“Where ya from?” A very common question, usually asked about 5 minutes into a conversation with a stranger I’d just met. I’d probably answer “Nyawk”. To which I’d get one of many responses. “Wha?” From most any non-New Yorker. From a true New Yorker ( Cit, that is). I’d hear, “Whereabouts”?
I could say “Queens”. That would be correct. I could also say, “Flushing”. A bit more specific, but also correct. Flushing is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City. Its population is greater than many US cities, but it is a mere “neighborhood”.
However, my correct mailing address was 194-01, 37th Ave, Flushing, NY 11354. Sure looks like a city in New York state on paper
I was literally raised in Flushing. 1947-1961. It had 3 movie theaters, many restaurants and bars, many stores, schools, churches and medical facilities. All you would need to raise a family. Our trips to “the City” (aka Manhattan), were few and special. For example— to see the Christmas Show at Radio City: or to visit a special museum. Ninety percent of my time was spent in Flushing, my neighborhood.
By the way, it had trees, fields, woods, playgrounds and parks. Plenty of sandlot baseball fields and open areas where two young boys, like my friend Allen and me, could practice with our bows and arrows without hurting anyone. We didn’t have a car. Many people didn’t. Zokay. Within walking distance
We had a grocery store, deli, cleaners, laundromat, liquor store, pizzeria, drug store (pharmacy), and Jack’s Station Sweet Shoppe, where one could get newspapers, cigarettes, comics, candy, ice cream( including sundaes, sodas, shakes, cones, and fountain drinks, and a tuna fish sandwich if one wanted lunch. I worked at the pharmacy and at Jack’s
part time for three years while at Bayside High School. A great experience and preparation for living in the “real” world a bit later.

We were always “rent poor”. My mom found neighborhoods where crime was low, schools were good and neighbors looked out for each other.
Rent was high for 1956. About $100 monthly. We didn’t always pay on time. When we were a couple months behind on rent, Mom would send me to school with a warning not to be surprised when I came home if I saw our furniture on the street, and we were evicted. Somehow, she always found the money just before they lowered the boom on us.
In summary, the neighborhood of Flushing, Queens, NYC, NY was my solace, comfort zone, and home through Public Schools 79 and 32 (elementary school), Bayside High School, Queens College and Brooklyn College. I graduated from BC in 1961 and was commissioned in the United States Air Force as a second lieutenant. I finally, left Flushing and started my 30-year Air Force career in Waco, Texas, at James Connally AFB, learning how to be an Air Force navigator and, more importantly, learning that New York was not the center of the universe. Enuf.