Memories of My Neighborhood

My “popcorn town”, Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard, always will be home to me ‘though I now live far away. We were young when we bought the old Victorian with the wide wrap-around porch. It needed a lot of work but we fell in love with it. Most neighbors were elderly but very welcoming, though our children were noisy and we sat on our porch and could be a little loud. We made many friends. Everyone got along and joined any gathering taking place on somebody’s porch. Tom, in his eighties, lived next door, He had been “second banana” to Fanny Brice on Broadway, He played an out-of-tune piano, loved to entertain with stories and songs from old shows. Nearly blind and not too great on the hygiene, he was still our neighborhood treasure. Next to Tom were Jim and Ann, then Fran and Nelson. These two couples became our best friends over time. I taught Fran to bake bread, We made jam and played dominoes. Their children and grandchildren have still remained close to us. So many good times with Jim and Ann. Jim was an inventive cook, and Ann and I shared a love of books and poetry. Jim and Ann had a home in Newton and took in my daughter and me for many weeks when my husband Doug was in the hospital in Boston. Across the little park that split our street for a block, lived Lois and Ray. Lois had very dark skin but loved the beach and got blacker and blacker all summer. She loved my baking powder biscuits, and I baked some for her every so often. The opposite back corner of the side street was occupied by Rhoda, also a senior. She loved to go to Chappaquiddick and fish off of the beach. She was good, too. Her daughter Jessica wrote many best-selling cookbooks, specializing in African diaspora and Southern foods and culture Across the side street from us was Mabel. Mabel was Irish and loved “Danny Boy”, which we listened to most happy hours on her porch with sons, daughters, cousins, nieces, nephews and children, as well as an assortment of passers-by. We called her the Mayor of Pennacook Park. On the other side of Mabel lived Claudia, and her hobby was playing bridge. Her daughter Darcie moved in with her later and lives there now full time. Darcie is a great friend. (Who else could you call at 3 AM to help get your husband off the floor and back into bed!) Janet Holaday, the youngest, lived directly across the park from us, a fabulous dancer and creative book publisher. Two families lived on the next street over, Ann and John and Pat and Wally. Not as old as we were, they welcomed us. When we had our knees replaced, Ann and I roomed together in the hospital and rehab. Believe it or not, we did have fun. Pat had parties with great food that she and Wally mostly made, although we all came with some special dish to pass. Frankie brought fabulous desserts. Bud and Lenore lived down the street, and, when we first moved there, Frank and Alma lived next to them. Others moved in later, Vivian bought the house behind us, and was in her nineties. She loved to sit on her porch and watch the children on the playground. Always perfectly dressed, she was the picture of elegance. Vivian had been a well-known singer in her younger years. There are Hans and Mimi up the street the other way, and Jamie and Ashley were on the next corner. Jamie and Doug (my husband) were great pals and spent much time together when Doug would take a walk on his walker or sit at the end of Jamie’s driveway with a bunch of other men laughing and joking. New neighbors came, Steve and Lisa and Mike and Marushka, who became great friends. But, over the years, we grew older and lost first one, then another, then another. Tom, Lois, Rhoda, Bud, Lenore, Frank, Alma, Vivian, and Jamie, who died too young, Suddenly we were now the elders, and everyone took care of us, made sure we were okay, well-fed, and included in the good times. Doug is gone now five years and I have moved to be nearer to my daughter. I am happy where I am, but my old neighborhood is first in my heart.