When my dad died in 1943, my mom didn’t want to stay in our apartment on Utopia Parkway, where he passed. Problem is, there’s a housing shortage and a war goin on.
We weren’t broke, but we were kinda homeless. From age 4 to about 7, we lived with relatives or good friends. I spent 2nd grade in three locations; Flushing, Wurtsboro, NY (my Aunt May and Uncle Ted’s chicken farm ), and Staten Island (with super good friends, Bob and Ginny).
Bob and Ginny had three kids. Bobbie (Barbara), the oldest, and I became very close friends for a long time. I remember giggling with her at the dinner table about something one of the adults said.
She taught me how spell “Barbara” only to have Streisand come along about 13 years later to screw it up.

Move the clock forward about ten years to 1956. Bobbie and I stayed close friends, even though Mom and I moved several times. We were settled in at 194th Street in Flushing, and Bobbie and family are now in Rockville Center on Long Island. Bobbie asked me (probably with a push from her parents) to escort her to her Junior Prom, at her high school. I happily agreed. I was a senior at Bayside High and she was a year behind me.
The prom was great. We danced, talked and laughed a lot. I heard some rumblings from some of her classmates and someone said, “Let’s go to Casa Seville.” That became the group plan. Casa Seville was a nice night club near Rockville Center. They served dinner as well as booze, sooo We were goin to dinner and show at a night club. I had never been to a night club, and I had little cash in my wallet.
Bottom line —. I had just enough cash to cover our cost of dinner for two and not enuf for a tip. The waiter followed me out to the door when we left shouting how cheap I was not to leave a tip.
I vowed never to attend a prom again, because of the unknown high cost of the “After Prom”. I also vowed not to go any place for dinner without ample $$ in my wallet. Good life lessons for an 18 year old.
About a month later, I asked Bobbie to celebrate my Senior Prom night with me by not going to the damn prom, but by taking in a dinner and show of our own choosing. She said, Yes.
So, on Senior Prom night I dressed up pretty good and picked Bobbie up at her home. She was beautiful. Remember — I had no wheels. We walked to the Long Island Railroad Station close to her home. And took the commuter train to Penn Station in Manhattan. A quick taxi ride to the Miyako Japanese Restaurant. A true adventure for both of us. First time to try sukiyaki, tempura and wonderful table side preparation.
Then a short walk to Radio City Music Hall, a fantastic venue still today. We saw a great stage show with the wonderful Rockettes and a fun movie, “The Prince and the Showgirl” starring Marilyn Monroe and Lawrence Olivier. What a blast. BTW. The show cost about $4.00 for the two of us. Yay 1957.
We had a great time, but for some unknown reason, we didn’t date again. Different schools, no wheels. Two different worlds. Great memories. Great friends, but time and our lives take us to different places. I’ll always remember my great non-prom prom night. Enuf