Redeemed Childhood Memories

 Dear Tito.
Yesterday I started thinking again of a picture book about  growing up in Fair Haven .
I have to say, that since coming out with the book, My Navesink so many good memories have come back to me!  It's like writing the book redeemed all of my good memories that had hidden away behind so much of the trauma I experienced.  Suddenly I'm able to see in my mind's eye all of the daring and sometimes stupid things I did as a kid, especially with Petie.  I was a fire cracker of a kid! If there wasn't anything interesting happening in my life, I went out and produced something thrilling!  Suddenly I can remember knocking on neighbor's doors to ask for a cookie.  That must have been when I was 6 or 7 yers old. It sure seems like I knew a lot of little old ladies that I could scrounge a cookie from!  If I ever get around to writing that book, I'm going to dedicate it to "All the kids who never got caught!"

And that got me thinking about McCarter's Pond and the Fireman's Fair. I bet I could make some neat paintings of those places/events that would appeal to folks in that area! 

I really love crowded, busy paintings with lots going on, like the illustration of the Navesink River frozen over and all the people skating and watching the ice boats.  I could do a painting like that of the pond with lovers skating hand in hand, a rough and rowdy game of hockey in the middle, A parent pushing a sled with a baby in it, a line of kids playing “Crack the Whip”, a couple of girls telling secrets and maybe a dog or two thrown in!

If I did a painting of the fair, it would be crowded with rides and booths and people all around the fire house. I even started a Pixelmater source for that this morning. But I need to think much more “outside the box” about before I can get a good grasp of what I want to include.

My mind is just so full of ideas! I wonder if I’ll have time to get them all done!
​I was a fire cracker of a kid! If there wasn't anything interesting happening in my life, I went out and produced something thrilling!  Suddenly I can remember knocking on neighbor's doors to ask for a cookie.  That must have been when I was 6 or 7 yers old. It sure seems like I knew a lot of little old ladies that I could scrounge a cookie from!  If I ever get around to writing that book, I'm going to dedicate it to "All the kids who never got caught!"

And that got me thinking about McCarter's Pond and the Fireman's Fair. I bet I could paint some neat paintings of those places/events that would appeal to folks in that area! So, I think when I get back to the studio tomorrow I'm going to start work on those paintings in acrylic and see if I can get them done in time for the Red Bank Street Fair on April 16.

Photo by JoAnn Pileggi