It was September 1932 and I was 14 years old. I was filled with excitement and anticipation. I was starting my first day of high school!! Not just any HIGH but JAMAICA HIGH. A brand new one year old building, the epitome of all High Schools in NYC. It was a huge, U shaped, gray stoned structure on a hill. As I entered this enormous place with a million corridors, rooms, and stairs, I was over whelmed. I felt I was being swallowed up by it. That it would keep chewing on me for 4 years and then spit me out, Ready or Not.
At this time we lived in Hollis, a section of Queens and quite countrified. There were small houses with vegetable and flower gardens. We children had a very long walk (about an hour each way) to school. We didn’t mind it, because as we went along our little band grew larger. It was fun, laughing, talking, teasing, pushing, and running. One day we heard exciting news!! At that time our only mode of public transportation was a trolley car line. Well, it was going to be replaced by buses!! Oh my, what anticipation. We had never ridden on a bus.
We planned that we would ask our mothers for a nickel to ride home on the bus. I was filled with anxiety, as to how I was going to ask my mother for this nickel. Up to this time, it had not occurred to me, as to why asking for money was verboten.
While we were doing the dishes, I finally got the courage to ask her for the nickel. I explained to her that all the other children were also asking for nickels so we could ride the bus together. Well, it seemed that she just froze with her hands in the dish basin.
When she finally turned around, I was astonished to see tears of anger and frustration in her eyes. “You foolish girl” she said to me. “Do you not realize what a nickel can buy??”“it buys 5 rolls for your week’s lunch box. It can also buy 5 apples for you”. In the next few moments I learned about many things that could be bought for a nickel!!
Then she said “I cannot give you this nickel for a foolish bus ride”!! All this time she was crying as if her heart would break. I just stood there staring at her and suddenly stupid, silly, me realized we were POOR. And just as suddenly, knew, how much our mother loved us. Without complaint, she went to work as a cook every day, came home and took care of her family. By her thriftiness she made every nickel count and kept the heart and soul of our family together. By this time, I too was crying. Before I knew it, I ran to her. We stood In that kitchen, laughing, hugging and crying together.
That was the day I grew up.
Anne Humbach
June 2002
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