A Boy from the Bronx

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

George was more enterprising! He sold magazine subscriptions door to door. He had me carry some of them for him while he knocked on the doors to give his sales talk! That was my first lesson in salesmanship!

I always had lots of friends & a dog so I was a pretty happy kid - when I was not at home. On the other hand it was not so pleasant to see my mother intoxicated & running off somewhere, insisting that I stay home alone. Or she might have a drinking friend over to share a bottle of gin. Sometimes Walter Collins would come home from work & become very upset when she was not there or was there, intoxicated. Or if a drinking friend was still there, he would really explode! I'm sure he knew she was off drinking somewhere with someone if she wasn't home. I always felt sorry for the poor man. He must have been crazy about her, knowing she drank, knowing she had two children out of wedlock & still marrying her! What a fool!

Walter's mother & father, Edward and Mary Collins, lived on the Grand Concourse, about a one mile walk from our place. At least once a week I would walk my dog, "Troubles" over to visit them. Grandma Collins always had a piece of apple pie & a glass of milk for me. She used to

send me to the grocery store to buy a loaf of Silver Cup bread. She ate Silver Cup bread because she listened to The Lone Ranger on the radio every night, sponsored by The Silver Cup Bread Company. I was usually rewarded with a dime, a lot of money in those days! On our way home, my dog "Troubles" & I would stop in a local Jewish bakery & buy three éclairs, sit on the curb & eat them. I always shared with Troubles! We'd alternate taking bites. We'd both end up with custard all over our chins! We were inseparable. Troubles slept with me & used to put her neck on mine when we went to sleep which used to drive Walter Collins nuts!

Once when Troubles & I went over to visit them, Grandma told me to go in and say "Goodbye" to Grandpa Collins who was lying in bed, apparently dying. I went in & kissed him goodbye but Troubles would not go near him! How well I remember that! Old Granpa Collins died a few days later. I think he was 72, considered very old in those days! My gut feeling is Grandpa Collins always felt that Walter was a fool to have married my mother & taken on all the problems! I sensed that he wanted no part of us.

I don't remember ever feeling anything for Walter Collins. He was never a loving father. Both George & I started running away from home when we lived on 182nd street. He used to disappear for days at a time. When he came home Walter used to beat him with the belt till he was covered with welts.

I remember borrowing Don Cuddihy's pup tent, taking my dog, Troubles and a bag of food & walking all the way across the George Washington bridge to New Jersey. I pitched the pup tent in the woods, started a fire and Troubles & I settled down to spend the night. Out of nowhere a New Jersey State Trooper appeared, asked if he could join us & sat down by the fire. In the nicest way, he wanted to know what I was doing there in the woods. When I told him I was running away from home, he told me my mother was in tears worrying about me. He helped pack me & Troubles into his car, took us to the bridge, turned us over to a New York State Trooper who took us home. Walter Collins beat me to a pulp that night! I never forgave him!

My sex education began at a very early age thanks in large part to the McCarthy girls, Natalie & MargretMary, who used to have parties at their home when their parents were away. We played "spin-the-bottle', "flashlight" & "post office" among other games! By the age of seven I thought I was pretty "smart" when it came to girls (Boy! Was I wrong!)

In 1936, when I was in the eight grades, my mother died. One morning she awoke with severe stomach pain, was taken to the hospital & apparently died on the operating table, all in the same day while I was in class. They told me about it when I came home after school. I don't know what my reaction was. Was I happy to see an end to the drinking? I don't know. I do know she loved me but was afflicted with terrible problems. I think she always loved George Goldsmith but married Walter Collins to provide a "father" & some kind of security for her children. I think Walter finally realized that also! All I know is that to this day I can't recall what she looked like!