Category Archives: Childhood

1. No School. As oft mentioned in these pages, I hated all forms of school (except gym).  It began with Grade Four, and my dislike continued unabated.  It could have rained every day in July; but no school?  There was … Continue reading →

I pressed my nose and hands to the glass, unconcerned by the finger prints and nose shmears left behind.  Yes.  It was good to be a kid on Alston Avenue in the Winston household where a smudge here or there … Continue reading →

There are those days, those times, when we need a private space. Some place that provides us with a sense of security. The place could be mental or physical. Even for a young prince of the household… which I certainly … Continue reading →

I think about this day from time to time.  It’s easy to remember specific details on two accounts. First, it was the night of my Brother Paul and Janet’s engagement party.  The festivities took place at chez DeLaurentis and featured a … Continue reading →

Mom told me, “They’re playing nine pins, don’t be afraid.” It was at night. I was not sure who the “they” were. I was too young to know of Greek and Roman Gods, to imagine Mars and Neptune engaged in some … Continue reading →

We didn’t take and pick him up from the station everyday.  But it happened enough… so I think it was within in reason for me to think that my Father worked for the railroad.  If he didn’t drive our 1952 … Continue reading →

The last day of school fell on an early June day in 1960 for Miss Palmer’s 5th Grade Class at Hamden Hall.  The Class members were: John Bassett, Sarah Beebe, Charles Clark, Emily Evans, Stephen Gant, Jean Gaylord, Margaret Gaylord, … Continue reading →

My favorite stretch of road these days is Route 136 that runs 1.7 miles from Center Rd in Easton to the light at the Intersection with Route 58. The journey begins, at the Intersection of Center and 136, and it … Continue reading →

I spent several summers as a kid attending Erich’s Day Camp. The Camp occupied an “island” just off the shore, near the Momauguin section of Branford, CT. And I mean just off shore… maybe 50 yards from the “mainland”. The … Continue reading →

I am no different than any kid growing up… I just did it in the 50s. When I was a kid there were no Nintendo games, or PCs, or computer games. Different times I guess. What amuses us, or how … Continue reading →

Sometimes we don’t know what’s goin’ on behind the scenes… what I call “what’s happening in the kitchen.” But I got a quick note from Suzy yesterday… she was responding to my piece, “The Little Boy in the Window”. She … Continue reading →

The room was long and thin with windows that covered three full sides. I guess it could be called a sun room although it was referred to as the den… on a winter’s afternoon the path of the sun thru … Continue reading →

When I was a kid I slept anywhere… at anytime. I would run around non-stop, going hither and yon, inventing imaginary games against imaginary adversaries… and when the physical activity or mental exercise exhausted me… I would curl up somewhere … Continue reading →

I know that I was young.  I know that I was sitting at the dinning room table with my family.  The fact that we were in the dinning room meant that it was a special dinner of some sort, since … Continue reading →

In 1960 the Yale Varsity Football team went undefeated and untied. I saw every game. In a quirk of scheduling every game was played in the Bowl save the final game at Harvard (which Dad took me to). Our house … Continue reading →

Paul would tell me stories when I was a kid about hosteling thru France on a bike. One of his tales told of the ease to which folks would go to the beach and change out of their “work clothes” … Continue reading →

I am sure that it was not a regional thing… it had to be purely local, or even just in our neighborhood. But we had a series of nights that would lead up to Halloween. Halloween was pretty much the … Continue reading →

Another beautiful morning… with the early sun turning the underbellies of the clouds pink & the sky a pale blue… a cotton candy sky… Our house on 25 Alston Ave in New Haven was five blocks from the Yale Bowl. … Continue reading →

I turned up the street on my normal route bringing Suzy to school a few days ago, and I heard the unmistakeable crunch of my tires crushing nuts that had fallen from the trees… *************************************************************** I went to Gaylor’s for … Continue reading →