When I was growing up my parents had a housekeeper named Odessa. She was a tall and stately-looking Black woman, and I adored her. In the mornings before my mother left for work Odessa arrived, made sure I finished my breakfast, and walked me the few blocks to school. And at 3:00 she’d be there to walk me home, and I’ll regale her with all that happened in school that day. Our Bronx house had three stories – my father’s medical office was on the first floor, and...
I’ve written before about 2026 McGraw Avenue, the house in the Bronx where I grew up, and in my mind’s eye I can still see every room, nook and cranny. (See Parkchester, Celebrate Me Home, Fluffy, or How I Got My Dog, Mr Bucco and the Ginger Cat , and 2026 McGraw) And now I even think wistfully about the basement. Our basement had no TV or “entertainment center”, no wet-bar, and no fancy exercise equipment. In those days if you wanted exercise you took a walk...
When I was growing up we lived on a shady street in the Bronx. Several doctors and dentists had offices on our block and my dad was one of them. He was a GP who practiced on the ground floor of our three-story house and we lived on the two upper floors “over the store”. (See Fluffy, or How I Got My Dog and The Corpse in the Office) For many years a dentist named Ben rented space in my dad’s office. Ben was a wonderfully kind and gentle man and he and his wife Eleanor became my...
One wintry afternoon feeling chilled I stopped at an Upper West Side cafe. I asked for a cup of tea and drinking it I overheard an attractive older woman at the next table tell the waiter someone was meeting her. She was looking toward the door when a handsome gray-haired man entered, glanced around the room, and approached her table. She rose and there in the middle of that small cafe they embraced and kissed, and for those brief moments seemed oblivious to all around them. Then...
I seldom saw my parents feuding, but there was one thorny issue they couldn’t agree on. When my mother retired after years of teaching she wanted my father to retire as well so like many of their retired friends they could travel freely. They had traveled a bit over the years – across country, to Mexico and Canada, to much of Europe, and to Israel – but not to Africa or Asia or Australia, and my mother wanted to see all those places. She wasn’t hoping for a...
Welcome to my blog World Thru Brown Eyes! Enjoy the read and please leave a comment and tell me how this old world looks thru YOUR eyes!
