A Magical Oasis in Queens
I grew up in Sunnyside Gardens, Queens, during the 1950s, in an attached house between 48th and 49th streets. The houses had small gardens – front and back – with much larger communal gardens beyond our front yard. Small trees and flowering bushes were planted around the edges of two large square patches of well-mowed lawns, separated by two marble benches facing each other with a paved area separating them. I never saw anyone sitting there and was always discouraged from playing on the grassy areas out front. Every morning I would awaken and look out upon the buds and blossoms (or snow-covered branches, depending on the season) of the tree just outside my bedroom window. In summer birds twittered, hidden among the leafy branches, but rarely could I see... Read more...
