Brightwaters

 The oversized Tudor style home was completely environed with tall thick hedges, the kind that made it seem as though we were the only people in the neighborhood.  This home seemed so expansive a the time or at least it felt as such being only four years old at the time.  South Winds Ave. was the place, a three car garage with our apartment above, connected to the main house by way of a covered breeze way lined with thorny rose bushes.  There was a large green and lush manicured lawn where I'd play often adjoined by a graveled driveway which was perfect to practice the art of getting dirty and scraped up.  

We were in part tenants of this small castle, and the king and his queen rarely if ever locked the doors.  On many occasions, I could be found during the pre-dawn hours rummaging through the pantry or snack drawer looking for anything that would pass for a sweet.  I remember distinctly the day I found and introduced myself to "Pop tarts", oh so good. From that day on for weeks, this little four year old raccoon would pilfer the compounds supply of Kellogg's famous pop tarts.  There were many kids that lived here some old some young, so my petty thievery was entirely passed off as scapegoat.  I was in fact caught one morning by an older member of the family who put and end to the great disappearing pop tart caper, and kindly brought me home and had a good laugh with my mother.  I don't ever remember returning to the South Winds castle to relive the crimes I had committed, but there are a few more incidents that occurred here, but those are stories for another time...to be continued....