Bought Me Some Stinky Eggs
The other morning, I drove by Peter's house on East 18th Street. It still looks the same. The new owners are still using the same garbage pails that have been in front of the house since Peter brought them home years ago. I parked the car and just leaned against the light post in front of the garden. I smiled. Oh so many years ago, we'd be watching Peter "plant" his many dozens of eggs in the bushes so that they could get nice and stinky for Halloween. I looked down the street to Josh's childhood house and remembered the dummy hanging from the tree. I walked down the Kippel's driveway and peered into the back yard. There was no pool. The porch was in rotting. Nettie was not seen sitting at the table with her crumbcake in one hand and hot tea in the other. Peter Sr. wasn't a fixture anymore with his filterless ciggy poised in one hand, bare chested showing his "Nettie" tattoo and perched on a bench. No one I know lives there. The neighborhood is completely different. The houses have facelifts. But the memories ... That's all we have right...
So, I got back into the car. I drove to the store and bought a dozen eggs. I went back to Nettie's house, pulled one egg out of the package and positioned it in the front garden, behind the bushes. By Halloween it should be nice and stinky. Not sure if I'll come back to retrieve it ... It would be nice to know that it is there... just in case a very tall Brooklyn boy comes home and wants to play a little trick on an unsuspecting treater.
Nostalgia is a bitch ...
I must be about 4 yo here with Peter in the
backyard of Nettie's house.
There is a similar photo of Peter taken the same day,
that he always had with him wherever he moved.
It was taken from his home the day he died.
If you see it hanging in someone's house
(or hidden under their bed) -- swipe it for me.
It was Nettie's favorite photo of her son.
%%%%%%%%
Unsuccessfully Coping With The Natural Beauty of Infidelity
Trust and you'll be trusted
Says the liar to the fool
Lust so what if you're busted
In love and war there ain't no rules
Do you believe in forever?
I don't even believe in tomorrow
The only things that last forever
Are memories and sorrow
Out of sight, out of mind
The motto, the betrayal
The prophets preach to forgive and forget
I'm sorry, but I am unable
Live from PA
So, I got back into the car. I drove to the store and bought a dozen eggs. I went back to Nettie's house, pulled one egg out of the package and positioned it in the front garden, behind the bushes. By Halloween it should be nice and stinky. Not sure if I'll come back to retrieve it ... It would be nice to know that it is there... just in case a very tall Brooklyn boy comes home and wants to play a little trick on an unsuspecting treater.
Nostalgia is a bitch ...