jxmartin

"Hand me Downs" In the Martin household in South Buffalo, New York we used to say that "The first one up was the best dressed." It was a sardonic reference to the fact that amidst twelve children, there was often a communal use of many items of clothing. The child who arose earliest in the morning would have first access to the fresh laundry. And if he/she was swift enough in their ablutions and made off into the day with some degree of celerity, he/she had a pretty free reign over what items they could choose to wear that day.

B E G I N I N G S I was born on the Fourth of March, a time of year in Buffalo, N.Y. when Winter still locks the area in its icy grip. Spring always seemed a long time in coming. At that time, my family lived at 207 Amber St., in a two-story frame dwelling, on the South side of the City. We lived in the shadow of giant steel plants like Bethlehem and Republic. The air smelled like sulfur and anything left outside would soon be covered by a fine layer of soot and metal flakes. No one noticed. It wasn't until many years later, when I first brought my future wife home for Thanksgiving dinner, that I became aware that there even was an odor. Mary is from Rochester and noticed the aroma as we neared the homestead. I guess we just learned to live with it.