Memories, The Best Sleeping Pill
As I aged, I noticed that sleeping got a little more challenging. I often wake up in the middle of the night, and it is frequently hard to get back to sleep. What I do is access my memories of growing up in the Kensington section of Philadelphia—the good memories only. It’s become a great sleeping pill for me and without the effects of chemicals.
I thought perhaps I would list four prominent memories, and you could do the same in your comments. Maybe they will be the start of your non-chemical sleeping pill. What do you say?
Here are just four of mine:
STREET GAMES
There were so many great street games, but my favorite was Tin Can Eddy. We would get an old oil can from the corner garage, and whoever was “it” threw it, then turned around as the others hid. The “it” person had to find someone and run back to put the can in the starting place. That new person was now it. What was your favorite street game?
SUMMER FUN
I always looked forward to our yearly visit to Wildwood, NJ. It was a chance to get out of the sweltering Philly inner-city heat and experience great beaches, a fabulous boardwalk, and other activities the city could not provide. I loved playing miniature golf, riding the bumper cars, and eating Taylor Pork Roll sandwiches. What were your favorite vacation activities?
SNOW
I remember waking up and looking out the window to see if it snowed. I was always delighted to see that it had. I knew that in an hour or so, I would be sledding down Howard Street, trying to avoid getting hit by cars on Lippincott Street. Then we had snowball fights, built snow forts and even shoveled some pavements to make a quarter. It was a bonus if the snow was really bad because school would be closed. It was rare but oh so nice. What were your favorite winter activities?
FOOD
Unfortunately, I cannot eat all the kinds of food I did as a kid, but I can relive them in my memories. My favorite lunch was a Potato Chip Sandwich. You get the best rye bread from the local bakery, put Lebanon Baloney, American Cheese, Kosher Pickles, Gulden’s Mustard and a heap of Wise Potato Chips. Ummmmm good!
My Favorite dinner was Mac and Cheese, and we had that every Friday. It was always a delight to have Pork Roll and eggs for breakfast. Of course, we also had pastries from our favorite bakery. What were your favorite meals?
I am going to sleep well tonight because, aside from these wonderful childhood moments, I will be visiting my family and friends who have passed on, and that is the real benefit of accessing our memories.
It's your turn. List three (or more, if you wish) things you loved about growing up in Philly.
