Strumming on the old banjo

I remember the blue elephant that ate pennies and the bubble gum baseball cards and penny candy I bought with them at Uncle Bob’s store.  We lived on West Hendrickson in the housing project in a little house with a pot-bellied stove.  Between that stove and the wall was the only warm place in the house on winter mornings.  My cousins Elizabeth Ann and Kenny lived a couple of houses down from us and we played in the coal bins and had shingle fights.

It was a long time ago – 1949 or 1950 I believe.  Before Jerry was born and before anything else I remember so, it was the beginning of time and it was good. 

I suppose I ought to explain about the blue elephant – he came from far away California via my Grandmother (don’t you dare call her Grandma!)  She got him at Security First National Bank of Los Angeles as some sort of promotional offer.  When you pushed his tail, he lowered his trunk and when you placed a penny in the slot and released the tail, he “swallowed” the penny.  It became a favorite ploy of mine to show any visiting adults my elephant’s trick.  Of course, the pennies stayed in his belly for later use in obtaining the valuable kid commodities mentioned above.

From the beginning more than 60 years ago, until now, the blue elephant has been a part of my life and has continually resurfaced like an old friend.  These tales are the stuff of my life from my perspective alone, they may be accurately remembered (or not) but they do represent my life as I remember it.

Look for more tales of “The Blue Elephant” as I get around to placing them on electronic paper, no schedule, no particular order just tidbits as the surface from the muddied memories of my past.