Take a Hike, Tponetom

[tponetom]

A Bit of Doggerel, first.
I don’t know where I’m at, and I don’t know how I got here.
I don’t know where I came from, I forget where that might be.

I don’t know where I will go from here, or how I will ever get there.
But one thing I really do know, is the pleasure of your company.

Recently, on a warm summer’s day, Peggy and I took a walk. It was one of the many ploys we engaged in, to gain privacy.

We walked westward on E. Warren till we came to Van Dyke. We hung a ‘left’ and went south to Mack. The Eagle Dairy ice cream parlor was our immediate goal. They had dropped their price for a double dip cone to a nickel to keep up with the competition from the Blue Ribbon Ice Cream Factory on E. Forest.

From there, with our tongues lashing away at our dripping, creamy lips, we traveled east to Seminole. Thence, a right turn took us south through the enchantment of Indian Village. There were no detours or tarrying. The River was our goal.

We would rest a bit in Memorial Park and spark a bit to keep ourselves aglow.
From Jefferson, we found our north bound trail. Burns Street was always a favorite because it took us back through the Village. Also it took us to Pingree Park, a Rest Area, if there ever was one. In the late of afternoon, the lovers took over the park and none of them ever stared. They were too busy, doing what they do and what we did. A kiss a kiss, a hug a hug??? That was all.
Two other walking venues were the Gratiot Avenue ‘Shopping Adventures’ and the Grosse Pointe ‘Two Different Worlds’ we lived in.

Note: I began this bit of nostalgia with the word, “recently.� ‘Recently’ was 65 years ago. But to me, it seems like a couple of deep breaths.

[[Darn it! I tried to sneak in five smilies, but I was chastized and I already sent the check in.)

[Maof]

i'll add a few more for ya T! you did it again!

[Bigb23]

From there, with our tongues lashing away at our dripping, creamy lips,

Be still, my beating heart. Whooh.

[eriedearie]

Tp - I just love your memories - you are one sweetheart!

[Bobl]

I don't know what to say. Bless you. I wish that I could have known Peggy and you then, but my mom and dad were taking walks to Belle Isle from Canton St. at that time, and my big brother was just a gleam in their eyes!
I salute you, our country's greatest generation!

[tponetom]

Bobi:

Re: Your post reply about your dad and Mother walking from "Canton" street to Belle Isle????

[Kathleen]

Woo-hoo!! Tponetom is back!! And what a great walk down memory lane. I have some similar memories that just warm my heart!

[tponetom]

Bobi:

I will run this by, one more time. I started a reply to your post reply about your parents walking to Belle Isle from Canton street and then I
lost something in the vagaries of my tired old mind. I accidently posted it before I finished it/

I was about to say, "Can you guess on what street, on the east side of Detroit, a certain member of this Forum was BORN on??

You won the Jackpot if you said, " Yes, Tponetom was born on Canton Street on Nov. 13, 1928.

I keep repeating my credo, which is, "Everything that goes around, comes around. [[Cradle? A little play on words there.)

[Bobl]

t:
Mom and dad were older, born around 1915. Attended St Charles Borromeo Church. Mom's sister took that name when she entered the convent, and taught at Detroit parachial schools, along with three siblings, for decades.
Your description brought memories of stories told by my parents, aunts, and uncles.
Please continue to write!

[Ray1936]

My pop was born in 1900, and I came along when he was 36. He never was a city walker, but come summertime he and I took many a walk when camping out in Oakland county. Favority walk was along the Pere Marquette tracks between Milford and Highland. Built on the side of a steep hill [[well, steep for Michigan), it gave a beautiful view of lakes and woods. And we'd sit on the hill when the 4:15 from Detroit to Flint came through, belching enough black smoke to blank out the sky for a short while.

Pop was a WW I vet, and died rather young in 1961. I still miss him terribly.

Thanks for triggering a memory, Tp.

[fluffy mimi]

Tponetom,
Could you please describe the style of homes on the street when you were growing up? My great grandparents lived at 1274 later known as 5234 Canton. The house is long gone, but I was wondering if their home resembled any that I see still standing on Google maps. Thanks.

[tponetom]

Fluffy Mimi,

As noted above, BobI’s parents and I, myself, were born on Canton Street.

Most of the homes on the central, eastside of Detroit, were a potpourri of designs and economical structure.

In another post, I had described our 5012 McClellan-E. Warren mansion as follows:

The lot size was 30’ [[feet) wide and approximately 90’ long.

The house was 24’ wide, by 36’ long.

The front door opened to the Living Room. A small bedroom was adjacent to it.

The Living Room led to The Dining Room which also had an adjacent bedroom.

There was a swinging door, separating the Dining Room and the Kitchen.

The Kitchen was our mainstay of Life. The Bathroom adjoined the Kitchen.

A stairwell, [[a U-Turn), was next to the Bathroom that led to the attic. Then, next to that was another stairwell [[U-Turn) to the ¼ sized basement.. On the back wall, there was another door leading to the back porch. I would guess that the back porch was 6’ x 8’.

The attic was barren, No Insulation in the ceiling/roof. There was a finished bedroom in the front of the attic with three windows looking out on the street. It was considered to be the most desirable room in the house. It offered privacy.

Most of the front porches were as wide [[24’) as the house and about 8’ deep

The front porch was the Social Hall,,, and how to describe it? Maybe the best way was this: When people began to look at new homes in the Suburbs, the first thing they would say, would be, “Where in the Hell is the front porch?”. [[I had once posted a story about the dinosaur days.)

There were, of course a variety of colonial homes, 2 family flats, 2 story bungalow apartments, and even four and eight family flats.

The word, “flat” has long been retired. It has been replaced with the more tony, words like, townhouse or condominium.