by Gary Solomon a version of this essay was published in Medium If you grew up in the outer boroughs of metropolitan New York City in the postwar era of… Continue reading A Flipper’s Paradise
Category: Back in the Day Stories
Christmas Cookie Traditions
It is December 4th--National Cookie Day! Cookies are a big part of the Christmas tradition. My mom baked the best Christmas cookies with her hand blender and metal cookie press. The pantry shelves held five-pound bags of sugar and a colorful array of sprinkles and candied fruits. A crock was filled with flour. Mom’s specialties… Continue reading Christmas Cookie Traditions
The Macaroni Tradition
I grew up celebrating Thanksgiving Italian-American style. When I was a child, my parents piled their five kids into the station wagon and traveled over small road bridges, through the Belt Parkway and into Brooklyn where Grandma lived. Wafts of warmth and garlic could be breathed in as we climbed the stairs to her second… Continue reading The Macaroni Tradition
Fishing With Great Grandma
I knew my Great Grandma. She was a sinewy woman with strong hands that could hold a face with a vice grip squeeze. Francesca D’Aguanno began in Castellammare, a village on the northwest coast of Sicily. Farms and small vineyards dotted the landscape and were managed within corrupt feudal systems. The unification of the Italian… Continue reading Fishing With Great Grandma
First Day at Greene Ave Elementary School
I began my school career at Deauville Gardens Elementary School in Copiague--a small hamlet on the South Shore of Long Island. It was the 60s. The community was diverse. My classes were a mix of white, black, and Puerto Rican children. There were kids who did not speak English and some who lived with collateral… Continue reading First Day at Greene Ave Elementary School
Stories Served Served Around The Table 