A TRIBUTE: “”Lawrence Ave was a great place to
grow up. Being a dead end street gave us plenty of place to play
safely and all the older folks on our block really looked after the
children.

[neWLine]

“”Those were the days (in 1970-1980) where kids could plant May
Day baskets at the door of a stranger and run off giggling. Or ride
their bikes for hours all around Williams, Jackson and
Rosedale.[neWLine]

“”Unfortunately, my children do not have that kind of
childhood to grow up in. But it is sweet to remember the goodness
of those neighbors and their kindness and of course the special
part of childhood – everything was more brilliant
then.””[neWLine]

Bradford native Kim Nicholas-Auman writes us with that preamble
and a poem for today titled, “”41 Lawrence Ave.””[neWLine]

“”This place could ruin your senses forever;[neWLine]

our apple blossom tree,[neWLine]

dropped ivory with cloying sweetness,[neWLine]

licked the inside of your skin.[neWLine]

Skipping sidewalk with dangerous crack,[neWLine]

that scabbed my knees,[neWLine]

and boys that broke my heart,[neWLine]

with bumble gum machine[neWLine]

heart rings.[neWLine]

The roses, a council gathered,[neWLine]

at the Braun’s gate,[neWLine]

hewed to their plan to return as acid[neWLine]

to the soil.[neWLine]

Mother is hoarse from calling[neWLine]

across the vale,[neWLine]

which no ear could hear until dark.[neWLine]

And the honeysuckle we sipped,[neWLine]

the clover chewed with baby teeth,[neWLine]

back by the brick alley with short cut shadows,[neWLine]

cloisters in low lightness.[neWLine]

Our house rocked like a doomed

[neWLine]

ship in petty waves of wheat.

[neWLine]

I gave my heart over in days like these,

[neWLine]

I gave it to the sky that was always blue,

[neWLine]

when the rain did not cast its shadow,[neWLine]

sycamore medusas with ruby gloves,[neWLine]

and solid oaks with legs of stone,[neWLine]

on 41 Lawrence Avenue.””[neWLine]

[neWLine]

TODAY’S QUOTE: “”Our keeping of secrets has
often misled and confused our own people but has been ineffective
in denying information to our enemies or competitors … Let us pass
a law requiring all secret documents to be published one year after
their issuance.””[neWLine]Given our current political atmosphere,
this could have been said just yesterday. But nuclear physicist
Edward Teller said it in 1992, according to our Freedom Forum
calendar.