2579 N Frederick Street is where I:
Moved in after breaking up with a live-in boyfriend of 4 years, out of high school
Changed my major from Social Work to English/Creative Writing (which obviously was not a good idea but I was twenty-one and idealistic and was sure that becoming a writer would be no problem.)
Lived with my sister, Beth and good friend Jud for two years
Got accepted to study abroad in London (which began my love for travel)
2490 N Frederick Street is where I:
Graduated from college
First realized I wanted to work with kids with disabilities
Got into the Peace Corps
Met Tad
This weekend we're having a reunion of sorts of the people who hung out with us at our first place on Frederick Street. If you were one of those people, or if you just want to see us, come to the BBC on Saturday night around 9:00 or 10:00.
On Frederick Street, I walked home with my roommate Jud, who was carrying a Styrofoam container with leftovers as well as several pieces of pilfered silverware on a cold wintry night. I got way ahead of him and as he ran to catch up, he slipped on a patch of ice and landed with a thud on the ground. Silverware rained down on him from his containers right on his head. It was among the funniest sights I've ever seen.
On Frederick Street I watched a guy drink beer out of a blender as it was our only clean dish left in the house; My sister's boy friend did a back flip after she broke up with him to prove he wasn't too hurt; and one night when Jud and I told her to wait for us to get our Jammie's on before movie time, Beth said "Well you guys better get in there and change, cuz I'm poppin' this sucker in the V!"
On Frederick Street, we had an upstairs landlord who declared our house no longer in the jurisdiction of the city of Milwaukee after the cops came through and discovered her son's marijuana stash in the basement. She put a sign on the door which read "THIS IS NOW THE VILLAGE OF ONOLA. NO LONGER UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE CITY OF MILWAUKEE." Seriously. Also, she had a sister who left her with her two daughters in addition to her own four and our landlord was overheard one night drunkenly screaming at said sister, the following:
"I want all my money back and I want it in liquor!"
On Frederick Street, a group of us learned that if you lay on your back and laugh on purpose, in a room full of people, suddenly everyone is laughing for real and it is glorious.
On Frederick Street a lot of things were funny, and a lot of thing were fun. It's where I came into my own as an adult, as a woman.... It brought me to the place I am today. I like where I am today, but it will be nice to go back there for a little while, in my head.
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| Jud, Beth and I circa 1997 |
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