My Brooklyn

Readers Report


Uncle Al Schwartz

GLENMORE 1-1714

I was born in 1952 at 5431 Kings Highway, near where Kings Highway and Avenue D cross, when the greatest night hazard was walking into a hugely thick maple tree. Across the street slumped a house purported to date from Colonial times. As the 50s wound down P.S. 208 up the avenue hosted a desperate National Defense Intellectually Gifted Children program in counterpoint to Sputnik. Helen LaPlace taught first and second grade to the second strangest child (my fellow student and tutor Robert DeGrande holding trump) ever to fit his bottom into desks still with brass inkwells and bolted to worn floors. I skipped third grade, then THEY had me.

13 years later the Buckley Amendment opened public school records. I read my teachers' evaluations with growing delight. They summed to fear decorated with revulsion, though I and my kind were priceless assets whenever a standardized test demanded mutant smart hostages. I cede homage to Mrs. LaPlace, Hazel Sanjour (English; who opened my eyes with language. She was important to me), and Murray Zwerling (Chemistry; I've got a PhD in it). As for the rest, especially Mrs. Johnson, I relish Hell pinning its thermostat in honor of your arrival.

I was waiting with my bus pass outside Meyer Levin Junior High School when I heard of John Kennedy's assassination. I lost half my senior year at Tilden to Albert Shanker's teachers' strike. Lou the barber cut my hair. I rode the IRT back to Flatbush. I fled Brooklyn for Michigan State University, and the plane's tires lifting from La Guardia concrete was the happiest moment of my life until then. There was no pronounced "r" in my surname until I was 25.

Brooklyn was a curious beginning. In times of crisis I have reached deep into the Abyss to find strength in my origin. It is a ferocious ruinous weapon, and I cherish its possession.

7 June 1999
Copyright © 1999 Alan M. Schwartz
http://www.mazepath.com/uncleal/


Kathy Aldrich Wright

St.Catherines of Genoa School in the early 60s. Lived at 4805 Beverly Rd. Miss Cristi, Sister Anna St.james, Mrs. Sylvander. Playing punchball and cooling off in the summer by open fire hydrants. Ice skating at Tilden park. Ringa-levio with Nickolas, Sally and Susan Morello. Devil Dogs, Ring Dings, Yodels. Good Humor dixie cups. Only lived in my wonderful Brooklyn for 10 yrs. But they were the best years of my life. Moved to Lynbrook, Long Island in '67. Went to visit my Brooklyn in '76 and found that everyone I knew had left. Where did you all go?

8 June 1999


Readers' reports continue . . .

[ Jump to My Brooklyn, page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368]


subway tokenReturn to Brooklyn Home Page.

Copyright © 1995-2010 David Neal Miller. All rights reserved. For clarification and limited exceptions, see the Brooklyn Net copyright page. Last updated: December 26, 2010