Preschool Memories- Our Neighborhood
When you are just a kid your Neighborhood is kind of limited... Modes of transportation are your feet and your tricycle/bicycle.
When I was four, Momma would walk with me to "The Park" ; it was two blocks south and had several Swings, two Sliding Boards ( Kiddie and Super), a Teeter Totter, and a Merry-go-round.
The big thrill was the "Super" sliding board. You had to climb at least 15 steps to get to the top.
Momma would bring along some Wax Paper that you could sit on to go extra fast. I think she was encouraging me to go faster because she always got a kick out of how fast I went.
There was a lady who ran a Nursery school in her home over by the park. I went there for a while. She was a Nice lady but I would avoid getting hugged by her; I did not like the way she smelled... Too Much Perfume. I did learn to sing Frere' Jacques at her school.
There was a limited sidewalk in front of our house; it only went one house to the West and Three lots to the East. There was a house then a vacant lot then the 'Two Story House". And then there was a long space of about two vacant lots before you got to another strech of sidewalk.
This meant that you could only ride your tricycle/bicycle about half a block ( five lots) until you ran out of Sidewalk. This Limited sidewalk space was Critical to achieving High Speed and still Stopping in time.
My friend Billy and I would race our vehicles down the sidewalk until we ran off the end at the Vacant lot. There we would crash and compare notes about how fast we went. We decided one day to build a pseudo sidewalk across the two vacant lots out of old Cardboard Boxes. We gave up because a cardboard Box would only strech about 6 feet. It would have taken more than 20 boxes to span two vacant lots.
Then we tried to build a Ramp at the end of the sidewalk which would allow us to Leap through the Air. We gave that up when we could only leap about eight inches. We crashed a lot doing that. Nevertheless, we were on to something.... High Speed Tricycle/ Bicycle leaping... We were not even in First Grade.
Daddy had to go to work so he didn't get to do all this stuff with me.
The Other place to go was the J&M General Store. Momma would take me there to buy groceries. It was two blocks East and two North at Milton and College St. The store had very rich odors of livestock feed, freshly slaughtered meat and Oxydol soap. You could buy Ice in 20 Lb Blocks for your Ice Box.
It was also a place with a great candy case. I was partial to Licorice and Jaw Breakers. On a hot day I also favored Grapette or Orange Crush... Momma usually got a 6 oz Coke in the bottle, sometimes she got me a Dr Pepper and explained the benefits of drinking it at 10 , 2, and 4. Fritos had just been invented.. They came in a sealed wax paper bag.... I always liked them more than the soggy Dentler potato chips.
My favorite place was the Fire Station. It was a slight detour on the way home... just one more block East and two blocks South from the General store on University and Auden. I would beg Momma to take me there... I would ask the fireman if I could climb up in the cab and steer the fire engine. He was kind enough to let me but always nervous about me hurting myself.
That was pretty much the my range of my Neighborhood until I got to School.
Google Local - 4144 University Blvd,Houston,Tx 77005
When I was four, Momma would walk with me to "The Park" ; it was two blocks south and had several Swings, two Sliding Boards ( Kiddie and Super), a Teeter Totter, and a Merry-go-round.
The big thrill was the "Super" sliding board. You had to climb at least 15 steps to get to the top.
Momma would bring along some Wax Paper that you could sit on to go extra fast. I think she was encouraging me to go faster because she always got a kick out of how fast I went.
There was a lady who ran a Nursery school in her home over by the park. I went there for a while. She was a Nice lady but I would avoid getting hugged by her; I did not like the way she smelled... Too Much Perfume. I did learn to sing Frere' Jacques at her school.
There was a limited sidewalk in front of our house; it only went one house to the West and Three lots to the East. There was a house then a vacant lot then the 'Two Story House". And then there was a long space of about two vacant lots before you got to another strech of sidewalk.
This meant that you could only ride your tricycle/bicycle about half a block ( five lots) until you ran out of Sidewalk. This Limited sidewalk space was Critical to achieving High Speed and still Stopping in time.
My friend Billy and I would race our vehicles down the sidewalk until we ran off the end at the Vacant lot. There we would crash and compare notes about how fast we went. We decided one day to build a pseudo sidewalk across the two vacant lots out of old Cardboard Boxes. We gave up because a cardboard Box would only strech about 6 feet. It would have taken more than 20 boxes to span two vacant lots.
Then we tried to build a Ramp at the end of the sidewalk which would allow us to Leap through the Air. We gave that up when we could only leap about eight inches. We crashed a lot doing that. Nevertheless, we were on to something.... High Speed Tricycle/ Bicycle leaping... We were not even in First Grade.
Daddy had to go to work so he didn't get to do all this stuff with me.
The Other place to go was the J&M General Store. Momma would take me there to buy groceries. It was two blocks East and two North at Milton and College St. The store had very rich odors of livestock feed, freshly slaughtered meat and Oxydol soap. You could buy Ice in 20 Lb Blocks for your Ice Box.
It was also a place with a great candy case. I was partial to Licorice and Jaw Breakers. On a hot day I also favored Grapette or Orange Crush... Momma usually got a 6 oz Coke in the bottle, sometimes she got me a Dr Pepper and explained the benefits of drinking it at 10 , 2, and 4. Fritos had just been invented.. They came in a sealed wax paper bag.... I always liked them more than the soggy Dentler potato chips.
My favorite place was the Fire Station. It was a slight detour on the way home... just one more block East and two blocks South from the General store on University and Auden. I would beg Momma to take me there... I would ask the fireman if I could climb up in the cab and steer the fire engine. He was kind enough to let me but always nervous about me hurting myself.
That was pretty much the my range of my Neighborhood until I got to School.
Google Local - 4144 University Blvd,Houston,Tx 77005
posted by Edwin Herndon at 8:02 PM
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