Some years ago, my husband was back in Cleveland, OH. He decided to visit his childhood home. He was born in that house in 1939 and it was home to him and his siblings until he left for college in 1957. After his father retired in the mid-60's, his parents sold the house and moved to the old farmhouse they owned in Knox County, OH.
The house was in Garfield Heights, a Cleveland suburb. While he was growing up, P's neighbors were all White people, largely of Irish and eastern European origin. His parents had a party line, so P often picked up the phone to hear his next-door neighbor talking in Czech. One day, thinking she might suspect he was eavesdropping, he quickly hung up when he heard her say the word, "telephone".
P knew that the neighborhood had changed and that the house now belonged to a Black family, so he wasn't sure how welcome he'd be if he approached the owner. Noticing that the yard looked better than it had back in his day, he knocked on the front door. A middle-aged woman answered the door. From upstairs, what sounded to P like "a crabby old lady"--her mother?--called down to her: "Who's at the door?"
"It's OK," the woman replied to the old lady. P explained that he had grown up in the house. The woman was very friendly. She asked him to step inside. They chatted a bit, and then she asked, "While you're here, there's something I've always wondered about. There's a bump on the floor in the basement that looks like it's been covered over with cement. Do you know anything about that?"
Always quick on the draw, P replied, in an ominous tone, "Don't dig there!"
"What???" The woman was clearly horrified.
"Just kidding," he said, reassuringly. "Actually, I have no idea. That must have happened after we moved out."
It's a nice looking house. I still wouldn't dig there.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely not. Why stir up trouble?
DeleteThat is funny (about the floor). What a nice trip down memory lane.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteCraftsman homes. I grew up in the same house, on North Hill in Akron. My father enclosed the front porch for an additional room. One bathroom for a family of six. But we didn't know any different.
ReplyDeleteThe house had some interesting extras--a compartment adjacent to the side door for milk deliveries and a laundry chute. P threw a mini firecracker down the chute when he was a teen ager and damaged his sister's favorite blouse.
DeleteP, that quick-witted little devil!
ReplyDeleteYep!
DeleteLove the looks of that house. I love P's quick response to the question about the cemented over spot in the basement
ReplyDeleteI don't know what got into him that day.
DeleteI love love the house because the house I was the happiest in was the house in Kentucky and it was identical to this house size and everything except the steps came down from The Middle not from the side. That is too funny and I would not have thought to say that
ReplyDeleteIt was a nice, sturdy house.
ReplyDeleteI bet that brought up a lot of memories for him.
ReplyDeleteHe loved that house and was glad to see that it was now in good hands.
DeleteI believe most people are friendly, if you give them a chance.
ReplyDeleteCoffee is on and stay safe
True, Dora, but unfortunately a lot of people are too afraid of others to give them a chance.
ReplyDeleteA wise decision.
ReplyDeleteMy late aunt, who grew up in Oklahoma and lived in Texas and Iowa for a lot of her life, would never hesitate to knock on someone's door! Myself, I grew up in New York City and I don't know that I would have answered that door! But now I'm wondering about that lump. At least it wasn't done by your husband's family!
ReplyDeleteYep, our minds return to Cleveland ever so often . . .
ReplyDelete