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”.

Around my neighborhood they would block off the streets and turn ON THE fire hydrants so we could all cool off. Way before Air Conditioners. They would put a hollowed out garbage can…bottom knocked out…over the hydrant and it would raise into a spray. They did this so the little kids wouldn’t be picked up by the water pressure and deposited on their heads. Guess this is my problem, since lots of times I hit the ground when I got too close to the mouth of the hydrant. Those were the good old days. Later on in the years that followed…this was not permitted by the Fire Department, and a permit was needed to turn on the water and then only a trickle would immerge. By that time, the good old days were over.