When I was a baby, I was wrapped up warmly, put in my carriage, and put outside for some fresh air . Sometimes snow would be falling, so guess I could be considered a 'Snow Baby' .
This was what Grammy told me about many times . Funny, how now, I can't stand the cold !
I've already mentioned how Grandpa would take my brother and I in the sled and walk places, to the park, for one, I think, and probably other places where he could sit and enjoy his pipe and maybe a newspaper .
When I was a little older on Maywood St. , there was a field that was called 'the tannery' across the street and downaways ( think I just coined a new word ), for which I never thought to ask why it was called that. Perhaps there used to be a place for tanning the cowhides many years before my time . Actually, maybe it wasn't used for that purpose, because I don't think there were many (haha) cowboys in Boston !!
Anyway, during the winter, when there was enough snow up on the hill there, we would slide down it on cardboard boxes, or sometimes, Paul would take me on his sled, and down we'd go, so fast !! I liked his sled, because it went so much faster than the cardboard, which would catch and stop, until we could move it to a different spot and go again !
There were lots of icicles hanging from everywhere, and we would grab the thinner ones, those that we could reach, anyway, then put them in our mouths to suck, or bite off pieces to chew.
The houses looked so neat with all those icicles hanging down, some thin and some really wide and super thick !! We didn't even try to get those ones !
So, we ate ice all year round !
When we had to go to school, even in a snowstorm, if it wasn't severe enough to close the schools, sometimes it would be snowing and blowing in our faces, causing us to shut our eyes often , or, if it was a light snow, we might open our mouths to catch the snowflakes . Loved doing that...great fun !
The snow would have to be cleared from the streets, and pushed to the side, so sometimes the snowbanks got really high . When they were a little lower, my girlfriend, Fay and I would walk on top of them, or try to, because if the snow hadn't packed down hard yet, and gotten a crust of ice on top, we would be walking, and suddenly one or both legs would sink down in the snow, sometimes all the way up to our fannies !! We wore dresses, remember, and those ugly brown full-length stockings, and sometimes a pair of knee-socks over those, and we got really wet and cold, cold, cold !! Don't know about Fay, but I got scolded when I came home soaking wet ! Then I had to strip off the wet clothes and put on dry ones . I think I was punished with having to stay indoors for the rest of the day . Bummer, 'cause I wanted to go out and play with Fay, if her Mom would let her come over to my house, or just with the neighbor kids .
We used to walk home for lunch, and Mamma would have either one of Campbell's soups, or Franco-American spaghetti or ravioli waiting for me. There weren't so many soups to choose from back then, so I had either vegetable, tomato, chicken noodle or Scotch broth. I really liked all of those. When I would arrive home for my lunch, Mamma would have our table radio, either an Emerson, or maybe a Philco brand, and she would be listening to some soap operas. They only ran for 15 minutes in those days. I would listen along with her while I ate lunch. some of them had titles like, 'Mary Noble: Backstage Wife, Portia Faces Life, Stella Dallas , Lum n' Abner, Aunt something...lots of them. Must be why I started watching them on TV as an adult .
Anyway, lots of winter enjoyment for us kids back then .
I hope you like reading about all the things we kids did to amuse ourselves, and it didn't cost
our parents anything, or very, very little ! We had fun, fun, fun without having all the electronic gadgets that kids have today, and sometimes don't even appreciate . We had next to nothing, and really loved what we did have . We were so lucky to live in those times !
Until next installment, if any of you are really young who are reading this, stop and think of the sacrifices your parents have had to make to keep you supplied with the latest gadgets, designer clothing and shoes, etc. and learn to appreciate what you have .
More later.
D
I remember the icicle story! I guess I didn't know, or remember, about the cardboard. Maybe I shouldn't have been afraid to tell you when us kids would climb to the top of the hills after the grass would turn golden and slide all the way down on cardboard! The California version of a sled!!
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