When I was a kid one of the things to do was, "make the rounds. " At least that is what my little group called it. We all have our own little sayings to convey ideas or activities. This making the rounds meant going in and out of almost every store in town. It was possible back in the day, to go in the front door and out the back of the majority of the stores. So that is what we did. In the front door of say, Whites Pharmacy, where I would say hello to my Aunt, and out the back. In the back of Marley's stationery, through that crowded little walkway, and into the store. Check out the pens, tablets and other stuff and out the front. And so it went up and down Newton Lane and Main street. It was a good way to kill an hour or so. The shop owners never complained about it and would greet us more often than not.
It was in days gone by that it was possible. There was no great concern about us coming and going. Oh we bought stuff once in a while , a candy bar or baseball cards, but they weren't making much off of us. Nothing suspicious about kids going in and out the stores ! They knew who we were and who are parents were. There were, of course, stores that we spent more time in than others. Tony's sporting goods over on Newtown was a great hang out. Mr. Cangelosi (sp) didn't mind and Edgy Simmons worked there. Both were great guys. We would stop in to " check the lumber " ( baseball bats ) and try on the gloves. Same bats and gloves all summer but we kept up to date on that. The toy store over on main was a good place also. The owner there, whose name escapes me at the moment, wasn't quite as thrilled to have us there, but didn't kick us out. We could stop in to the Newspaper Company and see Mr. Barnes. He lost one leg in the war, nice guy. You could get a job putting the Sunday papers together from him.
There were times when four of us would be together and making the rounds. We would sit on a bench on main street and play a little game. One person would take their bat and tap the ground. It was a signal. Say two taps meant to cross your legs. Specifically your right leg over your left. We would be sitting there, both feet on the ground, tap,tap, all four of us in unison cross our right leg over our left. We would get stares ! We had a series of these maneuvers to amuse ourselves. Hopefully it amused some others that caught the act. It was all a part of " making the rounds. " I think about those days on occasion and smile. It was a good childhood. I guess our group was a little different. We didn't get into much activity of a questionable nature. That came later on. Later when we should have known better. But that is another story altogether. No, when I was sixteen or so you might find me sitting on a bench on Main street drinking a can of V-8. The big can. Might have purchased some candy, like now and later. I'd offer one to my friends saying, you can have one now or wait and have it later. Might get Good and Plenty and yes they were good, and we had plenty.
It was a nice way to spend a few hours, making the rounds. You would see folks and say hi, being sociable and all. You caught up on the latest happenings. In East Hampton that usually wasn't much. Involved some city folks most of the time. They were always doing something silly or stupid. Back then I could pretty much tell you what stores had what. There were those we never went in of course. They sold girls stuff and we wanted no part of that. That was in a time when " intimates " weren't displayed in the windows ! And we didn't want to see that stuff either. That is what the Sears catalogue was for. The things that a young man wanted were kept behind the counter then too. Had to ask the druggist for them. Was quite shocking when they first appeared in a display rack right there on the sales floor ! Trojans ? Oh my. The guys I knew carried one, in their wallet, for years. You know, just in case. Had more of a chance of going to the moon. So we made the rounds and it was " our town. " That was the real purpose in that exercise. We weren't really aware of that but that is what it was. It was our town and we could come and go as we pleased. As they would say today, it was empowering. We were empowered before we even heard the word ! Maybe that is what the kids today are missing. Get out in the real world, talk to real people and make the rounds.
It was in days gone by that it was possible. There was no great concern about us coming and going. Oh we bought stuff once in a while , a candy bar or baseball cards, but they weren't making much off of us. Nothing suspicious about kids going in and out the stores ! They knew who we were and who are parents were. There were, of course, stores that we spent more time in than others. Tony's sporting goods over on Newtown was a great hang out. Mr. Cangelosi (sp) didn't mind and Edgy Simmons worked there. Both were great guys. We would stop in to " check the lumber " ( baseball bats ) and try on the gloves. Same bats and gloves all summer but we kept up to date on that. The toy store over on main was a good place also. The owner there, whose name escapes me at the moment, wasn't quite as thrilled to have us there, but didn't kick us out. We could stop in to the Newspaper Company and see Mr. Barnes. He lost one leg in the war, nice guy. You could get a job putting the Sunday papers together from him.
There were times when four of us would be together and making the rounds. We would sit on a bench on main street and play a little game. One person would take their bat and tap the ground. It was a signal. Say two taps meant to cross your legs. Specifically your right leg over your left. We would be sitting there, both feet on the ground, tap,tap, all four of us in unison cross our right leg over our left. We would get stares ! We had a series of these maneuvers to amuse ourselves. Hopefully it amused some others that caught the act. It was all a part of " making the rounds. " I think about those days on occasion and smile. It was a good childhood. I guess our group was a little different. We didn't get into much activity of a questionable nature. That came later on. Later when we should have known better. But that is another story altogether. No, when I was sixteen or so you might find me sitting on a bench on Main street drinking a can of V-8. The big can. Might have purchased some candy, like now and later. I'd offer one to my friends saying, you can have one now or wait and have it later. Might get Good and Plenty and yes they were good, and we had plenty.
It was a nice way to spend a few hours, making the rounds. You would see folks and say hi, being sociable and all. You caught up on the latest happenings. In East Hampton that usually wasn't much. Involved some city folks most of the time. They were always doing something silly or stupid. Back then I could pretty much tell you what stores had what. There were those we never went in of course. They sold girls stuff and we wanted no part of that. That was in a time when " intimates " weren't displayed in the windows ! And we didn't want to see that stuff either. That is what the Sears catalogue was for. The things that a young man wanted were kept behind the counter then too. Had to ask the druggist for them. Was quite shocking when they first appeared in a display rack right there on the sales floor ! Trojans ? Oh my. The guys I knew carried one, in their wallet, for years. You know, just in case. Had more of a chance of going to the moon. So we made the rounds and it was " our town. " That was the real purpose in that exercise. We weren't really aware of that but that is what it was. It was our town and we could come and go as we pleased. As they would say today, it was empowering. We were empowered before we even heard the word ! Maybe that is what the kids today are missing. Get out in the real world, talk to real people and make the rounds.
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