Category Archives: Street Lifestyle
If anyone knows the whereabout…
If anyone knows the whereabout of my childhood and young adult friend Kelly Kevin Murphy, who used to live in the Cypress Hills projects of East New York Brooklyn, until a move to Drew St., his childhood best friend Eric Vaughan would love to hear from him before we all pass into shadows. I noticed at Classmates.com many of our small gang of friends have survived. I’d like to think he did as well.
What I miss is the old 1960’s…
What I miss is the old 1960’s and 1970’s “Block Party”. When you’d be able to get a few of the old blue Police blockade wooden horse, and from dusk to midnight, there would be music to dance to, plenty of food, plenty of soda, water, coffee, beer, and wine, and everyone spent a few hours in just getting along. There would be dancing in the streets, as well as the fire escapes. Nowadays, I can only get a brief touch of that feeling when I see the music video for Carlos Santana’s and Rob Thomas’ “Smooth”.
Oh yeah Frank. Two table…
Oh yeah Frank. Two table legs, drill out the narrow end(and by drill, I mean use our parents’ good steak knife to whittle away at the wood..), and use a screw or nail to hold in the 4″ of dog chain we’d use to make the nunchucks. Bruce Lee heaven, until you missed a spin and hit your chin or elbow. I loved the dirt bomb fight. Clumps of clod that when they hit the ground gave off the perfect “poof” of cloud to simulate a grenade hit.
Does anyone remeber those?…
I grew up in Brooklyn on…
Of course the spaldeen (especially…
Of course the spaldeen (especially the much-beloved #4, although #2 was also good) was always better than the pinky, although that pinky could really fly when hit with a bat! Most of you can probably relate, but I wish I could explain to my friends here in the Midwest what it was like growing up on E. 15th St. near Kings Highway in the ’70s. Our street was full of kids and we played all the time: johnny on the pony, stoopball, stickball, hockey on roller skates, scully, red rover, i declare war (losers always “went under the moon”), wiffle ball, ringaleavio. And the games in the schoolyards, like handball, off the wall, paddleball. There’s got to be a million spaldeens on the roof at PS 199 where I went and all the other schools, too. It was like a soap opera, too.
I love going to the mall…
My sister had the Sparkle…
My stickball was played…
My stickball was played in Marine Park in Brooklyn (31st St.) during the 1960’s. We used both Spaldeens and Pensie Pinkies. I remember the Spaldeen had a rough texture, the Pensie was smooth. I preferred the Spaldeen as it afforded a better grip. Anybody out there remember the candy stores on Quentin Road near P.S. 222? – Harry’s, Josie’s, Dis’s, Lil’s. Another bygone institution – but they always had plenty of pink balls for sale. Kids used to play handball against the wall of Harry’s at the corner of 33rd St. and Quentin Rd across from the school. Wouldn’t trade those street games for all the video games in the world – today’s kids are missing out… Ed Dunscombe