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The Mystery of the Second Neighborhood

Whenever I had moments of being upset about getting in trouble over something, there were at least a few times in my childhood when I felt the need to just escape from home for a while and go outside, I usually had the same, repetitive walks around the trailer park that I grew up in, and sometimes going out in the woods right behind it, however one day, another area piqued my interest, but I didn't go there until one day.

I had a bit of a sibling scuffle with my older brother one afternoon, and since we never really made amends with an apology, our mom just had us distance ourselves for the rest of the day. Rather than going to my room however, I snuck out the front door, walking a few blocks away from the neighborhood to walk around a second trailer park that I had always seen as my parents would drive by it.

The time it took to walk from there was quite a few minutes, leaving my own trailer park led to an auto shop, and half a while longer making it there. During the day it was just a little lively with some other kids playing outside, though it wasn't a long, straight path, a bunch of mobile homes were cramped together.

Compared to my neighborhood this one also didn't have a small playground-type area in the center, so it seemed that if anyone wanted to play outside they were stuck with being in their own yard.

Before even entering I noticed that a small preschool building was right next to it, almost reminding me of some similar business places that my parents used to go to having the same exterior.

The neighborhood itself wasn't as impressive as the one I was living at, mine had at least a few cul-de-sacs branching out from one straight path, while this one just took you in a circle and right back out.

As I mentioned before I did walk around to seeing other kids outside, I was a bit concerned that I'd get scolded by the parents for interacting with them, since they'd never even seen me before but I guess they were convinced that I already lived in the neighborhood so I kept quiet about it.

One of them I talked to had a collection of Hot Wheels, Micro Machines and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toys in this tin chest that he had, I guess bringing it out from his room. He had a variety of different Turtles toys, from the ones in costume to those that would transform into regular turtles.

He must have had a treasure trove of more of these interesting toys, but by the time I was done checking them all out it was time for me to head back home as the sun was going down, so I raced back home.

I decided to spill the beans to my mom after she raised her voice wondering where I'd been, as it turned out my brother had left home too looking for me. I told her that I made a friend, even if I would only see him for that one day. A bit sad I know, but when it comes to a parental concern I suppose I had no choice.

 

Did you ever have the curiosity to explore somewhere nearby your neighborhood? Leave a comment and as always, see you next article!

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onipar Posted on Oct 18, 2021 at 01:28 AM

@Ben, oh yeah, this was circa 1992-1993 when I had the bus pass. I was 12-13, right before I moved to PA. I actually still have the bus passes in my old wallet from those years, because yeah...I save everything. :-p

Benjanime Posted on Oct 16, 2021 at 03:15 PM

@onipar

oh geez, i wouldn't see myself using a bus pass until 2012. glad to hear you and your bro got to go to more far out areas, i loved getting any chance i could get exploring somewhere new.

onipar Posted on Oct 16, 2021 at 02:36 PM

Love the title to this one. Sorry it was spurred by a bad day, but the exploration sounded fun. Yeah, back in Brooklyn my brother and I would go exploring all the time. The older we got, the farther we went. When I hit Junior High in 7th grade, we were given public bus passes, which opened up a whole new world too.

Mr Magic Posted on Oct 04, 2021 at 02:22 PM

Sounds like you had a bad day, but it ended up being a good one later on.

Benjanime Posted on Sep 30, 2021 at 05:55 PM

@Julie

and i love you, my wondrous gem, thanks for reading ❤

Julie Posted on Sep 30, 2021 at 05:20 PM

Hope you found nice kids to play with. You are a golden boy who deserves to be happy and have the best friendships. I love you so much, my sweet @Benjanime.❤❤

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