There were 12 boys and during the spring and summer we had no problem gathering up enough players. Sports were a major part of my childhood. When we were not playing stick baseball it was street hockey, football or soccer. Hockey was played in the free mason’s parking lot. Again with a tennis ball but we saved up for leather hockey gloves. Our goalies would wear baseball catcher’s masks and the same chest padding that they always wear. A slap shot to your private part was always an official time out for the poor recipient! He he. For football and soccer my best friend, Dave mowed the grass of a rich old man who lived by himself and had an acre of land. He wouldn’t mind if we asked permission first.
Our neighborhood gang was very close and twice we had a neighborhood reunion! We lived in northern New Jersey. My dad worked in New York City. He worked for the society of civil engineers. We would vacation in Colorado and when his job got frustrating he packed up the family and moved west! I am so glad to have lived in both parts because it made me appreciate the mountains and the city both. I was born in Colorado so I am definitely a Colorado boy!
