Little Wee Me

The photo in the header is a recent discovery from an old dusty box in the crawlspace. I can't believe I used to wear belly shirts! The photo is from 1958 when I was about 2 1/2 years old. I'm eating a dixie cup of Hood ice cream and it is summer (obviously) probably at Lake Hopatcong, NJ or Camp Ideal, Staten Island. We lived in NYC and frequented either location for the summers. When we got older, my sisters, cousins and I would spend our summers in Long Beach, NY.

We had loads of fun in Long Beach. There is nothing that compares to living by the sea. I can still hear the waves from my bedroom window in our tiny bungalow. During a nostalgic trip back to Long Beach I was shocked to see how tiny the bungalows really are! It was hard to believe 6 adults (mom, dad, aunt, uncle, grandmother, grandfather) and 6 children (me, two sisters, three cousins) and a dog all fit in the bungalow. We were there from Memorial Day through Labor Day and it was a glorious time of fun in the sun. I barely remember a cloudy day, though I dare say we had them. I remember first becoming enamored with boys while summering in Long Beach. Oh, what a crush I had on Kevin M our back door neighbor. I first played spin the bottle in Long Beach. I was about 12 years old. I learned to kiss boys under the boardwalk (yes, it was Kevin M. my moondoggie!).

The summer of 1966 was a time of growing awareness for me. I was still a child but was sensing the differences between boys and girls. A few families with girls from Fordham U. were vacationing on our block and they all had boyfriends. My sisters and cousins and I would 'play' with them during the day on the beach. They would watch us and babysit us occasionally. We had a wonderful time with them and on the weekends their boyfriends would come visit. They'd have bonfires on the beach and listen to their transistor radios and dance and smoke cigarettes and flirt and we would just LOVE being around them. I don't remember any of them ever giving us the bum's rush. They were always nice. Even their boyfriends were nice to us, buying us snowcones or playing in the waves with us on their shoulders. Everyone watched out for everyone else and it was safe and fun and how I wish I could go back to those summer days.

Alas, it is winter now. Snow on the ground, frozen solid. The wind is wickedly cold. My bones are beginning to ache in the cold. But I think I will just make another cuppa and remember the summers of Long Beach and the really cool girls from Fordham.