the bronx
dad fears the monkey house
refuses to take us to the zoo
the bronx
sweet smells from down the hill
stella d'oro cookie factory
the bronx
my father is well-known
in every chinese restaurant
the bronx
1965 — blackout —
we don't own a single flashlight
the bronx
singing leonard cohen
all the way to school
the bronx
friday night dinners at grandma's
we never say the blessing
the bronx
every time i leave the apartment
mom asks are you prepared?
the bronx
roller skating in the building's hallway
the old people hate us
the bronx
dad says
stop talking about vietnam already
the bronx
a short subway ride from yankee stadium
but we are not a baseball family
the bronx
my sister smears her mouth
with candy lipstick
the bronx
dad takes me to my first movie
davy crockett: king of the wild frontier
the bronx
all i want to be when i grow up
joan baez
the bronx
mother says
stay away from apartment 6E — (trick or treat)
the bronx
my sister and i want a pet
dad buys us a goldfish
the bronx
everyone in the building knows this:
never go down to the basement
the bronx
happy birthday to me
a box of 64 crayola crayons
the bronx
someone gives me a kazoo
bzzzzzzz bzzzzzzzzzz bzzzzzzzzzzzz
the bronx
mom says something shocking:
the hell with shari lewis
the bronx
mom teaches me to crochet
one granny square makes a dress for barbie
the bronx
the first family death
i don't know what to feel
the bronx
run over by a bicycle
tire marks on my body
the bronx
skating around the corner
it's like a different country
the bronx
oh happy day
i pass my junior high typing test
the bronx
every morning
talk talk talk talk radio
the bronx
strange men on the street ask
why so serious?
the bronx
dancing with an older girl
we win the lindy hop contest
the bronx
i buy an ankh pendant
my family is confused
the bronx
my first guitar lesson
go tell aunt rhody
the bronx
odetta in concert
grandma likes her deep voice
the bronx
a patch of blue
we declare it a five-tissue movie
the bronx
dad gets his first car
i'm afraid to ride with him
the bronx
i'm warned
don't even look at the hare krishnas
the bronx
the elevator is always broken
i take the stairs two at a time
the bronx
so many pot parties
i never manage to inhale
the bronx
two spices in the cupboard
but mom doesn't use them
the bronx
a neighbor calls me
rebel without a cause
the bronx
my grandma invents
vegetarian chopped liver
the bronx
my father has many rules
for slicing bagels
the bronx
the dirtiest word i know
fart
the bronx
nobody else likes
pistachio ice cream
the bronx
decide: who is better
helen keller or clara barton
the bronx
my first major crush
hayley mills
the bronx
every girl in my third grade class
gets a toni home perm
the bronx
i feel so grown up
my first bottle of jean nate bath splash
the bronx
one day dad announces he is
anti-quiche
the bronx
a sneeze from next door
i call out gezundheit
the bronx
we play knock hockey
until it's time to watch bonanza
the bronx
crime and punishment
i carry it with me everywhere
the bronx
i go to the wrong apartment by mistake
how did everything change while i was out playing
the bronx
dad says if we owned a house
we could have a junk room, not just a junk drawer
the bronx
some girls get princess phones
i do not
the bronx
the answer is always no
i'll never get to wear nylon stockings
the bronx
i discover that olives
make excellent finger puppets
the bronx
men place bets in the candy store
off limits to children
the bronx
my younger sister, my mother, and i
identical dresses
the bronx
my own library card
little house on the prairie
the bronx
that bad man in the button store
flirts with my mother
the bronx
after the blizzard
men on our block take turns with the shovel
the bronx
dad grows a beard
i stop kissing him
