The best time of my life that went unfinished took place in a small neighborhood called Norwood Park. Everyone knew everyone and we communicated freely.
It was a wonderful place to grow up in in the 1970’s, especially in the summer. We would roam the neighborhood with only the fear of looking before crossing the road. I was always outside with one of my friends who lived nearby. We could hear the cracking of the bats and calls of the umpire from the baseball diamond that was located almost next to our house. The jingle of the ice cream man’s truck would make all the kids on our street go crazy, running inside to get money from our parents before we missed him. We didn‘t have a swimming pool, so we would jump back and forth through the sprinkler. I would ride my bike with my friends up to the small neighborhood market to get candy. This was often paired with soda from the soda machine outside. Hippies always hung out in that area, sitting on a brick wall that stood erect between the store and Norwood Tap. One stuck out to me since he had long orange hair. They would often wave as they drank from cans of something I couldn‘t see. These same hippies hung out at the baseball diamond during some of the games, relaxing in the bed of a truck, drinking and talking. Me and my friends walked up to the concession stand for candy so, like the orange headed kid and his buddies, we weren‘t there for the game.
The turning of the leaves and cool chill in the air brought on events at our Village Hall. We would stop for hot cocoa and donuts after a night of trick or treating to warm up. Everyone we knew was there, either volunteering to serve or in costume enjoying the festivities. Christmas brought Santa Claus to the Norwood Village Hall. My parents would take me to sit on his lap and I would get a candy cane. I remember clamming up around him and since half the neighborhood was there and there was so much talking going on around me, It was very overwhelming. It felt as I was being watched so I didn‘t want to tell Santa what I wanted.
It is a place that I hold close to my heart. This was the best time of my childhood and sometimes I drive through the neighborhood today. It pains me now to see the absence of the grocery store and baseball diamond. Nothing goes on today like it did in the 1970’s. The town seems dead, but the feeling is still there.
My parents moved us in the early 1980’s and I had to say goodbye to Norwood and my childhood friends. However, I did not say goodbye in my heart. How I would love to go back and relive that time when life gets rough.
It was a wonderful place to grow up in in the 1970’s, especially in the summer. We would roam the neighborhood with only the fear of looking before crossing the road. I was always outside with one of my friends who lived nearby. We could hear the cracking of the bats and calls of the umpire from the baseball diamond that was located almost next to our house. The jingle of the ice cream man’s truck would make all the kids on our street go crazy, running inside to get money from our parents before we missed him. We didn‘t have a swimming pool, so we would jump back and forth through the sprinkler. I would ride my bike with my friends up to the small neighborhood market to get candy. This was often paired with soda from the soda machine outside. Hippies always hung out in that area, sitting on a brick wall that stood erect between the store and Norwood Tap. One stuck out to me since he had long orange hair. They would often wave as they drank from cans of something I couldn‘t see. These same hippies hung out at the baseball diamond during some of the games, relaxing in the bed of a truck, drinking and talking. Me and my friends walked up to the concession stand for candy so, like the orange headed kid and his buddies, we weren‘t there for the game.
The turning of the leaves and cool chill in the air brought on events at our Village Hall. We would stop for hot cocoa and donuts after a night of trick or treating to warm up. Everyone we knew was there, either volunteering to serve or in costume enjoying the festivities. Christmas brought Santa Claus to the Norwood Village Hall. My parents would take me to sit on his lap and I would get a candy cane. I remember clamming up around him and since half the neighborhood was there and there was so much talking going on around me, It was very overwhelming. It felt as I was being watched so I didn‘t want to tell Santa what I wanted.
It is a place that I hold close to my heart. This was the best time of my childhood and sometimes I drive through the neighborhood today. It pains me now to see the absence of the grocery store and baseball diamond. Nothing goes on today like it did in the 1970’s. The town seems dead, but the feeling is still there.
My parents moved us in the early 1980’s and I had to say goodbye to Norwood and my childhood friends. However, I did not say goodbye in my heart. How I would love to go back and relive that time when life gets rough.