The move.

As I became thoroughly entrenched in my new school, I was quickly uprooted to a brand new school. I thought about asking my dad why we moved there, but I have no idea. Our new home was on the other side of the Golden Gate Park. I can only assume that it was a better neighborhood. It also meant I would be making new friends. For me, life started over once more. My father had his soccer team, which didn't matter where we lived. My mom had no friends so the move would n ot affect her. But I, I had established myself with a wide range of people and mostly, the Rijbelchenko sisters.
Our new home was on the hills of San Francisco. We lived on Lawton Street between 10th and 11th Ave. It meant we had to walk up and down to get to the grocery store. In fact, we no longer had the luxury of going to Safeway. We did our minimal shopping down the hill in a local grocery store. It was a short walk, but a bit more arduous as you had to climb back home.
One thing I remember most was that my mother would send me to the store to get cigarettes for her. No age limit then. The trips were rather frequent, and I did not mind since she would also give me an extra nickel or dime for this chore. We still did not have a car. Public transportation was ideal for someone without an vehicle.