well...as much as we love to complain about our city...at least we don't live in baltimore...
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/us_sport/baseball/article2313739.ece
ouch.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Friday, August 17, 2007
The Good Old Summertime...
Ah, far too long since I've written anything....
I recently saw a program on tv (I think PA's channel) about all of the old neighborhood games people used to play around the city. They had all of these 50 year old men talking about and playing all the great classics....It made me think back to when I played some of this stuff...games like:
Freeze tag
Wall ball
Wall ball baseball (I think we sort of made this one up)
Chink (playing with a tenny, of course)
Spring
Wireball
Horse (or Pig, if time was limited)
Cheezeball (I think this one was unique to the playground at Terrace St, you would stand at the base of the pyramid slide steps, and shoot a ball into one of those concrete climbing tube things, moving up a step each time you got it in...)
We'd play all the wallball style games on the back wall of the old Polish Falcon, next to the Korean Church on Manor St (between Terrace and Manayunk on Salaignac).
So let's think back to some other childhood memories (and yes, I know I'm young, but things have change ALOT around the 'boro since then, with an excess of year-round sports leagues and afterschool activities, not to mention video games, too).
We have:
Nursery School and Kindergarten at Wissahickon Christian Preschool (Ridge and Manayunk)
Playing in the firehydrant on a hot day (the neighbor who had the key for it SWORE it was legal!)
Playing all of the games above, or simply playing football in the street, using telephone poles as the endzones and throwing the ball over the wire at the end from the top of the hill for field goals
Buying school clothes at the House of Bargains
Movies at the Andorra Theatre
Shopping with Mom on Ridge Avenue (long before it was all nail salons and beeper stores)
Woolworth's in Ivy Ridge AND on Ridge Ave.
Clover in Andorra
Grade school at St Josaphat's (shudder) and the longstanding rivalry towards St John the Baptist
The sprinkler pool thing at Houston Playground (it was so far away!)
Swimming at The Rec (Kendrick) or Venice Island
When Pretzel Park was a big drug hangout
The Main St Stroll on the Friday or Saturday before the bike race
Canal Day
Block parties on every block closed off by the Bike Race (and the 8 AM drunks)
The ungodly long Memorial Day Parade
The ungodly short 4th of July Parade
Marching in East Fall's 4th of July Parade, and the picnic at McMichael's Park afterwards
Scout Troop (still involved!)
Going to Kennedy Kenrick, getting made fun of for being from Roxborough (we made fun of the kids from Bridgeport)
Wissahickon AA baseball at Daisy Field (the 21st Ward kids at school made fun of that too), practicing in Cook-Wissahickon's parking lot
Biddy Basketball for the Braves at the Rec
Being bussed to Cook-Wissahickon and Mifflin for M.G.
Feel free to comment with more...it's a shame things like Canal Day and the Stroll have basically died, it seems like all of the old Main St events are wrapped into the Arts Festival, which is nice and all, but not the same. It doesn't seem like there are even kids outside playing anymore. We used to block of the street playing stuff, and hearing "CAR!" and "GAME ON!" was common around the area.
Strangely enough, I find myself playing things like stickball and wall ball with my friends who've never heard of stuff like this today. I really wish I could be blocked by kids playing Chink on the back wall of the old Falcon.
I've learned a lot since I've turned 21, too...(I'm going list crazy today...)
Main St. is a lot cooler when you're 15 and peoplewatching.
Upper Roxborough trash is the same as Lower Roxborough trash
Stay out of Peck Miller's at all costs!
Murphy's is the bar to frequent (especially for karaoke and quizzo!)
Castle Roxx is the douchiest bar in all of Doucheville
The people at the State Store on Ridge Ave (next to the Post Office) hate their job as much as they hate you
What other great memories and lessons do you have to share about our fine neighborhood, or your own?
I recently saw a program on tv (I think PA's channel) about all of the old neighborhood games people used to play around the city. They had all of these 50 year old men talking about and playing all the great classics....It made me think back to when I played some of this stuff...games like:
Freeze tag
Wall ball
Wall ball baseball (I think we sort of made this one up)
Chink (playing with a tenny, of course)
Spring
Wireball
Horse (or Pig, if time was limited)
Cheezeball (I think this one was unique to the playground at Terrace St, you would stand at the base of the pyramid slide steps, and shoot a ball into one of those concrete climbing tube things, moving up a step each time you got it in...)
We'd play all the wallball style games on the back wall of the old Polish Falcon, next to the Korean Church on Manor St (between Terrace and Manayunk on Salaignac).
So let's think back to some other childhood memories (and yes, I know I'm young, but things have change ALOT around the 'boro since then, with an excess of year-round sports leagues and afterschool activities, not to mention video games, too).
We have:
Nursery School and Kindergarten at Wissahickon Christian Preschool (Ridge and Manayunk)
Playing in the firehydrant on a hot day (the neighbor who had the key for it SWORE it was legal!)
Playing all of the games above, or simply playing football in the street, using telephone poles as the endzones and throwing the ball over the wire at the end from the top of the hill for field goals
Buying school clothes at the House of Bargains
Movies at the Andorra Theatre
Shopping with Mom on Ridge Avenue (long before it was all nail salons and beeper stores)
Woolworth's in Ivy Ridge AND on Ridge Ave.
Clover in Andorra
Grade school at St Josaphat's (shudder) and the longstanding rivalry towards St John the Baptist
The sprinkler pool thing at Houston Playground (it was so far away!)
Swimming at The Rec (Kendrick) or Venice Island
When Pretzel Park was a big drug hangout
The Main St Stroll on the Friday or Saturday before the bike race
Canal Day
Block parties on every block closed off by the Bike Race (and the 8 AM drunks)
The ungodly long Memorial Day Parade
The ungodly short 4th of July Parade
Marching in East Fall's 4th of July Parade, and the picnic at McMichael's Park afterwards
Scout Troop (still involved!)
Going to Kennedy Kenrick, getting made fun of for being from Roxborough (we made fun of the kids from Bridgeport)
Wissahickon AA baseball at Daisy Field (the 21st Ward kids at school made fun of that too), practicing in Cook-Wissahickon's parking lot
Biddy Basketball for the Braves at the Rec
Being bussed to Cook-Wissahickon and Mifflin for M.G.
Feel free to comment with more...it's a shame things like Canal Day and the Stroll have basically died, it seems like all of the old Main St events are wrapped into the Arts Festival, which is nice and all, but not the same. It doesn't seem like there are even kids outside playing anymore. We used to block of the street playing stuff, and hearing "CAR!" and "GAME ON!" was common around the area.
Strangely enough, I find myself playing things like stickball and wall ball with my friends who've never heard of stuff like this today. I really wish I could be blocked by kids playing Chink on the back wall of the old Falcon.
I've learned a lot since I've turned 21, too...(I'm going list crazy today...)
Main St. is a lot cooler when you're 15 and peoplewatching.
Upper Roxborough trash is the same as Lower Roxborough trash
Stay out of Peck Miller's at all costs!
Murphy's is the bar to frequent (especially for karaoke and quizzo!)
Castle Roxx is the douchiest bar in all of Doucheville
The people at the State Store on Ridge Ave (next to the Post Office) hate their job as much as they hate you
What other great memories and lessons do you have to share about our fine neighborhood, or your own?
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