Coffee Break # 15 - Where were you??

I remember staring at our black and white set, being all anxious because I really couldn't make out much and afraid I'd miss it (and my lttle brother babbling about some unimportant nonsense), when I finally saw that little foot come down the ladder! Whew! And I don't care what the "enhanced" recording of Neil Armstrong says, he certainly didn't say one small step for "a" man. I seem to remember he admitted he flubbed it. Anyway, it was wonderful. I can't BELIEVE we haven't gone back in all those decades. But, 13 people are on the space station, so that's something!

Yes, Neil messed up the line.

We had a real NY experience yesterday - our 24th annual stickball game on my old block. The old guys vs. the older guys! Hard to say young now when the youngest young guy is 40. Anyway, the older guys jumped out to a 10-0 lead, but we came back and won 18-16. One major casualty - my friend blew out his achilles.

Ahhh The weekend warrior. We do break easier. My cousin's husband (who we were visiting) has taken hockey back up. He plays at Chelsea Pier. Middle-aged guys and hockey must be good for some Dr.'s bills.
Hope your friend heals well. I was thinking about you & your stickball reunions while I was there. Amazing that you were playing. And we were practically next door!

Yes we were. It was a fantastic weather day! Thanks for the healing wishes.

I'm a Bronx girl!
YAY!
The only borough attached to the mainland!

Knew that I liked you Nancy!

I hear you have a baseball team there.

Did somebody say "The Bronx" ? The only borough with "The" in front of it making it "The Best Borough"? Huh,Huh?, although its usually pronounced "da Bronx'.

Anyone for a game of skellsies? sp


Edited for spelling. I never had to write that word before:-)

This message was edited Jul 19, 2009 10:25 PM

I don't know skellsies. What do you folks call the ball used for stickball? A Spaldino or something?

We called Skellsies, "Skelly".
The ball, Spaldeen... we called it "Spaldini" (pronounced 'spall-dee-nee')
We called Hopscotch "Potsy".

I moved from The Bronx to Yonkers in 1976. If anyone askes where I'm from, I ALWAY say, "I'm originally from The Bronx but I now live in Yonkers."
Notice.. "The" ... I always capilatize it.
The Bronx!

Nancy

We did not play skelsies in our neighborhood, but I knew about it. We always used a 'Spaldeen' when I was a kid. Now we use the blue (paddleball) rubber balls. Spalding did bring back their old rubber balls, but they were nothing like the old ones. They broke easily and 'egged' all the time.

I was shocked to learn that a woman who grew up around the corner from me passed away a few months ago from cancer. She was only in her early 40's. Five people from the old neighborhood died since last year. Two young people and three older ones. It's a bummer to see that. Part of life, but not a pleasant one.

'I'll gladly pay you on Tuesday for a hamburger today' Oops we forgot Popeye.

Did anyone watch the 'Wizard of Oz' yesterday? I watched it twice ^_^

I'm sorry Victor; there is nothing so disturbing and brings such melancholy as when those you grew up with - young or old - pass.

Thanks, Dea.

Yes Victor, so sorry to hear that news.

Thanks, Deb. She was a nice girl and very good-looking when we were young. My friend went out with her for a while. Don't know if she was married and had kids.

Sorry Victor. When folks from the old neighborhood pass, it feels like part of your childhood and family is gone.

I am going to my 40th high school reunion on Friday up in Red Bank and I am sure I will be shocked at who has passed away. Hopefully the weather will be nice, cuz it'll be on the beach in Sea Bright. They will have a tent, though.

Thanks, Joyce. That's very true.

Yeah Victor, sorry for your losses. Is this random or an environmental carcinogen?

Thanks, Dave. Probably random. The other young person - a 52 year old guy who passed last year, died from a hear attack.

Guess I kinda took a leap there. Thought they all had cancer.

I still don't know what skelsies are/is.

I didn't know either!

http://www.streetplay.com/skully/

Thanks for that link!
Talk about bringing back memories!
Our "board" was drawn in chalk.
We used soda caps. That was w-a-a-a-ay before twist off caps!

Okay - here are some more games we played. Ringalario (some call it ringaleevio), catch-one-catch-all, giant step, red light / green light, stoopball, punchball, ace/king/queen, boxball, British Bulldog, Red Rover, tv tag, freeze tag. I'll think of more.

dodgeball!!

Yes. And dodge-frisbee! We also played a game on the stoop called points.

Thanks for the link! That took me way back!

Victor, great list! They say us inner city kids were deprived...I DON'T think so, LOL.

I think your "catch one catch all" is what we called round up tag. When someone was tagged they became a tagger and you never knew who was who, so you had to stay out of the way of everyone in the game. We played this in a 4 block radius and it could last all day.

My favorite was handball. I could hit a killer ball on command! (Serena didnt have nothing on me, Ha!) It spoiled me later when I took tennis lessons. I didn't like using a racquet. Less control. But I wound up substituting it with racquetball , cause once you leave New York, it is hard as hell to find a handball court or someone to play it with.

Of course we used a Spalding (the company that made them). We pronounced it "Spaldeen" or, a pinky ball. (I've been thinking for a long time of having a small handball wall built against my shed :-)

www.pbase.com/jchiarella/image/81556880

Our skelsies board was drawn in chalk too. That website is right. Making the right cap was as important as skill in the game. We used wax in an orange juice cap. It was metal and just the right size and weight. Thats when juice came in glass bottles. The "tropicana" was the best cap.

We had neighborhood champs. On our block it was Gary Letley. He was also the cutest guy around and good at just about everything. Boy, I did Iove me some Gary! Talk about puppy love. But he was dating my best friend and that was a line you did not cross! Be still my unrequited heart :-)

Off to pull out my photo album......

I wonder what my neighbors would say to me having one of these in my backyard....

http://www.adaptiveactions.net/uploadedfiles/images/fullsize/projects_92_Onewall_Handball2.jpg

Edited to say: you could of course play it on any wall, thats the beauty of the game. Like Al Pacino in the movie "Frankie and Johnny".

This message was edited Jul 21, 2009 1:59 AM

Here is the pic. That link above appears broken.....

I am usually up at 4AM and soon as it is light I go walk my garden to see whats blooming. I got a new neighbor whose backyard faces my yard. I noticed most mornings, that he would be sitting out on the brick steps on the back entrance to his house, drinking coffee and just thinking, I guess.

One day I drove by his house and noticed some workmen on his place and I stopped to chat. He said they were building a little balcony off one of his upper bedrooms. It was to be just big enough for a little table and chair, somewhere to just sit outdoors and enjoy the view.
n
I thought that was so cool! How neat will that be! I said to him, "That is great! Now you don't have to have your coffee on the stoop!" He looked at me with a very puzzled expression and just turned around and walked away. To this day I don't know what he thought I meant. I don't think he knows what a stoop is.

My husband plays handball, both 4 wall, and sometimes 1 wall. There is a group of guys that play here.

stoop 2 (stp)
n. Chiefly Northeastern U.S.
A small porch, platform, or staircase leading to the entrance of a house or building.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Dutch stoep, front verandah, from Middle Dutch.]

Regional Note: Originally brought to the Hudson Valley of New York by settlers from the Netherlands, a few items of Dutch vocabulary have survived there from colonial times until the present. Stoop, "a small porch," comes from Dutch "stoep"; this word is now in general use in the Northeast and is probably spreading. The word "olicook", which appears to be dying out, means "doughnut," and comes from Dutch "oliekoek" literally, "oil cake." And the Dutch word "kill" for a small running stream is used throughout New York State.

Debilu- How cool is that! Ask him what his killer ball record is for one wall :-)

ok!
There are some 1 wall courts in Florida that he will even go to while we are on vacation and see if he can get in a game. It's been awhile since we have been there though.

That makes sense. Lots of retired New Yorkers in Florida.

Victor we played quite a few of those games growing up .... we changed hide and seek to manhunt when we got older... and it was played at dusk

OOOOOOH, I'm tellllllllling :-)

only till the street lights came on

;)