Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Where Mitchell Moves, #1

I was going to title (or entitle) this post, "Why Mitchell Moves," but that would initiate a major psychiatric evaluation and treatise. I move because I'm always running away from something. I move because I have no stability. I move because I don't like putting down roots. I move because I like adventure. I move because I am easily bored. I move because I thrive on change. I move because 'the grass is always greener.' On and on...

Basically, I have moved a lot in my life. This is the first in the series on "where" and not "why." Eventually, you should have a clear understanding, at least, of why my blog is called "Mitchell is Moving" (if not in fact why Mitchell moves).

Here's where it began (click any image for a closer look):

UNITY HOSPITAL, ST. JOHN'S PLACE, BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.
(THE YEAR BEFORE I WAS BORN.) 
FROM  GOOGLE MAPS.  THE NEIGHBORHOOD HAS BECOME TRENDY,
SO IT PROBABLY LOOKS VERY DIFFERENT NOW.

I was born in 1954 at Unity Hospital in Brooklyn, New York. My parents and sister were already living in the neighborhood of East New York, on Van Siclen Avenue. We had the upstairs apartment in a 2-family row house owned by my uncle's mother. My aunt (father's sister) and uncle lived downstairs with my two cousins. One more child followed in each family, but not until after we left Brooklyn when I was around 1-1/2.

MY PARENTS AND SISTER DALE (PRE-ME).
OUR NEIGHBOR, COUSIN REESA (LEFT), WITH DALE.

Built in 1901, the house was already 50 years old when my parents first moved in. It had the original back porch with darkly aged and rotting wood. The porch creaked and shook whenever we were out there.

MY MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER HOLDING DALE, WITH THREE OF MY COUSINS.
THAT'S AN AWFUL LOT OF PEOPLE TO BE ON THAT PORCH AT ONCE.
MY FATHER AND DALE ON THE PORCH.
(STAYING CLOSE TO THE WALL.)
THAT'S ME IN THE KITCHEN.
(THE DOWAGER DUCHESS LIKES RED.)
THE PATTERN MAY HAVE BEEN A BIT MUCH FOR DALE.

My Mother The Dowager Duchess had already developed her fashionable and arty aesthetic. Very trendy and custom-made furniture. Fabrics in combinations I would now include in my "what patterns you should not combine" posts. But, fashion is fashion.

HERE I AM MODELING THE DRAPES, AND THE CLUB CHAIR IN ITS SUMMER SLIP COVER. 

The sofa was 9 feet long (2.75 meters). In 1964, when we moved from a house in the suburbs to a high-rise apartment in Brooklyn, the sofa didn't fit in the elevator. The movers had to carry it up 16 flights of stairs. The Dowager Duchess gave them some iced tea, I think, and $5. (Maybe it was $10 and beer.)

THE NUBBY 9-FOOT SOFA AND I.
THAT'S NOT A DOLL; IT'S AN ACTION FIGURE! YEAH, THAT'S IT! BABY G.I. JOE.
DALE AND MORE SUMMER SLIP COVERS...
ON THE 9-FOOT SOFA AND THE WING CHAIR.
DALE IN THE TUB. (THERE'S ALSO A SHOT OF ME,
BUT IT WOULD NOW BE CONSIDERED KIDDY PORN.)
A CLOSE-UP OF THE HOMOEROTIC BATHROOM WALLPAPER.
ALREADY UP WHEN MY PARENTS MOVED IN.
(CHECK OUT THE BUNS ON NEPTUNE!)


An appropriate musical selection from 1954
(although I ain't a-getting ready to meet the saints)...

14 comments:

  1. You are so fortunate to have so many photos of your family... and... you look just like your father... I love your posts about your past.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sharon:
      SO many photos. I always WANTED to look like my father. So, thanks!

      Delete
  2. I love these "Tales of Mitchell" and I love The Dowager Duchess' use of pattern and color; daring and bold, and well ahead of her time!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bob:
      I'm working on the next installment. Thanks! Yeah, I love the style of that apartment. The wing chair was custom-fit for the Duchess and her arms when she was knitting!

      Delete
  3. This will be a good series, Mitchell! Looking forward to more.
    I love that high chair both you and Dale had! red of course!
    As to why you move......who cares! You and Jerry are having the time of your lives!! Enjoy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jim:
      I'm pretty sure that high chair was used again in the early '60s for The Kid Brother. The kitchen in the house was not red. (However red returned later.) Thanks for the moral support. Better if I don't think about "why."

      Delete
  4. Mitchell, great photo and memories. I like your place.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gosia:
      Thanks. You'll eventually ALL of my places!

      Delete
  5. My parents only took pictures of my older brother, tons of them. I think they broke the camera and never repaired it for pictures of their second son.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Stephen:
      Yeah. My mother had a baby book for my sister. Every page was filled. She had a baby book for me. It's got my name and birth information. Oh, to be so unloved.

      Delete
  6. So you weren't entered for the 'Bonny Baby' contest? Perhaps modesty prevents your mentioning it.

    We had this Rosemary Clooney record on a 78 r.p.m. - in fact the only type that was manufactured back then. It was one of a number of novelty songs, which were then in vogue, released by big-name artists in those days - and George's Auntie was HUGE. Haven't heard it for at least 50 years. Ah, memories......

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Raybeard:
      Well, the Dowager Duchess always said I had a face only a mother could love...

      (Rosemary Clooney was wonderful!)

      Delete
  7. how fun! I love old family photos!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Spo:
      As I'm sure you've noticed, so do I. Thanks!

      Delete

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