De Arcy

We had new neighbors and they had a lot of kids. They were fro the Phillipines. I had never heard of such a destination, but I soon learned they were Catholic. They were nice enough, but something kept me from entering their premises. Our new landlord had informed us that there were rats in their backyard, and that was enough for me not to venture out any further. I played frequently with the boy that was my age. We lived out the lives of the San Francisco Giants and the LA Dodgers. We didn't have much to play with, but ZI soon learned that if I took a tennis ball and hit the side of the curb it would just fly. This is how the neighborhood kids played baseball. It brought us together in the afternoon. the neighbors across the street also had a large family. They would join us for the all-league play-offs that went on for hours. The goal was to make the ball travel as far as we could. I was the only girl playing, being fascinated with the action and the fellowship.
TV was of little significance, although not much was on anyway. We played and played until our parents called us for dinner. It would serve as our seven inning stretch.
And I, well, quite often I would wait for my mother to come home. I would sit on the window sill, two stories up with my skinny legs dangling down. I had come a long way from looking out that bay window in my bedroom on Arguello Blvd.