We, Then and Now

We were gorgeous, then and now. We didn’t know it Didn’t see it Didn’t feel it. But We were gorgeous, then and now. We saw only flaws Saw the frizz hair And the spot face. But We were gorgeous, then and now. We were so splendid Youth shining through Hormones rising. Yes We were gorgeous, … Continue reading We, Then and Now →

Philip Large. Detective, POW, and Newsboy

Philip Large “Are you a praying man?” Detective Phil Large said as he hoisted the suspect by the collar and belt, then hung him, head-first, out of the third story window. “If you are, you better start praying now.” According to the story told to me by a veteran detective in the Camden County Prosecutor’s … Continue reading Philip Large. Detective, POW, and Newsboy →

THE HUMAN TOUCH

Dominican Sisters of the Shrine of the Perpetual RosaryHaddon Avenue, Camden NJ about 2007 The Human Touch A finger poked through the metal grate separating us. I reached out my hand and was immediately hooked into a finger embrace. “Me, too! Me, too! Me, too!” Fingers wiggled through the metal barrier that separated me from … Continue reading THE HUMAN TOUCH →

A FEARLESS PARADE

Note: "Dziadzia" is a diminutive term that our family used for the Polish dziadek (grandfather). As children, we pronounced it "ja-ja." My grandfather could not fly, or leap over tall buildings with a single bound, but I would not be surprised if one day I heard a story told that he accomplished those feats and … Continue reading A FEARLESS PARADE →

First School Dance: Crossing the Generational Divide

Collingswood Junior High School NOTE: "Linda" is a composite of my friends. In 1954, the most common names for baby girls were Mary, Linda, and Deborah. As my father pulled the car, full of giggling seventh-grade girls, alongside the Collingswood Junior High School gym on that cool September evening in 1966, I could hear the … Continue reading First School Dance: Crossing the Generational Divide →

The Book and Other Gifts

The Grill6th and Penn Streets, Camden NJowned by Dorothy and Richard Large The Book and Other Gifts The small rectangular gift sat on the top of a pyramid of Christmas gifts on the top of the pool table in Aunt Helen’s basement. The table held about fifteen piles of gifts, all of the mounds higher than … Continue reading The Book and Other Gifts →

The Off-Season

When I was five years old, I was entrusted with a huge secret, one that no other child in the world could know: I knew what Santa Claus did in the off-season. That’s right, I knew Santa’s summer disguise. I could spot him on the street, in a store, or at the race track. I … Continue reading The Off-Season →

A POLISH CAMDEN KITCHEN

by Deborah Large Fox My dziadek, Watson (Wencel) Burdalski, in his kitchen at 1545 Mt. Ephraim Avenue, Camden NJabout 1950 "Children should be seen and not heard." To use another saying common to my parents’ generation, if I had a nickel for every time I heard that admonishment as a child, I'd be a rich … Continue reading A POLISH CAMDEN KITCHEN →