In the Fire Hydrant

 Growing up in Brooklyn was like growing up in a totally different world, but you might not know that unless you've lived someplace else and had something to compare it to. A typical summer back in the 70s where I lived in Bedford-Stuyvesant included someone busting open the spout of the fire hydrant on the corner of Quincy and Stuyvesant Streets. The moment we discovered the hydrant had been “compromised” we all headed to the ghetto “water park” and got crazy! Someone ran into the house and emptied a can of vegetables and cut both ends from the tin can so that they could make a spout to shoot powerful streams of water into the crowd or into the air. Everyone had fun – even the parents! This corner just happened to be on the B52 bus route, so just imagine the bus drivers’ hesitation to drive through. They stopped long enough to tell the bus riders to close the windows because when they drove through, someone took the tin can and shot the bus full of water! Car drivers weren't spared either, so some of them decided to take an alternate route when they saw the crowds in the water-soaked street. Sighhh … I don’t know if this sounds like fun to any of you, but coming from Bed-Stuy, this was by far more fun, playing in the hydrant with all your friends from the block, than any boring old water park could ever be!