Jeannie Peck's memories of another time and place are full of warm humor, interesting people and lots of pets.
About A Delightful Book
I had intended at the outset to write a one-paragraph book review. But upon further consideration, decided, “Oh, what the hell”. And so, with out further ado, and — (upon the advice of one Leroy Jethro Gibbs— for those of you who are also NCIS fans) — without apology … I read my first book at age...
Communicating In The 1940s
She awoke, startled, to an unfamiliar sound. The clock on the nightstand read 3:20. There was that sound again. Something was hitting against the fire-escape window. Now fully awake, she went to the window, raised the shade, and by the light of the street lamp below saw her sister and brother-in-law...
The Most Peculiar Disappearance of Ed Larson
There are stray people who, much like a stray dog, will quietly wander into your life, stay for a while, and then without warning, quietly leave. Ed Larson was just such a stray person. He was newly arrived from Sweden; all alone with neither family nor friends; no place to live; no means of...
A Warm Memory of Cold Winter Nights
ca - mid-1930s Although Marilyn, Buddy and Jeannie were only summertime “country kids”, there were occasions during the colder months when we would visit our grandparents in Purdys — Thanksgiving and Christmas most notable, but other weekend visits as well. Either snowfalls were a lot deeper back...
Radical Acceptance
A Different Kind of Poem There is a tree. Most of the leaves have fallen. Autumn is almost spent. Tangled in the nearly-bare branches are the remains of an intricately-spun spider web. Jagged holes mar the symmetry of the once-perfect design. Gossamer filaments, so carefully interwoven, are swinging...
Serendipity
Recently I was asked how the musicians’ strike of the 1940s impacted the way I listened to music the rest of my life. My immediate reaction was “Huh? Say what?” My memory bank was devoid of any recollection of such an event. Googling explained my cognitive deficit. At the time the strike began in...
On Facing Death
A very short story to ponder: Two little old ladies, both in their 80s. Both have been suddenly stricken with a terminal illness. Each has been given two months to live. One woman is blessed with a loving family: a thoughtful and caring husband; three children; five grandchildren; and a faithful...
Lament For a Rose-Colored Trench Coat
The year: 1945 or so. The place: The Bronx, New York. A strange phenomenon was taking place. Throngs of otherwise quiet, well-behaved, obedient teenage girls were playing hooky from school and sneaking down to the City to spend saved-up allowances and baby-sitting money to go to movie theaters named...
Movie Give-Away Nights
During the Depression Years of the 1930’s ordinary working-class folks (no matter the color of the collar) had very little left in the budget for discretionary spending – especially for entertainment. Therefore, movie theaters had to be creative marketers. So there came into being the weekly...
Please Don't Mess With My Bible
…. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. I Corinthians, 13:13 As far back as memory takes me I have been aware of the triplet “Faith, Hope and Charity”. I recall going to Sunday School as a very young child wearing a necklace from which dangled...
Health Care Delivery In The Early 1930’s OR No Appointment Necessary
Any child in the New York City neighborhood in which I grew up would have had to be very sick indeed to have been taken to a Doctor’s office. A Doctor was for the serious stuff. For the little stuff – the every-day, run-of-the-mill, equal-opportunity, minor physical ailments that afflict all human...
What Makes Me Laugh
“Do you want to know what makes me laugh?” Jeanne Peck asked, wielding a sheet of paper. “This makes me laugh” and she proceeded to read the following poem. On The Vanity Of Earthly Greatness By Arthur Guiterman The tusks which clashed in mighty brawls Of mastodons, are billiard balls. The sword of...
Snapshot Of A Little Girl Laughing
The request, as I understood it, was to locate a photo or snapshot of something significant in my life that I would like to tell about. Going through all of those glimpses of past moments in time, I was struck by how many could evoke an unexpected somatic or emotional response. The snapshot of the...
White Wool Stockings
Way back in the dark ages of the 1930’s, young girl children wore short ankle socks and sandals during late Spring and Summer months. Their nimble, agile little legs were free to run and jump bathed in the sunshine and warm air. What a deliciously exhilarating feeling it was! But with the advent of...
School's Out, Circa 1930's
If you’re looking to read tales of exciting adventures, travels to exotic lands, expeditions to unexplored locations… you’ll not find them here. There was no Auntie Mame in my life to whisk me off for a summer of soaking up the culture of Paris and Rome, or bumping along atop a camel among the...
The Miracle
It could be said that I was too young at the time to have any memory of this incident. And yet I do remember a few little pieces – which I shall recount. The rest of the story is as it was told by my mother – many, many times. This is the story of “The Miracle”. My mother always gave full credit to...
The Greatest Generation...
One Old Girl’s Opinion Prologue I expect that there may be some disagreement with some of these observations. But let me state at the outset that I have no desire to enter into a debate. We have been asked for our thoughts on what made the “Greatest Generation” great. These are mine. *** From my...
School Days - A Lesson Learned
My school years, grades K – 8, were spent in a dilapidated, crumbling, red-brick New York City Public School. And although I can still sing the “rousing” school song, and remember most of the kids with whom I spent those eight years going up and down the gray-walled staircases, it’s puzzling to me...
Patsy, Tony and Marilyn's Little Tush
Patsy, Tony and Marilyn’s Little Tush Among Charlie’s many and varied friends were Patsy and Tony, who owned a Bar and Grille down in Golden’s Bridge. At one point, for some unknown reason, these friends offered Charlie a pair of geese. Charlie, being Charlie, of course gleefully and immediately...
Charlie and Whitey, the Rooster
Charlie arrived home on a lovely late Summer Friday afternoon. There was a gentle breeze and it was not too hot. He decided it would be a perfect time for a pre-dinner nap in the hammock. It had been a long week and the kids would be arriving for the weekend early the next morning. The hammock was...
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