In Brooklyn, there were lots of stoops,
Most often used for sitting,
Or else as fields for stoop ball,
Where Spaldeens* would do our bidding.
You didn’t need a friend to play –
Just threw that ball, renouncing
Your expertise if you could only
Catch it after bouncing.
We had no use for yards or grass
To keep our playtime going,
Just one Spaldeen and someone’s stoop,
The perfect place for throwing.
*the way we pronounced Spalding, which
was a popular brand of pink high-bouncing balls
Categories:
spalding, nostalgia,
Form: Rhyme
What's so important? I said to myself
While rushing out in a spiffy
It started me thinking of what use to be
As I grew up in the mid-fifties
When I was 13 it was important to have
The essentials of everyday life
A radio, records, Spalding, some chalk
A rope, bubble gum and a bike
My jeans were six bucks, no designers, no labels
Six channels on TV, no discs, dish or cable
No yahoo or Google , no computer to boot
No carpooling kids, all trips made on foot
But now the essentials when leaving my home
Is an Ipod, Blackberry, a camera cell phone
I must pack a water, wear jeans with a label
And ALL of my TV's are hooked up to cable.
Important? It isn't..... I'd give them all up
I'd go back to my six dollar jeans
When families together would sit down for dinner
Then watch Lucy on one screened TV
When schools did not have metal detectors
When kids could play out on the streets
When mothers were home making children their breakfast
And ice cream was considered a treat !!
It's 2009 and it is what it is
Important means all that you own
But for those who have lived in those mid-fifty years
Important means family and home.
Categories:
spalding,
Form: Lyric