Baby Boomer Memories

I am vintage 1947. I grew up in Flushing, Queens. We lived in an apartment building on Kissena Blvd. I attended PS 20 and Jr. High 189. In sixth grade (1959), I remember seeing several Cuban soldiers escorting Fidel Castro's son Fidelito so that he could attend PS 20.

I was in a glee club. My club and two others were invited to sing in a Kiwana's club competition. We sang "Stout Hearted Men" and "All Through The Night." To my surprise, we won.

There were several parks nearby. I learned to play handball with a pink Spaldene. I was happy to place third in a park tournament.

In the summer we went to Jones beach every Saturday. I remember the big waves, strong pull of the undertow, catching sand crabs and vanilla ice cream. My folks would get deep tans while I covered up. Years later, their skin showed the price they paid.

When I was four years old I visited my grandparents who were dairy farmers in The Pocanos. They taught me how to milk a cow. They loved to watch TV shows- "I Love Lucy," "Sergeant Bilko," "Life of Riley" and wrestling were their favorites. I learned farming is tough and my grandparents had to supplement their income by trapping in the winter and working at a camp in summer.

My parents owned three Oldsmobiles- an '88, a '98 and a Cutlass; I learned to drive on the latter.

We had spaghetti once a week. To this day, I never get tired of it.

I loved horror movies-like "Creature From The Black Lagoon" and "The Unearthly," which creeped me out for years.

The songs were innocent- my mother liked to sing "Red Sails In The Sunset." I liked "Walking My Baby Back Home."

My friends and I bowled at an alley on Main Street, Flushing. I bowled a 31 my first game (which included 1 strike and lots of gutter balls). Over the years, I improved (high game 238 with 8 strikes and no open frames).

PS 20 took us on field trips to the UN and Teddy Roosevelt's House in Oyster Bay, Long Island. We had a Maypole dance outside Sagamore Hill. My partner was the prettiest girl in my class and wore a sapphire blue dress that I can still see-she was radiant and was my first love.