building and the last of the trio made his descent.
“WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?” I demanded as he touched ground and faced me. Whereas JD and Red looked properly panicked at being caught, Son just flashed me a conspiratorial smile and said, “Balls.” He then reached into the legs of his sweatpants and pulled out a dozen balls of all variety: tennis balls, baseballs, pinkies, even a wiffle ball. He looked up at me with the thrill of victory in his eyes. “The high school kids go up there and steal these but they’re OURS,” he said. I let him relish the moment as we walked home in silence and I contemplated a suitable punishment. We’d start with the Cocoa Puffs.
Daughter’s Featured Fotos today depict other Sightings.
geico caveman, greenwich village
hungry squirrel, madison square park
suspended piano, nyc
bee pollinating a rose, bronx botanic garden