“Don’t spit on our new car!”
My brother Allen and I sat on the hood of our brand new car (1953 Chrysler New Yorker—new to us) in the driveway of the house by the football field in Van. Our neighbor friends Lisa and Tracy had come over to see our new car, and apparently had threatened to spit on it, or at least we believed they might. We told them in no uncertain terms what we thought about it. It was Daddy’s new car and they better not spit on it!
I don’t recall if they actually did it or not. Lisa was my age and Tracy was younger than Allen, but we visited their home next door a few times. Their new house, which we never threatened to spit on, had a dining room with a sliding glass door that we thought was just the coolest. It was like having a floor-to-ceiling window that you could step through. Lisa also had a kids’ table and chairs and a Chatty Cathy doll which talked when you pulled the string.
We didn’t own children’s furniture or a talking doll. We didn’t have a sliding glass door. The only thing I remember about the inside of our house was the hardwood floors and the bedroom that Allen and I shared. We did have a toy box with a heavy lid that I think was there when we moved in. I wonder if we ever mashed our fingers with that thing. Probably so.
We didn’t own children’s furniture or a talking doll. We didn’t have a sliding glass door. The only thing I remember about the inside of our house was the hardwood floors and the bedroom that Allen and I shared. We did have a toy box with a heavy lid that I think was there when we moved in. I wonder if we ever mashed our fingers with that thing. Probably so.
The neighbor kids also had a swing set with a slide that we thought was pretty neat. But Mama wouldn’t let us play over there very much. Either she was afraid we would wear out our welcome or we might get hurt. Probably a little of both.
It wasn’t long before we moved again, this time to the other side of town to a place we call the James house. New house, new street, new neighbors. But I would see my friend Lisa again very soon.
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| Left to right: me, baby sister Sharon, Daddy, brother Allen |
Stay tuned. . .I get to start my school journey!
XOXO
XOXO
April Coker, Author 