1964 Family Heirloom

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Albeit hazy, this is
the only known photograph
of the Son of Sam
with the Daughters of Grace.

But Sam was their Father
and Grace was my mother.



It was taken in the backyard of our  home on a block where twenty-four homes
on one side of the street had mirror images across the street.

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On that street
Me & my buddies did meet
Some were short. Some were tall.
We played football.

Lamposts were our goal lines
Every touchdown was divine.

On that street
Me & my buddies did meet
Some were short. Some were tall.
We played punchball.

As if dropped from outer space
A fire hydrant was first base.

On that street, the truth it be
While Linda pogo-sticked:
I counted to infinity.

On that street in a small loop
Judith was jubilant
in her hula-hoop.

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If the boy in the middle of the photograph
was in the middle of his aging process,
he'd be thirty years-old today.



Linda was three years older than me.
I cannot go an hour without thinking of her.
Not a day without talking to her.
She died in 1975.

Judith is six years younger than me..
I cannot go a day without relishing
our most recent phone call.
That was last weekend.

With my brother-in-law,
she was watching a crappy movie on cable TV.
"But it doesn't stink as bad
as the bathroom Lennie just used."

My only voicemail ever saved for more than a week
was from my younger sister in Virginia.
I replayed it more than a dozen times.

In August, Judith had eight  hours
of brain surgery.

Sometime next spring, I will introduce
my sister to my fiancee.


3rd millennium frontyard-view of our former home


The mirror image of the Oliverio Whitestone home
was the Singreman residence. Going through the
looking glass was as easy as crossing the street.

Two Singreman sisters had the same birthday
but they were not twins.

Fran and Mindy Missengale were both born
on May 18. So was I.

So be it.
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