On the outside, it appeared to be your ordinary, run of the mill suburban cul-de-sac. All of the houses were fairly average. People kept their grass cut. The children played with each other in a musical way, never really harboring any sense of juvenile resentment; they wouldn't even know the first thing about what a "tagging" was, even if they had seen it on The Simpsons (which they probably weren't even allowed to watch, as it came on past their bedtime).
Yep, everything seemed to be pretty hunky dory in this picture perfect 1980's world of California stucco and squared hedges. I didn't even seem to remember there being a resident Dennis the Menace.... I later realized this oversight existed explicitly because it was I who served as the neighborhood Dennis - a position I explored with thorough intensity. I didn't just stick to one Mr. Wilson. Oh no. Everybody within the radius my tiny little stride fell victim to me knocking on their door, asking if I could come in for a bit. Around the age of 5 or so, I learned that what may appear neat and normal on the outside (of a house, in this case) wasn't necessarily congruent with what was going on INSIDE, and I began my journey of discovering exactly WHO lived in this little microcosm of mine. Hi! I'm Lauren. What's your name? / Why yes, thank you, I would LOVE some milk and cookies. / Could I stay for dinner? Okay. / Hey...what's in that closet? Can I see...? / Oops, I'm sorry. I don't know how to read, so that's why I didn't know that said "Private". I thought it said "Cake". But can I wear these pearls to dinner, anyway?
As you may have guessed, I was a curious child. So boorishly curious, in fact, that it had driven my grandfather to invent an imaginary monster he'd named "The Big Black Bug" who lived under the stoop outside and ate little girls who snooped around in drawers that didn't belong to them... My dad, obviously cut from the same cloth, used to tell me that if I didn't sit still and stop looking through his glove compartments every single time we got into the car, he'd press the "Triangle Alarm Button" (hazard lights) that would signal aliens as to where I was and they would come take me to outer space (which I was TERRIFIED of, at the time). So, it became obvious to me that I needed to smarten up. Figure out how I could follow the rules of being "socially normal", but still get to peek into the lives of the people around me.
How did I get inside to see these houses? Well, my most favored method of operation came around the time I met my first Girl Scout. I learned vicariously that if I had something appealing to sell, I could get into ANYWHERE (and isn't that the truth??). So I took things from about my room and created various pitches, hoping to appeal to my neighbors' individual sense of taste. The biology nerds? I brought them bugs I found. I learned where the kids lived and what they liked, and I'd figure out a way to come by with it in spades. I never really LIKED hula hooping, per-say, but the girl across the street did! I became an expert hula-hooptress that summer, and I got to learn all about Chinese effigies from her grandmother as sweet, sweet payment. Looking back, this is startlingly calculating for such a young person...but it's fairly easy to attribute this to growing up in Suburbia with a mother that did not use television as a crutch (thank GOD).
The conclusion that I came to was simple: people are looney tunes. If not looney tunes, TOTALLY different in their safe zones than what they show street-side. But the truly amazing thing that I learned is that although everybody was so different, we were all pretty skilled at getting along without a hitch...and in fact, enjoyed each other for the most part. Well, all except that crazy old guy that barked at us like a dog if any of us got too close to his grass... You get what I'm trying to say.
So, I'm in the process of brainstorming a YA book of a magical realism persuasion (don't let my terrible sense of punctuation fool you...it's a co-project and Eric is the grammatical genius between us two). Anyway, I must say, if any successful artist/writer/musician tells you that they don't pull things from their past or copy things they see and love they are LYING to you. Simple as that. As I am writing for children, it is entirely obvious for me to go back to the world I remember (created), as these are the most realistic moments of discovery I can draw on...or if you're being a grammar nazi "upon which I can draw". In doing this, I've mapped out our old street (thank you Google Maps), and added a few mental notes I remember about the people that lived there.
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Lauren,
Here is some info for you…. I think the time frame of who was living there is correct.
(1) Halloween spirit house: Two owners during the time you lived there.
*First, Garris & Jan Elkins and eventually two sons. Garris was an undercover cop with the Sheriff’s Office Vice and Narcotics unit and was creepy looking. Jan was a stay at home housewife. They moved away and Garris became a missionary in Europe and now heads his own chuck in Oregon. He has a book published recently.
*Next owner had a boy named Alex and a sister Carly, who always carried around a pair of her underwear in her hands… no clue as to their last name.
(2) Bacon house: the Waltharts. Gail Walthart died a few years back. They had a girl named Amy – your age and a younger brother.
(3) Piano teacher: the husband died way back when and I have no clue if she is alive. (I was told my my mother that her son married Amy Tann - the Author of Joy Luck Club)
(4) DuBois place: Monique and Marcel (a typical IBM brain monster). He had an old lime green Karmen-Ghia in his garage that he was going to rebuild. I think it is still there. They had three kids… Daughter ???, Nicole now with 3 kids and Mark or Marcel, Jr. The parents still live there.
(5) Next house: was a single Dad with atleast three kids, all redheads. One girl , one boy, unknown other.
(6) Doug’s house: the Porras family. Mike and Gayle with three boys… Jon-Michael (married with two kids and a teacher at Live Oak), Steven (unknown) and Doug. Mike and Gayle divorced and both remarried. Gayle still lives in the house and is married to a biker, as in motorcycle type.
(7) The "Fat Ones" were the Pappas family: (Greek) Nicolas and Vicki, and a seldom seen son named Scott. Nick was a travelling salesman that sold auto stuff, Vicki worked at the Post Office. Scott stayed inside and played Dungeons and Dragons all day. Scott married and moved to seattle where he work for the company that creates computer games. Nick and Vicki moved to El Dorado Hill (north of Sacramento). Nick died a month or so ago. Yep, they were always organizing street parties and volleyball games.
(8) Next to them was Betty and her old man: Betty worked for George Day – the builder of that tract. They had two daughters… Daphne and Pheobe… older that you guys.
(9) Chinese family were the Gongs, including grandma: All I know was the older son did several stints in prison. The house that burnt down… actually burnt down a second time after you moved. Don’t remember much about them. Then the Singleton’s moved in. Husband worked fo4r Lockheed security. A daughter… who had 2 or 3 kids and then finally married some other guy.
(10) Next to your house was the Evans family: The middle son was Steven and the dad was.... G-G-G-G-George! George was the guy that flew to the Phillipines and had a witch doctor remove the evil spirit inside him that made him stutter. Carol and kids Julie, middle son, and Mikey. George restored 65 Mustangs. They divorced… George is dead.
(11) Then there was your house: Lollie and Bob with two daughters. Lollie died a few years back. Then the Dodge family… enough said.
(12) First to move in on the block was the Miles family: more than enough said. Sold the house to a family with a whacko wife and several neighbors tried to track me down and do bodily harm to me. I was told the wife would come out every morning in her underwear to get the paper... and he said it wasn't a pretty sight.
(13) Next to Miles was Jim and Kathy Kidd: with a daughter Jackie (your age) and a son…. They moved and open up a Fudrucker’s Hamburger place. And Stan Devlin (Morgan Hill cop) and his wife moved in. They are still there.
(14) Don’t remember the “gay” couple….
(15) The black family: had two kids…. AJ and Esosa. No further info.
(16)(17) Don’t remember much about the next to last house: the had two girls.
(18) The last house was a divorced guy who was weird. A dork before dorks were in fashion. His yard was his #1 love. No trespassing.
If this has inspired you to draw up your own map of your own childhood neighborhood, I would love to see them! Let's share. xo
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