January 29, 2013
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Yearling
He almost died the other day but they saved him
While he was dying he remembered
A morning in January 1937 and a loud milk truck
Three bottles on the porch for the rich Greeks across the street
Wakes him at five, still dark, corner street light still flickers
Snowed all night, still snowing in the South Bronx.
His father already gone, rides two El’s to Flushing in Queens
Building the mayor’s new airport Laguardia
WPA pick-and-shovel job, thirty dollars a week
First job in almost eight years
Two kids and a wife to support
One severely crippled by polio, no vaccine in those days.
He gets dressed, patched rich Greek hand-me-downs
Long-johns, pants, boots, hooded parka
His mother has hot Wheatina ready
He creates triangles with it and then eats them one-by-one
He goes to the back room, kisses his paralyzed little sister on the cheek
Still sleeping.
He walks through the snow with his net-bag two blocks to the ice-plant
He picks up the big coffee jug in the empty office
Goes to the German bakery next block
Old lady fills the jug and net-bag full of big pastries
Back to the plant, free ice that afternoon.
He walks through the snow, now letting up
To the Wonder Bread, about ten blocks
Two day-old loafs, no preservatives, nickel a loaf for the week
Then another block to Home Relief
Six eggs, day-old bottle of milk, cream on top, no preservatives, all free
Back home to ice-box.
He's not the only one with a net-bag
Lots of kids his age with net bags, boys, girls, some younger, some older
Waiting in the snow at Wonder Bread and Home Relief.
Over to Mr Lempke’s down the street
Blind old man grinds coffee in his cellar, fills his net-bag
Small bags of “Lempke’s Special German Brew” for the bakery
Also the restaurant and grocery across the street
He delivers it all for a quarter, real silver in those days
Eight AM: Meets his pal Vinnie Puccio down the block
Mother and father both dead, lives with his grandmother
Walk to school together, it has stopped snowing
Paulding NYC Public School Number 56
Named for the first principal years ago Mrs Carlson says
Long time ago probably, but he thinks that’s right…
Comments (6)
Stories like this will be lost if not put down like this so others can read them. Thanks for sharing.
@lightnindan - Thank you... Yes, it was a terrible time for our parents but for us kids, it was just a job we had to do... We never knew any different... And not everything was as dark as it seemed to the grow-ups... We had some great times and the adults loved us and never tried to horn in on our pastimes... and in the summer we saw the greatest ball-players of all time perform at Yankee Stadium, the Polo Grounds and Ebbets Field (Yankees, Giants, Dodgers) and except on Sunday, we'd get in free with our PAL cards... A couple of those Depression years, I figure I saw almost a hundred major league games and it never cost me a penny!...
I agree with the above comment. What a treasure of memories to have and share. I knew that this was about you and your family. I am humbled by the way you write and express. Thank you Mr. Manos.
@ZSA_MD - Thank you Dr Z... I envy your wonderful stay in Florida... Here in Maine it has been bitterly cold and we are cocooned in heavy sweaters and long-johns... To top it all, they've cut our heat back in our old-age warehouse and we have to depend on electric heat to keep reasonably warm... Ah, the joys of old age...
I am so sorry to hear that. I hope the weather improves there. Will be thinking of you.
This is a fascinating story. I'm glad you wrote it down and let us see it. My dad wrote his memories of the Depression a few years ago. I posted it on Xanga. Interesting time in US history, and not that long ago. We take prosperity for granted.
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