October Memories of a North End Kid

JoAnn Aloise LaPorte shares this poetic prose, reminiscing about the month of October as a North End kid.

so funny the month of October as a kid I always felt like it was the last hurrah for fall.. the vinegar peppers would be in lopilatos bathtub in the fruit store.. my mother would send me to go get 10 peppers no pounds get 10 peppers.. ahh pork chops potatoes and vinegar peppers with parziales crunchy bread for supper.. pomegranates.. were out.. polcaris put the slush away for the winter//sweaters would come out ..hoody sweatshirts on Saturdays..afternoon sun walking home from saint anthonys school felt so good but sadly we all knew once Halloween passed by the earth was going to fall asleep..i can remember going to mass on all saints day the chillin the air it was like time for the heavier coat.. I loved the Columbus day parade laughs .. busting balls..going home and my mother had the minasta cooked.. later on pepperidge farm apple turnovers and life was good all was well with the world..we never went apple picking ..we tell our fruit guy no dents..it was a big thing to get a pumpkin.. my father would sit at the table..my mother with the sunday globe all over the table god forbid a mess lol..he sit there and look at the pumpkin and draw out the triangles carve them out.. then let it dry out a bit and put the candle in the pumpkin.. carefully put it in the window sill so the pumpkin wouldn’t cause a fire.. after 8 that thing was in the dirt lol.. im going to enjoy October its the last hurrah before it gets to cold out.. funny thing how you appreciate a beautiful month that you just took for granted..growing up in the north end there wasn’t much greenery but we did have our foliage..the spooky cemetery, the prado and st leonards church.. today they got trees…bushes they beautified the north end but we were happy with the little foliage we had.. and if we were really brave we go up the boston common like street urchins lol.. go up fast because our mothers would of killed us if they knew we left the north end lol. it was like you committed this huge crime leaving the neighborhood and went to confession on Saturday afternoon telling the sin because you disobeyed your parents lol
.. enjoy the day everyone enjoy the month..