Categories: Dobel Street
No regrets
With the recent death of my grandmother, the approaching holidays and the year winding down, I've been in quite a reflective state of mind in recent weeks.
And so as I walked through a snow-covered Fletcher Field on Tuesday, my thoughts were all over the place and my imagination was in high gear. I could envision my grandmother, still young and vibrant, walking down Dobel toward the park. I could hear the voices of old friends, arguing if a long fly ball down the left-field line was fair or foul. I could smell the burgers on the grill, the ones simmering for our celebration at the park on Sept. 8.
A familiar car slowed to a stop on Gilbo Street, bringing me back to reality while I was in the playground area of the park. It was Edith Floyd out on patrol. She rolled down her window, smiled and offered a hearty hello. We exchanged holiday greetings and promised to meet shortly after New Year's Day to discuss future plans for the park. She then left to continue her drive up and down the streets, keeping an eye on the old neighborhood.
Within seconds after Edith's departure, a pickup truck stopped on almost exactly the same spot where her car had just been. My Dobel street buddy, Leon Nolan, rolled down his window, stuck out his hand to shake mine and said, "It's good to see you." It was good to see him, too, have the chance to wish him a Merry Christmas and set up a Dec. 26 lunch engagement before we parted ways.
The brief visits with Edith and Leon lifted my spirits immensely. Strangers to me earlier this year, they are both good friends now and, hopefully, for the long haul.
However this story ends -- with a revitalized neighborhood, an overgrown buffer zone for City Airport or somewhere in between -- I will never regret finally stopping my car, getting out, setting foot on soil I hadn't touched in 30 years, attempting to make this a better place for kids to live.
I cannot imagine my life now without Edith, Leon, Imogene Johnson, Joyce Jennings and so many others who live and worship near my childhood home at 8271 Dobel.
Merry Christmas and happy new year to all. I can hardly wait to see what we can accomplish together in 2008.
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I was blessed with the ability to read at a very early age and thusly devoured the printed page with great relish.During the early '60's "sword and sandal" films from the likes of Roma Studios were very popular. Epics like "Hercules Unchained","Jason and the Argonauts" and "the Mighty Ursus" were eagerly anticipated at the Nortown theater on Seven Mile and Van Dyke. Lots of flexing muscles, heaving Italian cleavage and poor dubbing added to the plots.
It was no surprise then,that stories from Greek mythology were extremely popular (especially with the greasers).I remember going into the bookmobile sometime around the 5th or 6th grade, bypassing the children's section and heading for the shelves reserved for older readers.Grabbing a copy of "Greek Mythology" from an upper shelf, I was confronted by Sister (can't remember her name) and told that book wasn't for me. I told the Dear Nun that I had the ability to read that tome.Taking the book from my hands, she opened it up and happened upon a picture of the classic "Venus de Milo"statue. Horrified, she said I shouldn't be looking at things like that. Boy, did she turn red when I told her that is what a woman looks like. needless to say, I did get to take that book home. Revenge of the Nerds is Sweet.
Another venue for intellectual improvement was Oser's Sweet Shop on Van Dyke.Old man Oser had the largest selection of magazines in the area.All the kids would get their comics and Mad magazines there.Forrest J. Ackerman's "Famous Monsters of Filmland" was a particular favorite.Oddly enough, those issues of "Famous Monsters"weredangerously placed not far from the "Men's" magazines. Great titles like "Male", "Stag" "argosy" etc.Gee, those lurid covers were real art.I recall one issue of "Male" with the coolest cover I had ever seen. A scantily clad female stood chained to a pillar while a WW 2 G.I. in a tattered uniform with a Thompson Machine gun was coming to her rescue while an entire Panzer Division stood poised on a hillside.WOW. Of course, Mr. Oser shooed us away from those goodies.
Oser's also had one of the greatest examples of "Folk Art" in the neighborhood.Underneathe the soda/lunch counter were hundreds of wads of chewing gum affixed like stalactites.Some even had pennies stuck to the wads.Tyree Guyton, you can't touch that.
Fox's Drugs on 6 mile and VanDyke across from Ver Hoven's Chevrolet was also a great source for comics.They were displayed on a metal rack that read "Hey Kids,Comics". I obtained my copy of the first appearance of Spiderman in Amazing Adult Fantasy there.Of course,my Mom later threw it out.
I can also recall having an early lesson in anatomy when scattered fragments from Nudist magazines were found on the east end of Fletcher Field stuck to the fence by the ball diamond across from old Aero Mechanics around 1965. For a while I stopped looking at the cool old planes acroos the street by Aero's.
Ha Ha Ha
Robert T. Zona
Class of '65
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12/22/07 @ 21:43 Permalink
12/23/07 @ 12:05 have a great holiday & a happy new year
tell tom hi & tell him to tell rochelle i said hi too.
love ya
donna
p.s. to all a MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR
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12/24/07 @ 09:18 Permalink
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