Heritage...

Back fans,well from the place where I went to school was where my Dad brought his family from Puerto Rico. My grandma & her youngest son, Miguel moved in with us. Then, Dad's brother arrived with his pregnant wife, not by him. They moved into an upstairs apartment and when the one next to them emptied, grandma moved upstairs. Next to us we had my Dad's married sister,Rosa Lydia. While we lived in that building my aunt had her three children. We moved to another street in Hoboken, Willow. My Mom had begun to work at a factory to help my Dad out, also because he had begun to drink and waste his pay check. Mom became good friends with a neighbor and her husband, who also drank. One summer day we decided to go to Coney Island. During the day the men got real drunk. We got into the car,Mom & her friend sitting with us in the back (I remember they made us lay our heads on their laps). Dad was driving with no shirt or shoes, in those days you could get a ticket for that. He was so drunk he got on the curb and knocked down a mailbox. Another driver yelled out,"I've got your plate number". But Dad drove all the way home without being stopped! Left the car in the middle of the street & went up & passed out. Mom had to find someone to park the car for her.From there we got a house on Wayne Street in Jersey City. It was a four family & the yard was great. We even had grapes that grew in the summer. Dad always had a dog & I remember we had brought the one he'd gotten us, Blackie with us. Blackie hated cats & he killed alot of them, when they got into our yard. My Mom also began to bring some of her family. I remember two of my aunts, her sisters, stayed awhile till they began to work & found their own places. Then, we had my uncle, who was going to High School. He would drive us crazy because in music class he chose the violin & he was terrible at it! My sister & I had alot of "good times" in that house. There was a small "house" in the yard we played in, Dad put up a swing and his pool table, in the small shack. We made friends with the girl who lived above us, Debbie. We even had a flood occur once. Everyone feared the building could "blow up" if the water reached the meters! The fire department came to pump out our basement. It was something!!! I believe Mom still has pictures of that time. Well, we had to move from there because the building was going to be torn down to build a High School. Little did I know it was the new Ferris, from where my class would be the first class to graduate from the new high school! I remember we dedicated a tree, in front of the school.Wonder if it's still there? Well, fans,I'll come back again to continue.