Richie the Drummer

I thought Richie Walasin was a cool kid. He never tried to be cool, which was part of his coolness. And anybody who saw his epic Drum Battle with Ricky Brady at that high school assembly will remember that Richie could play the drums. I sat next to him in Mr. G’s chemistry class one […]

Stupid But Lucky in Chem Lab

I had one of my most stupid but lucky moments in Mr. G’s chemistry lab. I was doing a “real thing”, a chem lab procedure, pouring hydrochloric acid into a large Ehrlenmeyer flask, then dropping in some metal, I think it was tin. The reaction produced pure hydrogen gas, which came out a glass nozzle […]

1066

Part 1: One of our great history teachers – was it Mr. Haffner? – said he wasn’t going to make us remember a lot dates, but there was one that we HAD to remember. It was 1066, and he told us why it such a critical date in the history of western culture. Part 2: […]

The Farm Kid

I just heard that a member of one the great old Mahopac farm families just passed away, which brought to mind an aspect of my childhood that always makes me wince. There was a “farm kid” in our class, a real farm kid, who had to milk the cows before school, and who had muddy […]

The Hula Hoop Girl

I think it was 6th grade when the hula hoop craze hit, full force. I could twirl one around my arm or hand, but never could do it around my waist. There was a girl who was the master: she could keep the hoop going forever around her waist, but with just the slightest movement […]

Down on the Tracks

One day, after school, Artie and Jerry and I went down to Pressman’s drug store with a plan. I think this was 4th grade. We stole a package of Cigarillos and went over to the railroad tracks by Route 6 to smoke them. I had never smoked before and I was elected to try them […]

The Wheelchair Girl

The bus used to rattle its way up to the top of the hill on Austin Road where Nate the driver would park it by the roadside and set the handbrake. Then he would get out of his seat and retrieve a shiny wheelchair that was folded behind him. He would carry the chair down […]

That Too Smart Girl

A very distinct and faintly disturbing memory from the school bus ride: A bunch of older girls are crowded in front a little girl, maybe second grade. They are fascinated with how this little girl can spell long, difficult words. I watch this from the side.  They give her “dictionary” and she spells it without […]

99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall

In the early days, there was one bus that took kids of every age to school, so 2nd graders rode with high school seniors To a 2nd grader, even a 5th grader seems pretty grown up, but a senior is like a god. Many times the big kids would sing and us little kids would […]

A Little Jewish Boy

Picture a little boy, first grade. It is the last day of school before Christmas vacation. All the kids in the grade school are trundled into the hallway for a Christmas carol sing. This little boy was raised by parents who had long since given up on any vestiges of their religion: they were the […]