Awards and more awards

The group I hung around with was quite competitive. Joe arranged for us to have numerous competitions. We played four square, two square, and roller skating from one end of the playground to the other.
Kathy was perhaps the most athletic of us all, but I was determined to beat her at whatever she did. First was the softball throw, and boy could I throw. Then it was the competition for four-squre and two-square. More aggressive I could not be.
My last competition was of great concern. I naturally was not known to be fleet of foot. Kathy was, and that presented a threat. We had a race on roller skates and I could not let her get ahead of me. My legs never moved faster to keep up with my challenge. She stumbled and I took advantage of that. In the end I miraculously won.
I now was the proud owner of the playground competition of Columbus School. Incredibly, I still have all those certificates.
Good memories of the schoolyard.

The playground

My second home in San Francisco was the playground. Joe was in charge and we all showed our reverence to him. We had opportunities to learn arts and crafts, play Monopoly and scrabble like there was no tomorrow.
My mom would give me a quarter every day while she went to work. I often had to manage my money so I could either get my sandwich, cola, or snowballs. We all went to the small grocery store down from the playground. Mike would slice the bologna, smear our rolls with mayonaise, in a most methodical way. We were proud and felt adult like that we could buy our own lunch on our own. Mike was our friend and he anticipated our arrival on a daily basis. He sharpened his knife to extract that special cut of meat from a huge roll of bologna. He was delighted in our appearance and gave us the respect of any adult customer.

The bus

I found, but did not realize that I had an extreme amount of liberties. One of those was my bus pass. For 10¢ I could travel anywhere in San Francisco, and I used it freely. I went to see the sisters across the park. I was an independent cuss and found it difficult to sit idle.
One of these days I received a coupon to see the Ringling Brothers circus in the civic auditorium in downtown San Francisco. I asked my mom for the 50¢ entry fee and she gladly complied. Off I was with the masses. No fear ever crossed my mind. Because of my independence I had experiences no child could ever have. My parents counted on me to be responsible.
I don't know if it was my confidence or my unassuming attitude, but I never felt threatened. I had a wonderful day watching the magnificent circus, even if it was in the nosebleed section.
The circus was over when most of the people were leaving their jobs for another day. The mass of humanity was certainly not a threat to this nine-year-old. After having my own children, it is difficult to fathom the unusual trust they had in me.