THROUGH THE EYES OF A CHILD.1940'S

JUNE, 1944...FIVE YEARS OLD....NEW HOME, NEW TOWN, NO OPENS FIELDS WHERE THE HAY BALERS WERE CHOMPING HAY AND ALL WAS QUIET.....MY FATHER WAS TRANSFERRED TO L.A. AS AN ACCT WITH AMERADA PETROLEUM.   TWO BEDROOM, ONE BATH HOUSE ON NORTON AVE,  TWO BLOCKS NORTH OF SAN FERNANDO ROAD.....WW2 STILL ON....GAS STICKERS ON WINDSHIELDS, FOOD STAMPS,    ALL NEW TO ME.  MY FIRST MEMORY OF OUR NEW HOME WAS THE MOVING VAN ARRIVING FROM TULSA, OK.  OUR BELONGINGS WERE BEING UNLOADED AND THERE WAS A GROUP OF KIDS GATHERED AROUND TO WATCH.  MY FIRST UN-EASINESS THERE.  THE REALTOR SHOWED MY PARENTS WHERE SPRINKLER TURN ON VALVE WAS IN BACK YARD...WE LIVED THERE FOR SIX YEARS.  LOOKING BACK, I AM AMAZED AT HOW MUCH LIBERTY MY PARENTS GAVE ME.  ONE DAY, MY MOM COULD NOT FIND ME.  WITH THE HELP OF NEIGHBORS, THEY FOUND ME ON MY TRICYCLE WATCHING THE TRAFFIC LIGHTS CHANGING COLORS ON SAN FERNANDO ROAD.  LITTLE GIRL NEXT DOOR, MY FIRST FRIEND,  SHE AND I WALKED UP TO GLENOAKS AND JUST LOOKED AROUND. TO THE WEST, A MASSIVE INFLUX OF CARS COMING IN A BUNCH.  SHE SAID "LOCKHEED"......TRAFFIC FROM END OF SHIFT....IT DID NOT TAKE ME LONG TO REALIZE NORTON HAD ITS FEARS.  A BULLY NAMED RICHARD.   IN RETROSPECT, I REMEMBER MRS WITT NEXT DOOR COMMENTING ON HIM...."HE WAS THE BAD ONE"   AN APARTMENT COMPLEX WAS BEING BUILT ON THE NW CORNER OF NORTON AND GLENOAKS.  THE FRAMING HAD BEEN DONE.....I FOUND A PLAY AREA....I RAN UP THE STAIRS TO THE TOP FLOOR OF THAT BUILDING AND I WAS AMONGST THE TREE TOPS....I BECAME A PILOT UP IN THE CLOUDS, BOMBING THE GERMANS.   I DID NOT NEED TO SEE RICHARD, I COULD SENSE HIM...A FOREBODING....I RAN TO STAIRS AND RICHARD WAS COMING UP....A SHARK SENSING BLOOD....LEERING, CRUEL LIPS...HE GRABBED ME AND DANGLED ME OVER THE EDGE...I COULD SEE THE GROUND BETWEEN MY FEET TWO STORIES DOWN.  I BROKE FREE AND RAN. FOR MY LIFE I RAN... I USED BACK YARDS..OVER ONE FENCE...RUN..OVER ANOTHER...I LOST HIM.. I WOUND UP IN  THE BACK YARD OF A NEW FRIEND, ROLAND GOFF.  HIS MOTHER SAW ME CRYING IN HER BACK YARD AND GAVE ME SOME BANANA BREAD SHE HAD JUST MADE.  I WILL NEVER FORGET THAT.  I LEARNED TO CARVE OUT SECRET PLACES, JUST FOR ME.  A CERTAIN BUSH TO SIT UNDER, AN OLD ABANDONED BUS IN THE STORAGE AREA OF AN AUTO REPAIR SHOP ON SAN FERNANDO ROAD.  MY SECRET HIDE OUT. I CAN STILL SMELL THE MINGLING OF OIL AND PEPPER TREES.   I LOVED PELANCONI PARK.  GREAT SWINGS THAT ALLOWED YOU TO GO ABOUT AS HIGH AS YOUR NERVES COULD STAND.....THE SAND BOX....THE SLIDE...THE SMALL BRICK BLDG THAT WAS A PEE PEE PLACE.....THE COVERED AREAS UNDER WHICH WERE TABLES WHERE WE PLAYED CARAMS ON SUMMER DAYS....THE WHISPER OF THE WIND,  THE PASSING OF A STRANGER....ALL SAFELY TUCKED AWAY IN MY MEMORIES.....THE B