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Flinging open the door of my house, I rushed into the
kitchen, finding my mother busy preparing lunch. I breathlessly told her about our idea of having a picnic in the
park and she bought it without any questions. I told her that Tevie, Lobo, Putzie and Norman were my picnic companions
and they were bringing sandwiches, and I wanted to bring them too. Momma sliced four thick slabs of seeded rye
bread and heavily spread butter on them. She made two jumbo sandwiches filling them with a "feinkuchen,"
(omelet.) She put them in a brown paper bag and handing it to me she said, "Don't go too far in the park."
There were four of us waiting by the bench for Norman. He was late. We were eager to get going and as time went
by I volunteered to go to his home to find out when he was coming. I ran up the double set of steps of the courtyard
of Norman's building, (the only building on the block with a courtyard,) and standing under his kitchen window
I shouted up to him. His head popped out of the kitchen window, as if he had been waiting for me. He had a big
bulge in his cheek and he was chewing slowly. In his right hand he was holding a banana and mustard sandwich. He
told me to come up. I did.
He was waiting for me by his open apartment door and motioned for me to come in. We stood in the all of his apartment
and he whispered to me, "You don't know what happened. Somehow my mother guessed we were going to the airport
and now I have to stay home. What lousy luck."
She called from the kitchen, asking us to come in. When I walked in she bent down and gently pinched my cheek,
saying, "I love your rosy cheeks and your freckles, Itchy." She offered to make me a banana and mustard
sandwich as she had for Norman; I backed up a bit and politely refused.
Norman supported his mother saying, "My mother is right. It's no good to go past the Indian Lake. If you ask
me, you don't know what's on the other side." I mumbled, "It ain't so far," and ran out of the apartment.
When I came out into the courtyard and was skipping down the upper set of steps Norman shouted behind me, "You
can't miss it. It's just on the other side of the Indian Lake."
The four of us entered the park, heading in the direction of Indian Lake and hopefully, the airport, on the other
side. The park is about a mile wide and we were no more than half way across when we were attracted by the cheering
noises of a large crowd coming from the city stadium. Putzie suggested that we detour there because "They
have baseball games with uniforms and even umpires, guys in black suits." Putzie was the best athlete on the
block and his recommendation was quickly accepted. He led the way, running quickly and easily, with Lobo right
behind him. Tevie and I were struggling to keep up.
There was a baseball game in progress and the players wore uniforms; this was the first time I had ever seen uniformed
play. There were two men dressed in black suits, wearing small, black, peaked caps, and I easily identified them
as the umpires. The contest was between two semi-professional teams, one from a west side neighborhood of the Bronx
and the other from our east side. (The west side of the Bronx was the "rich" side and the East side was
the "poor" side. Of course we immediately picked sides and lustily cheered the "East Bronxers."
For more, visit the Author's Web Site: Short Stories From a Long Life
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