THE VEGAS – HOW IT ALL BEGAN
CHAPTER 6
By now you might start to comprehend why I said that my story is pigeon related. I met Steven from the Reapers on Vyse Avenue because of pigeons. Now, in my new neighborhood I met Fred’s uncle because of pigeons. I also met Steven who was now my pigeon partner. Then I met Mario Heavy Vega due to the same fact; pigeons have never left my life. Once you become a pigeon man, you will always be a pigeon man. Heavy sold my pigeons back to me that he caught from me. Most of all Heavy Vega befriended me, we bonded. Well here we go!
Fred and I were on the roof, our birds had just come down from flying. I was looking around in the air for stray pigeons. In the distance, Heavy’s birds had just been chased up and were beginning to climb. Because he was only three blocks away from me, every time he chased his birds I could see them as they soared for the clouds.
I love to watch pigeons fly. To me there is no better feeling than to be on my roof and chase my birds and just watch them hook. I looked at Fred and said, “Let’s go over to Mario’s roof and hang out.” We left the roof and headed to the third floor where we bought a bag of weed and headed out for our adventure. We went to Heavy’s building and went straight to the roof. I looked around, no Mario.
Suddenly, Tony Vega and Heavy run up on the roof with baseball bats in their hands. Heavy pushed the roof door open and jumped out on the roof in batting position. Heavy took one look saw it was me and said, “Mother-fucker you’re lucky that it’s you up here. I was going to bat the shit out of somebody! I thought someone was trying to steal my birds!” Heavy acknowledged Fred, “What’s up?” And I introduced them. Tony was smiling and at ease by now. Heavy put his arm around me and drug me towards the screen house of his pigeon coop, and I could hear him still breathing hard from the rush up at the stairs.
“Check out the babies,” Heavy proudly displayed 30 Prince Canadians and a few Grizzles taking baths in his screen house. I was mesmerized. Beautiful pigeons do this to me. I can just stare at them for hours on end. Even as I looked on at the birds, I heard the beat of the music from the floor beneath us. Heavy said, “C’mon Lou, let’s go downstairs. Tony, Smiley, and I are practicing a dance routine for tonight.”
Tony is taking me to the 310 and a half. It’s a Disco on Prospect Avenue. I really wasn’t paying much attention to the disco that Heavy was talking about. We went downstairs.
I could smell the Bustelo coffee the second that we entered the roof hallway. When we went inside Heavy’s house and got smacked in the face by the whole Vega clan; it was madness. Everyone was getting coffee and talking at the same time. In the kitchen, were Yvonne, Heavy’s girl, Elizabeth, Juniky, Lefty, and mom and pop Vega. All of them were having various conversations in the kitchen.
Smiley danced up a storm by herself while little Eddie mimicked her moves in the living room. The music was loud as fuck and everyone in the kitchen was talking back and forth over it. This house was Bellevue hospital right about now, crazy. Heavy and Tony finished their coffee and gave Fred and I some. Then, they looked at each other and said, “Let’s do it!”
“C’mon Fred, c’mon Lou,” Heavy said. We all headed towards where Smiley was dancing. The two brothers just jumped in and the three of them started to do a routine - the same steps at the same time like a dance group. They were amazing, but the routine was just icing on the cake. The way these three moved, the moves they were pulling, Oh hell no! I had to learn this shit here. These sons of a - anyway they could definitely dance. I never had experienced dance like this. Fred was pulverized - mashed into a realm where he was frozen stiff like a big lump of ice. I looked at Fred’s face. He couldn’t move, didn’t want to move. Fred saw the same thing I saw.
We both agreed we had to learn their style of dance. This was the most excited that I had ever gotten over dance. I was I guess, hyperventilating. I kept telling Fred, “Did you see that?” And we would watch some more. A few minutes later I would say it again, “Did you see that?” I was amazed and amazed and amazed and they never stopped amazing me. To me, now and forever, these three were brilliant.
These were very far from your average dancers. They were on another level completely. I looked at them like the Super Heroes of Dance. But, it wasn’t just one style of dance, but superheroes of many styles of dance: Rock, Hustle, Salsa, and Merengue. I believe they even danced Cha-Cha and Mambo. These kids were super talented on the dance tip, no joke. Heavy looked at Tony and said, “C’mon Tony.” Tony and Heavy took off and commenced to set fire to the floor. Never had I seen human beings dance like these two. Wow! Smiley, their sister, was just as nasty as the boys. The girl was a back draft. Smiley was gorgeous, tall, and slim, and wow could she move. She was another ball of fire that was just as nasty and furious as her brothers.
I expected this from the guys, but the way that Smiley moved, she moved as if she was one of them - she was fearless when it came to dancing. I really didn’t even think it was possible for a human being to dance like this, except for the fact that Fred and I were witnessing this shit right here, right now. Tony Vega was short, lean, stocky; he had the perfect build to dance.
Heavy on the other hand, well, they didn’t call him Heavy for nothing, enough said. 250 pounds of man, but the clincher is this son-of-whatever-you-want-to-call-him moved like a fucking ballerina. Fast, electrifying, energetic lunges - most people that big are not supposed to move that way. And, the way he would spin and drop on a dime while wearing 4 inch platform shoes, in-fucking-credible!!
This guy was a total contradiction due to his weight. I would have thought that he couldn’t move or be quick or have really good reflexes. But, this mother fucker made it look all too easy. Heavy never missed the beat; he was just incredible to watch. Forget the weight on this cat he was disgustingly ridiculous. Let me break it down! Heavy wiped his ass with most dancers, he was a monster. Tony and Smiley had the same talents. All of the family was vicious. R - A - W. I would learn this style of dance, rock, even if I had to die trying.
This street dance goes by many names: Rock, Up Rock, and Top Rock. It is the purest form of street dance. It is a competition dance in which two opponents dance against each other, battling and burning, competing, until one dancer recognizes that one of the dancers is better than the other dancer. This is called battling on the dance floor. The movements done above the floor are called Rock. These moves are the fundamental moves to break dancing. These moves are the basics that Fred and I learned from the Vega family. The movements when your hand and body are on the ground are called break moves. First came Rock, the fundamental movements of break dancing, next came breaking. I thought this style of dance originated in the 70's, but later I learned that the dance originated in the 60's.
I remember thinking that I fell in love with Heavy, not personally with him, but I fell in love with his dance style. Definitely, it was love at first dance. Did I tell you that, there is never a dull moment in the Bronx!
ONE SUMMER NIGHT
CHAPTER 7
Fred informed me that there was going to be a party at Judy's house. Judy was 13 years old, and she hung out with another girl named Denise. These two were the finest little Latinas around Fred’s grandmothers house.
Fred said to me, “You know the dance routine that we have been practicing?”
“Yeah.”
He said, “Well we are going to perform it at the party so at the end of the night we wind up with Judy and Denise. We will impress them with our dance routine.” Fucking Fred was brilliant, why couldn't I think of that? He was my best friend through thick and thin; good, bad, or indifferent, Fred always had my back and we loved each other in a brotherly way.
When we got to Fred’s house, his mom, Delia, was there. And, I noticed Fred’s little sister getting older and cuter by the second. She looked a lot like Fred’s aunt Jenny. A beauty to look at, Mita had oriental-type eyes and made these cute, funny facial expressions. She always made me smile, and I loved her like my own sister.
Jorge Reaper was in with Fred’s mom watching a baseball game. Fred puts Scorpio by Dennis Coffey on the record player, and it was strictly a Rock record. The beat kicked in and we began to practice. We practiced and practiced to the same record for about 2 hours; we must have played it about 50 times. Fred’s mom finally comes out of the room and turns the record player off and said, “If I hear that record one more time I will break it!” She seriously meant it; she was done with Scorpio.
The day of the party we got all dressed up; I had a pair of chino pants on and a pair of black suede moccasins. Looking cool was just as important as getting my dance on. At 13 years young, this party was my dancing and drinking debut. When we finally got in the door at Judy’s, it was packed with wall to wall teenagers. Freddy, the funny character he was had the record Scorpio inside his coat pocket. We were going to do that dance routine even if Fred had to put on the record himself. He was determined to get the birthday girl.
The music slowed, and they played a slow jam. I asked Judy to dance and she accepted. As we danced, I saw Fred’s face and he looked pissed. He shot dirty looks my way. He must have been trying to figure out what I was doing with the girl he wanted to go home with. His face looked mean - mad, even, and then he grabbed Denise, moving between the other dancing couples until he finds a spot right next to me. Fred had no idea what my game plan was yet. Just before he starts to dance with Denise, I put my hand on Denise’s arm and said, " Denise would you dance with me? I believe that Fred would like to dance with Judy."
Denise looked at me and then said, "I think Judy wants to dance with Freddy." It was quite obvious that Fred was going to get the birthday girl. Fred had a crush on Judy, and Judy had a crush on Fred.
I began to dance with Denise and whispered in her ear, “I believe that you are the girl that I want to dance with." With that she grabbed me a little tighter and a little closer. Denise had a wicked body built like a Mack truck. She had thick thighs, big butt, small waist, and small breasts. Hotterthanamotherfucker! She was bad to the bone. Fine as wine, and she had a wickedly cute face. We danced until the end of the record doing the two-step. We did the one two with one leg, and then one two again with the opposite leg. One-two, one-two, dancing in a circular motion. By the end of the record Denise and I were grinding pretty hard on each other. I was sure that she could feel my boner on her thigh. She was smiling, talking, laughing, and then the record ended. When we parted, Denise and Judy walked towards the kitchen. Fred and I tried to control our penises. We had hard -ons and were embarrassed; we were trying to conceal our erections.
At that moment, Denise ran out of the kitchen and grabbed my hand, pulling me towards the exit, “Come on!” I totally forgot about my erection and followed her. Judy grabbed Fred by the hand, and we all went to the hallway. Judy had a brown paper bag with something in it that she returned from the kitchen with. She led the way to the roof, and all of us followed her.
When we reach the roof, Judy pulls out four cans of Schaeffer beer from the bag. I can’t imagine what my face looked like to them. Uh-Oh, Luis - my conscience kicked in. You remember what happened the last time you drank. Uh-Oh - say it isn’t so. My heart raced; I was scared to drink. I looked at Fred’s face for one second. Fred had that same miserable look that I saw on his face the day after they pumped his stomach from alcohol poisoning.
Judy opened a can of beer and passed it to Fred. Fred and I had maybe 10 seconds to weigh our options. What were we to do? If we didn't drink, we would look like chumps and most definitely would not get the girls. If we did drink, we would probably get to kiss the girls. Fred looked at me, I looked at Fred, and then Judy said, “Bottoms up!” Judy and Denise started swallowing their beer.
At 13 years old and in the prime of puberty, I had never been kissed nor had any coochie either. I point the beer to Fred and raise it; Fred points his beer at me and raises it. Over the teeth, past the gums, look out stomach, here it comes. I must have killed the beer in five swallows. I was getting ready thinking I was going to throw up. I didn't know the difference between a Wild Irish Rose (a wine) high or a beer high. Fred and I were relatively new jacks when it came to alcohol. At that second, I didn't know what to do.
All I know is that Denise placed her hand on the back of my head, and then she slammed her tongue down my throat. I had my eyes open and could see Judy kissing Fred. I am stunned for about a second. I slowly start to enjoy her lips and warm tongue sprawling around in my mouth. But, I got a little frantic while Denise was kissing me. I kept thinking I was going to throw up because I threw up the first time I drank. Please God not while I am kissing for the first time, don't let me throw up! We were still kissing when I closed my eyes. This new sensation felt really good right about now. I quickly opened my eyes thinking to myself, I can't close my eyes. I remembered the last time I closed my eyes when I drank, the room started spinning and I puked. Just then Denise pulls away and said, “Nice kiss!”
What, what did I do? I had no kissing experience, call it horny beginners luck. I thought, then Denise kissed me again and pulled away. Dazed, I forgot all about Fred. Denise moved in, kissing me again, and then pulled away. Fred and Judy were still kissing. Denise grabbed my hand and pulled me down the stairs to the door of the party. She said, “Wait 5 minutes before you go inside; my mom is inside, and she doesn't know that I am with you. It’s our secret.” She gave me a quick peck on the lips and dashed inside. About that time, Judy and Fred came down the stairs, Judy passing me to go into the apartment and leaving Fred and me in the hallway.
I stand there not able to comprehend what the fuck just happened. I still thought that I had to go throw up. I waited for it, but it never happened. Fred looked at me, “Do you think we will throw up?”
I thought to myself, “I am not nauseous, the room is not spinning, and I feel OK. So, we must be okay.” I did feel a little silly though. Fred and I start slapping each other five and acting like two idiots. We laughed, while jumping up and down.
We now knew the difference of a beer high and a wine high, and we could handle beer.
In the distance, Fred and I heard our record Scorpio playing. We ran in the house with Judy and Denise checking us out and went directly to the center of the living room where everyone was dancing. We asked the kids dancing in the living room to give us a little space. We hit the dance floor, and we were a hit.
We did the same steps at the same time, in sync without missing a beat. We were a charm! All the girls came up to us saying, “We didn't know you could dance; that was cool.” Hook, line, and sinker, Fred and I were in. The dance lasted until about 3a.m. The kids’ party ended at midnight.
If you don't know anything about Puerto Rican families, any kid’s birthday is just an excuse for the grown-ups to have an after party, drink beer, dance, and act the fool. That’s the way most Puerto Rican families rolled in the Bronx.
Sometime around 2, the girls walked us to the front of the building. We made out some more before saying our good nights. We could have walked one block to Fred’s grandmother’s house. Instead, Fred and I rolled two joints and walked 20 blocks.
We walked from East to West, 16 blocks until we reached Grand Avenue. While we were walking, we were amped up; we thought we were hot shit. Move over! Here we come. We had just kissed girls. We felt like the hottest shit on the planet.
Ah! The good life, never a dull moment in the Bronx!
LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED
CHAPTER 8
The morning after Judy’s party I awoke around 11a.m. and went to the kitchen and got some cereal. As I ate, I called Fred, “Hey Fred, I’m going to the roof to let the birds out. You wanna come?”
Fred said, “Be right there.”
About 3 minutes later Fred was knocking at my door. We went straight to the roof and opened the locks and slide bar and let the pigeons out in the screen house. We had bought hemp seed (marijuana seeds) and shy feed at Sam’s pet shop. Sam said it was good for the birds and their diet. After I fed them, I opened the trap door and the birds took off and started flying over the roof. The next thing I knew, the birds were so high in the clouds I could barely see them. To top it off, they began to roll.
A roll is when pigeons go or travel a long distance in a straight line, and then return traveling home in the same format. The birds were high above the number 4 train line on Tremont Avenue. It was like the pigeons were using the train rails as their marker. They reached the 170th Street train station, three train stations away. I could barely see the pigeons anymore. They had travelled about 2 miles from their home, and they were so high and far I could no longer see them.
I was frantic. I didn’t know what to do. I looked over the ledge of the roof at Steven’s house where Bumpy was coming out of the gate. I scream, “Yo! Steven, come up here.”
Steven came up to the roof then started asking, “What happened? Where are the pigeons at? Did we get robbed?”
I replied, “Hell no! Not with the fort we built.” But I went on and explained to Steven that the birds went out rolling. I told him the last time that I saw the birds they were around 170th Street train station. I then pointed more or less to the last place that I had seen them. Steven was quiet. Fred was quiet. The roof was silent.
Just then, Heavy walked up to the roof with a big smile on his face until he saw me and I was almost in tears. Heavy asked, “What’s wrong.”
“My pigeons went on a roll about 35 minutes ago. I haven’t seen them anymore; they were out around 170th and Jerome Avenue.”
Heavy looked at me and said, “Relax your birds will be back.” I fought back the tears. I really thought my birds were gone. Heavy passed the joint he was smoking to me, then turned and looked up, “My partner must have chased my birds.” Heavy’s birds ascended in the sky and were in the clouds in about 5 minutes. His young Canadians were monsters. I turned, looked in the direction I last saw my birds, still nothing in sight and it had already been 45 minutes.
I looked back to Heavy’s birds, and Heavy said, “Look behind my birds. There’s a stock.” Both stocks of pigeons were high in the clouds when the two stocks collided. Usually when two stocks collide, they fly in circular motions. The stock that collided with Heavy’s pigeons went right thru them, like Heavy’s pigeons weren’t even there. They proceeded in a straight line pulling some of Heavy’s birds in with them.
The birds kept coming in a straight line, flying directly towards our roof. They were still high in the sky. Then Heavy said, “Lou, there go your birds, they are over Burnside Avenue. They’re coming right at you, with some of my birds.”
With all the excitement and commotion going on I didn’t even realize my birds were home. Still, they were damn near in the clouds. I couldn’t believe how high they were. I could see some white Canadians that belonged to Heavy.
My birds began to descend, coming lower and lower. When they were about thirty five feet above the roof, I noticed all of them had their mouths wide open. They were thirsty. Before they landed, I remember being amazed at how my birds rolled out towards 170th and Jerome Avenue but returned from the opposite direction and came home from Fordham road area. How could these animals pinpoint one roof so accurately from 5000 feet in the air? They fly in the clouds and find their way home with no problem. Heavy was much older than me, and he also knew more about pigeons than I did. He told me my birds would be back, and he was right. They slowly circled and started landing.
The final second of judgment - would Heavy’s 6 month old baby Canadians land on the roof also? All my birds made it down. Most, if not all, headed for the water cans. Heavy’s birds would not land. They circled the roof - one, two, three times - then jetted home. Heavy said, “How about my Canadians, you couldn’t drop one of them Luis.” I had to give it to him; Heavy’s birds were very smart for being 6 month old babies. Heavy turned and stated, “The birds you have, have been together for a long time. They know each other very well. When your birds roll, Luis, they fly like racing Homers during a race. Did you see how they flew in one continuous line with no interruptions? Did you see how they ripped right thru my Canadians and kept going in a straight line? Majority of the time, only racing Homers do this. My Canadians didn’t even phase your flights; this is the reason why I said that your birds have known each other for a long time. They have rolled out together many times before; they are a tight knit family. Birds that have been together for a long time fly like your birds did today.”
Steven started throwing feed in the screen house. Fred and Steven didn’t say much during the entire event. The birds were hungry and went inside the screen house. Steven closed the trap door and said, “That’s all the action you will see for today.” We had only had the birds out on the roof for a month and a half. I was impressed by how smart our flights were, and so was everyone else on the roof. I started feeding the birds shy feed and hemp seed instead of their usual grain.
Heavy noticed what I was doing. He asked me, “Have you been feeding them shy feed and hemp seed every day?”
I replied, “Yes, for the last three days.”
Heavy chuckled, “No wonder your birds ripped half of the Bronx today. You fed them marijuana seeds. That stuff will make your birds rip like crazy. For any little reason, they will take off; they become very shy. The shy feed, I give it to my birds once every two weeks replacing their grain. I feed the hemp seed to my birds once a month.”
We locked up the birds, went downstairs, and said our good byes to Heavy. Heavy went home, and we headed for Steven’s porch. As we settled on the porch, Steven went inside and returned with the chessboard. Fred and Steven set up and started to play while I looked up at the roof, still in awe that my birds had ripped half the Bronx.
Freddy looked over at me, “Hey Lou, I forgot to tell you. It’s Daisy’s birthday today. Daisy from my building. You know the Superintendent’s daughter. Party time!”
When Fred said Daisy, there was more to that than just Daisy. Daisy had a string of voluptuous and pretty sisters. There were five sisters all together. I looked at Fred and said, “Now you tell me.”
“I didn’t want to bother you with that bitch ass look you had on your face all morning.” He was right, that was the look I had on my face.
“Okay. That’s beside the point. You could have told me!”
Fred said, “I just found out this morning. Daisy told me when I was coming out of the doorway of my building into the courtyard.”
We played chess until around five o’clock, when we headed home to get ready for the party. Fred came back from his house, “My mom is not home; she is at Juany’s.”
My mom asked him, “Are you hungry?”
Fred said, “Yeah.”
She told him, “Go in my room with Luisito, and watch some TV on the bed while I cook something.”
About half an hour later she yelled, “Come and get it.” When we sat down in the dining room, I noticed she had made my favorite. Arroz con gandules (rice with green pigeon peas), fried pork chops, and tostones, fried green plantains. My grandmother went up and brought my aunt Doris downstairs. My aunt was now living on the 6th floor of our building. We all sat down and devoured the food. It might have lasted for 2 minutes; the meal was a ghost. Fred and I put our plates in the sink, and I washed them.
When we got back to my room, I got my dress clothes and the ironing board out. Fred, Al, and I always pressed our clothes. When we went out, every hair had to be in place, our clothes had to be sharp, and our shoes had to be spotless. As I pressed, Fred and I smoked a joint in my mom’s room. By now, my mom knew that both Fred and I smoked weed. She preferred that I smoke in the house, rather than out. There was less chance of getting arrested inside my own apartment. When I finished my clothes, Fred pressed his. I blew dry my hair and then put about a pound of hairspray on it. We were ready. We went downstairs, crossed the street, and headed to Daisy’s house.
As soon as Fred and I entered the party, we noticed a lot of pretty girls. I especially had my eye on a girl named Beatrice. She lived on the first floor under Fred’s apartment. She was cute as a button with freckles on her face. The music played, and the grown-ups drank. Fred and I tried to finagle some beers, but the adults had the fridge on lock down guarded like Fort Knox. No way could Fred and I get beer out of the fridge, so we went outside.
Jorge Reaper showed up right on time. He walked up the block with Delia, Fred’s mom. When they walked passed us, I called him over, “Hey, Jorge.” He came over to us, and Delia kept walking up the block.
Jorge said to her, “I’ll meet you upstairs,” then turned to us and said, “What’s up?”
I exclaimed, “We need a beer run. Look out for us.”
“What kind,” he asked.
I said, “Grape flavored and an apple flavored Malt Duck,” and handed Jorge a five dollar bill. “Buy one for yourself too, for doing us the favor.”
“I’ll be right back,” he said.
We stood in the front of Daisy’s building when Beatrice reappeared with her little sister. Smiling, she looked my way, “Hi Louie!” Fred could tell she liked me. She didn’t take her eyes off me.
Fred said, “What about me? Aren’t you going to say hello to me?”
“Sorry Freddie, how are you,” she replied.
Fred exclaimed, “That’s better.”
We kicked it for a bit when Jorge returned with the beer. He passed the bag to me and said, “I bought some potato chips with the change.”
“Thanks, Jorge!”
Beatrice said, “What’s that, beer?”
I said, “Yea you want some?”
She immediately looked at me and said, “I don’t drink.” She then turned and said, “See you later,” and disappeared into Daisy’s apartment.
Fred and I went to the roof of his building where we rolled two joints and drank a quart of beer a piece. Then we smoked a joint a piece. Now, Fred and I were ready to get on down and party. We went downstairs and back into the party. The party packed quite a few more teenagers by now. Daisy’s apartment was teenagers everywhere. Fred and I hit the dance floor and strutted our stuff. The girls were checking us out on the dance floor. Fred and I were amateurs at dancing. Even though we were beginners, with the little bit that we knew, we were definitely not shy. We danced for about two records, and then they played a slow jam.
Beatrice still had not taken her eyes off of me since I entered the party. She grabbed my hand and said, “Let’s dance.” We started to dance, and she was all over me, whispering in my ear, and I could smell beer on her breath. I looked at her and thought to myself; she is such an amazing, pretty young girl.
I looked in her eyes, “I thought you said you don’t drink.”
She replied, “My little sister can’t find out; she will tell my mom.” That explained everything. While we danced I asked her if she smoked weed, and would she like to go smoke with me later. She looked at me and said, “Later on we will sneak out of the party and smoke.” I was in like sin; later, I would definitely try to kiss her.
Fred and I stood around checking things out when Daisy, who was the most promiscuous girl that I had ever met, said, “Let’s play spin the bottle.” She rounded up some girls from the party while Fred and I rounded up some boys, and we all headed for Daisy’s room. We sat in a circle and put the bottle in the middle. Daisy spun the bottle. As she lets go of the bottle, her mother walked in and caught Daisy lifting her hand off the bottle. Her mom threw a fit. She chased us all out of the room, and then she started cursing Daisy out in Spanish. We all ran and hung out in the living room.
In the living room, we were checking out the action. When Toni, Daisy’s oldest sister, entered the room, it was like a commercial. Everyone, young and old, froze dead in their tracks and stared. Wow! Was she something to stare at!! This Puerto Rican woman was gorgeous. She had black straight hair that landed on the biggest ass I had ever seen. Dark skinned with hazel eyes, she always had a radiant, glowing face. Toni was about 19 years old, and I was in love with her, though I could never tell her. It was about 10, and the kids were almost gone so the grown ups took over the party.
They played Salsa music and danced. When the Salsa music stopped, Toni played a record called Jungle Fever by Chakakas. The record had a nice beat but it made sexual noises like moans and groans. Toni grabbed my hand and said, “Come Louie, I’m going to show you a new dance.” She took me to the middle of the living room floor.
Toni said, “All you have to do is bump your hip against my hip like this,” and then she began to show me. She bumped her hip against mine. She said, “You just keep doing the same move over and over.” The dance was simple. Toni kept bumping me and bumping me. I thought for sure that I was going to have an orgasm. The record had almost finished, and it was just in time for me because I could barely hide my erection.
Toni said, “Thanks, Louie! That wasn’t so hard to learn now was it?” Then she kissed me on the cheek.
Just then, Beatrice grabbed my hand and said, “Let’s go smoke.” I took my little sister home so we could be alone.
We went outside, walked to the building where she lived, and went up to the roof. Beatrice wasted no time; we started kissing as soon as we hit the roof. I didn’t even get to roll the joint. About 15 minutes later we stopped kissing and she said, “Roll the joint.” So, I did. We smoked and made out for another 15 minutes, then went back to the party.
As I walked through the door Fred looked at me and said, “You’re hot tonight, Papi! What happened?”
I said, “We just made out and smoked one.”
Fred said, “Cool,” then asked me, “Where?”
“On your roof “I exclaimed. As we talked, the party started breaking up. Most of the people were leaving. I said my good byes to everyone, and then I walked Beatrice home.
What a night! Fred and I hung out in front of his building after the party, and Jorge Reaper came downstairs. We all talked for a bit, then Jorge lit up a joint. We smoked it and we all went home. Fred went to his house. I went to mine. Great night! I was ecstatic, for I had got the girl and even kissed her. Ahhhhhhhh!!!! And they called it Puppy Love, it was the best.
It’s just like I keep saying, never a dull moment in the Bronx!
STREET GAMES
CHAPTER 9
It was the end of the school year. The following year I would be going to Cardinal Hayes High School. It was an all-boys school. That sucked because this was the time in my life when my eyes began opening up to girls, the opposite sex. Before school started I still had two months to jerk off, literally and not literally.
During the summer months we didn’t do much. We either went to Crotona pool or we played street games. Steven’s mom bought them a pool table and put it in the basement of their private house. After the pool table arrived all we did was play pool in the basement.
Then we started learning street games. The first one for me was stickball, one of many. The bat we used looked like a broom stick just a little thicker in radius. Two strikes you’re out, next batter. First base was usually a car tire; second base was usually the sewer manhole cover located in the center of the paved street. Third base was a car tire directly in front of first base. Home plate was another manhole cover usually in the center of the street. Remember these are street games, the only thing on the streets are cars and manhole covers. Two teams, two strikes, three outs, nine innings just like baseball. The ball was a 2 inch in diameter air filled pink rubber Spalding ball. We also used these balls to play Handball and Slugs, two other street games. Oh yeah one more thing someone would always roof the ball. Plain and simple you smack it you track it. This means if you roofed the ball you were responsible for getting it.
The Street Games:
(This is a part of Bronx upbringing!)
Ring Olivia
Two teams: team A must capture team B. When team A catches someone from team B he must hold on to the opponent and say ringolivia, one, two, three, three times. It is just like Round Up, with a twist. The person who was caught is put in a base. A base was usually the stairs or the stoop of a building. Here’s the twist, if one of the members of team B tags the stoop or stairs his team is then set free, then team A must recapture them and place them on the base. The game goes on and on until all of team B is captured. Once team B is captured then it is team B’s turn to catch team A.
Round Up
You begin with two teams, team A and team B. The object of the game is to catch or round up team B. When you catch one of your opponents, you must hold onto them until you have said round up one, two, three, three times in a row. Once caught your opponent must help you to catch or round up the rest of the existing players. If an opponent breaks free from your grip or hold before say round up one, two, three you must recapture him. This is repeated until all the players are caught.
Johnnie on the Pony
Two teams team A and Team B. First of all you have to have a pillow. A pillow is a player who puts his body against a building. The second person on line must hunch or bend over and clench onto the waist of the pillow. The third man hunches or bends over and grabs the second man by the waist. The third, fourth and fifth men all do the same. Team B then takes turn jumping on teams A's backs. The object of the game is to hold up the weight of team B. Once all of team B is situated on the backs of team A, then team A must then repeats Johnny on the pony one, two, three, three times. Now it is Teams B turn to hold the weight of team A. If any team fails to the weight of the other team the game then starts over.
Skellsies
Make a board out of chalk on a patch of sidewalk or smooth street. The board consists of thirteen numbered boxes, 1 through 12 and the box labeled 13 in the center surrounded by a “dead man’s zone” or Skull. Start at a line outside the skully box; in my neighborhood the start line was called out of town. When starting, you aim for the “1” box, flicking your bottle cap with your finger. If you get it in (without missing or touching any line), you keep your turn and shoot for the next box. You can also advance a box by hitting the cap of an opposing player. If you are close to another player’s piece, you can try to blast his piece halfway down the block with your own piece. In some neighborhoods you could replace your cap with a heavy one like the steel cap from the school desks or chairs. These caps were made of steel and in my neighborhood we would melt wax and pour the wax inside them for extra weight for the purpose of blasting. You could not do this if someone called, no blasting allowed.
After going 1 through 13, you have to return, going from 13 to 1. After completing the full journey you shoot back into thirteen and then navigate the “skull” shooting your piece in the forbidden zone “dead areas of the skull,” while declaring your new powers (I am a killer diller).
From this point on you hunt the other players. Only you or other killers can safely go inside the forbidden zone. If you hit a player once becoming a killer three consecutive times, they’re out of the game. If they hit you, then they become a killer too (or if you decide beforehand they’re out of the game). Depending on the rules set before the game starts.
Players may recall a number of words specifically to the nuances of skully. From the obvious blasters, killers, and baby stuff to the more subtle pipsies, linesies and marksies, there is a rich lexicon of words attached to the game. And of course, everyone knows one term in skully universal to all kids games “do over.” Full terminology can be found in the Streetplay Official Skully Rules.
Hand Ball
The game of handball is played on a wall twenty feet wide by sixteen feet high on a play surface twenty feet wide by thirty four feet long with clearly marked lines, with a short line sixteen feet away from the wall, also clearly marked. The server plays from nine feet behind the short line with a rubber synthetic air filled ball just under two inches in diameter. The defense will begin play behind the servers. The area between the short line and the long line is the play zone. The server must get the ball back to the wall before it bounces a second time, if defense fails server scores and holds their place. If server fails to return. If server fails to return volley, server cedes and becomes defense. Play continues until first team reaches twenty one or if playing single eleven.
Slugs
Same rules as handball except that the ball must first hit the floor and then the wall, where in hand ball, the ball must touch the wall first. This game is played in the opposite fashion that hand ball is played.
Tag
Tag is relatively self-explanatory. One first person is “it” (chosen candidate). That person runs after his opponents. When he touches or tags another opponent then in turn the person tagged must then tag another opponent and so on and so on.
Freeze Tag
The same rules that apply in Tag also apply in freeze tag. The only difference is that once tagged you must remain frozen in the spot you were tagged. You may be unfrozen by being touched or tagged by one of the free players.
Most of these games are not found in other States. Mostly they are found in the Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. I also believe that these games were played on Staten Island also.
This is an educational, social experience that can only be learned in the streets of the Big Apple. New York is the ultimate place for anyone to educate themselves on street smarts. These Boroughs will eat you whole and spit you out. Yet, these games tend to show a completely different side of New York City. The positive and the negative, the Yin and the Yang, Black and White, one cannot exist without the other. The streets are rough and will consume you. Street games are soothing and really a lot of fun. One cannot exist without the other. The positive and the negative must coincide in order to have balance.
Street games, I played the shit out of all of them. I hope that I was able to educate everyone about, STREET GAMES.
Still don’t believe me, never a dull moment in the Bronx!