Tag Archives: candy store
I grew up in the South Bronx…
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I grew up in the South Bronx in the early 1950’s, on 146th Street and Brook Avenue. When we played stickball a sewer was home plate and since cars were usually parked on the street we painted bases in the gutter next to the cars. If the cares were not on 1st and 3rd we had bases painted near the curb. Brook Avenue was center field, so the outfielder not only had to play the field but look out for cars. Any ball hit on the roof of the five story buildings was out and usually time was called until we could send someone up to the roof to retrieve the ball. We used the standard “Spaldeen” (Spalding)that we purchased at the local candy store. We would collect 5 nickels and go to the candy and hold two balls against another at about head height, drop them at the same time and pick the one that bounced the highest and then compare that on with another from the box of balls that the candy store owner had. We would go through the entire box until we buy the one ball the bounced the highest. If the ball went down the sewer we would fashion a wire coat hanger and try to scoop the ball out. Things were easier those days, we made our own fun out of the simplest things.
So, I read the July 1 article…
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So, I read the July 1 article in The NY Times on the joys of streetgames, and was immediately transported back to the Bronx, circa 1958. We used to play a spaldeen game called “Captain.” The essentials included a high, smooth wall (we had one located next to the entrance of the now defunct Salvation Army Training School), cement “boxes,” and of course, the ubiquitious spaldeen (purchased from Moishe’s Candy Store, natch!). One kid would be the “captain” and stand in the first box, one box away from the wall. The rest of us (no specified number…as many kids could play as there were boxes) would form a line alongside the captain, one player per box. A reverse form of “handball” would ensue, with the ball bouncing in the box and THEN hitting the wall. The ball would then bounce into any other box, and the kid owning that space would slap the ball onto the pavement, having it hit the wall, and fall into another player’s box. If the player missed the ball, or hit it out of bounds, he/she would have to go to the end of the line, the rest of the players then moving up one box, closer to the “captain.” The goal, of course, was to get the “captain” OUT, so that you could attain that golden position. Gentler than handball, “Captain” nonetheless promoted similar skills in strategizing, strength (slapping the ball with greater or lesser energy) and dealing with serendipity (not seeing a pebble on the ground could cause your well placed shot to go seriously awry). Most of all, it was great fun. And for the few moments that you were “Captain” a kid from the Bronx learned the basics of power…gained with some skill and effort, and lost because of a lousy pebble.
I LOVE COFFE I LOVE TEA…
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I LOVE COFFE I LOVE TEA I LOVE CHRIS BROWN AND HE LOVES ME I MET MY BOYFRIEND AT THE CANDY STORE HE BOUGHT ME ICE CREAM HE BOUGHT ME CAKE HE BOUGHT ME HOME WITH A BELLYACHE MOMMA MOMMA I FEEL SICK CALL THE DOCTOR QUICK QUICK QUICK DOCTER DOCTER WILL I DIE COUNT TO FIVE AND YOU WILL BE ALLIVE 12345 I’M ALIVE 678910 I’M DEAD AGAIN
Chodesh on Avenue M and…
Spaldeens were the best….
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Spaldeens were the best. Had more zing, didn’t split as easily, and were cheaper. It was a sad day when Irv’s candy store started selling Pensy Pinkies in place of good ‘ol reliable Spaldeens. Sacrilege. Hit a Pensy a good whack and ooop’s, we have two halves. Just don’t roof it. I don’t feel like climbing.
Growing up in Staten Island…
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Growing up in Staten Island in the 60’s we kids would get .25 from our parents every sat to go down to the corner candy store ‘every neighborhood had one’. Once a month, my cousin and I would take turns, one buying a Spaldeen ball and the other buying the candy, so every month we had a new ball to play with. I can remember the firt thing we did withour new ball was to inscribe it with our name so no one could steal it. When the store ran out we would end up with a pnky which was a dissapointment because the smell, feel and bounce were so different. It was something from my childhood that I will never forget. That rubber smell to this day brings back such great memories. I have been trying to find one for my grandson, now I know they are back I can look a little harder. But in the age of tv video games and romote control everything, will the thrill be the same? I doubt it, but I guess to thier generation, we are the olden days and the balls part of our nostalgia.
In Washington Heights (181st…
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In Washington Heights (181st Street)in the late 50’s/early 60’s, you could get both – Spaldeens were harder and cost 25 cents, while the Pennsie Pinky was only 15 cents and a lot softer and smoother. We preferred the Spaldeen for stickball and the Pinkie for punch ball. When they went “dead” and lost their bounce, the game was to “roof” the ball by throwing it onto the roof of a 6 story apartment building. Sid’s candy store on 181st street was the only place in the neighborhood that let you check all of the Spaldeens and Pinkies by giving them the “bounce test” before buying – holding a ball at about chest height and letting it go to see how high up it would bounce. I broke Mrs. Morrison’s living room window with a Spaldeen and hit the super of the building across the street with a Pennsie Pinkie!
Most of the big guys hung…
I said a piece a plum a…
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I said a piece a plum a piece of bubble gum n mo piece no plum no piece of bubble gum I like cofee I like cream I like a color and like me so step back white boy you dont shine ima get black boyfriend to beat your behind last night the night before I met my boyfriend at the candy store he bought me ice cream he bought me cake he bought me home with a stomach ache i said mama mama im so sick call the doctor quick quick quick doctor doctor will I die he said count to 5 and youll be alive 12345 im alive see that house on tom of that hill thats where me and my boyfriend live cook that chicken burn that rice come on baby lets shoot some dice that how me and my cousins do it