| Chapter 2: | Street Life |
Madonna. The votive offering varied according to the favor requested of the Madonna. Many women, fingering rosary beads or carrying large candles, marched barefoot in the parade behind the politicians, businessmen, and musicians. My brother Alfred decided to participate in one of these marches. He noticed that a woman we called the “Witch” was marching in the procession. He asked her not to march since he knew she was a witch. At night at One Hundred and Fifteenth Street where Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church was located and in neighboring streets the sights and smells of fried sausages and peppers and fireworks filled the air and titillated the palate as some celebrants danced to tarantellas in Thomas Jefferson Park. This was a feast celebrated by all residents in East Harlem including non-Italians. But the residents of my street enjoyed the feast honoring St. Benedict more because it was our own private feast, honoring a saint whose statue was in one of our stores. St. Benedict was a good neighbor and available without going to church. He had emigrated to America with his villagers and that mattered to the residents of my street.
I liked the feel of my pink rubber ball, the one my friends and I used to play stoopball. This game was inspired by our interest in baseball. The steps on my stoop were the equivalent of a baseball bat. When the guy “at bat” hit a step on the stoop, the ball could be an out if caught by the opposing players on the “field.” If well hit it could sail over everyone’s head and land by the front door of the Chinese laundry for a home run. Six players, three on each “team,” were enough to have a game.
Stickball was another game inspired by baseball. My rubber ball