Sidewalk Story #1

We played Canasta on the sidewalk in front of our house.  It's a fairly complicated game with a gobs of rules: points for specific cards, when to lay down, when to pick up and I specifically remember extra points for Red 3's. It was a draw, play, discard kind of game with two decks of cards and a plastic card holder that was grey and white with black swirls. We played to 5,000 points and kept score on a special pad. (Until writing this I had not realized my math experiences really started at such an early age. In high school I thought I'd become a secondary math teacher. I didn't.)  I always thought it was odd that even though we moved to the country when I was nine and in the third grade, I already had an understanding of numbers. I never really played Canasta after that.  My friend's name was Marilyn.  She lived about a block away.  Sometimes we roller skated together.

In North Platte, we lived on the corner of 5th and Lincoln. The street names were trees and presidents running one direction and numbers the other. I walked along the sidewalks to Washington Elementary School which was on the corner of 3rd and Elm, six blocks away: Lincoln, Grant, Garfield, Oak, Elm,  4th, 3rd. My Uncle Oscar lived on Garfield, where I lived for a while during high school, and one of my friends lived across the street from the school.  Marilyn lived on 6th, about a block from my house. I wonder if we walked together?

I don't remember ever getting a ride to or from school on cold wintery days, or anyone ever walking with me. I went there through most of the third grade, so my younger sister Jane would have walked with me part of the time as she was just two years younger. I don't actually remember us walking together, but I'm sure we must have.  Our car was a 1949 shiney green Cadillac. 

Two small neighborhood grocers were between our house and the school. Mueller's was the name of the one closest to the school. It was a red brick building.  They sold I don't know what, but it seems like I can remember the smell of meat.  They only times I stopped in there was to buy some candy on the way to school.  I have no idea what kind!  

There was also a very small shop, painted a creamy yellow, around the corner past the Nazarene Church. When we went to this little store it was to buy the smallest bottle of pop you ever saw.  It was called Grapette, was unusually fizzy and cost a nickel.  They also sold popsicles. One time during the summer I went there to buy one which I was suppose to share with my sister. I broke it into the two halves, licking on mine and started walking home when an old lady who lived along the block stopped me to talk for a minute. I don't remember why.   As I stood there the other half began to melt so I just kept licking it also.  When I finally got home there wasn't much left for Jane and I got into a lot of trouble, although I don't know what that trouble was!  I do remember the popsicle was rootbeer.

First Draft Summer 2010.  First Revision May 2020