Cruising down
the big alley
on my red
no gears bike
gliding up
the little alley slope
the thrill really does entice
Good Humor man
bells ringing and a welcome sight
bearing sandwiches of vanilla ice cream
fitted with chocolate cake slabs on both sides
cold in your hand
Creamsicles
and cherry and orange popsicles
in paper sleeves
Please and thank you sir
paid with coins from a small
change purse with a metal clasp
filled with
nickels and dimes
a week's worth
hopefully it will last
the foreign bread man
selling pumpernickel and
rye out of the back of his truck
you never knew which day
he would pull up
to your curb
it would just be a matter of pure luck
It was always fun to buy from him
a gentle Friar Tuck.
There was a tinker
who sharpened knives
and straightened out the dents
in well used pots and pans
The Milkman every morning
climbing up the back porch steps
bearing chocolate milk and cottage cheese
in hand
placed in a metal chest
he'd knock on the door now and then
to get the next morning's order request
returning
bottles that once were sealed with a
round thick paper or an aluminum foil Sealtest top
and Van the postman
collecting pennies to complete
the postage fare from Rochester, New York
all tradesmen were tipped at Christmas time
and smiles were everywhere
orange leaves
and the scent of fire wood
in the autumn air
The Flannigans
always hospitable
as was Mrs Hildebrand
Ethel Morgan sat on
her porch in the afternoons
drinking Bourbon wrapped
in brown paper bags
delivered by Tenley Liquors
ready to lend her a hand
In later years she would say that
I looked like
Tom Jones
and offered tasty treats
she would call and daily ask
on the telephone Emerson 2 5772
'Louie, is your Momma home?'
year 'round hijinx
in the neighborhood
address 41sr street
16 then now 20016
anno 1956