Introduction
Sometimes I can still hear Liver barking, or see the construction workers building new homes, and smell the barbecue wafting from the neighbors Viking grill. Sometimes when I see little children playing, I see Mark and I climbing trees and getting ourselves into trouble. It’s weird how memories live on forever. No matter how old you get, it seems like the oldest memories return, even when you don’t want them to.
I was born August 19, 1979 to the proud parents, John and Susan Winters. I was their first born. They decided to name me Jeremy. The earliest memory I have was when I was around three or four years old. At that time, we were living in a two-bedroom apartment. My mom was a stay-at-home mom, only because my parents didn’t have the money for preschool or a babysitter. My dad was working for a telephone company and going to law school. The thing I remember the most was that we didn’t have much. Any time I saw something on the television and would ask for it, my mother would respond, we really don’t have the money for that, but just you wait. Once your daddy graduates and gets a job we will have all the money in the world. It wasn’t until I was five that he finally graduated. I remember going to the graduation. I watched my father get his diploma. My mother was extremely happy; she was also three months pregnant with my baby sister. After he graduated and passed the bar it took him about five months to secure a job with a law firm. We still didn’t have much at first, but as time went by my dad would bring surprises home. I remember a day in October, he brought home a new station wagon; he said he knew we would need it with the new baby coming. By then my mom was eight months pregnant and ready to deliver (something she would always say). At this time, I remember seeing less of my father. He would work from eight in the morning until seven at night and by the time he came home he was so tired. He would play with me and talk to me for a little while, but it wasn’t like when he was working for the telephone company. My mother would always explain to me that that was the way it had to be, that lawyers had to work a lot. She would try to make me feel better by saying it was a good thing because it meant that daddy would be able to buy me whatever I wanted, but I didn’t care at that moment, I just wanted my dad. I used to pray at night that my dad would lose his job and that we would go back to the way things used to be. I didn’t care at that time that it meant being middle class or cutting corners or not getting everything, I wanted, but those prayers never worked. However, things did get better. As the days went on my father saved up enough money for us to move, but we didn’t move until after my sister, Sarah was born. She was born on November 22, 1984. It was about two months later that we started to pack. On March 5, 1985 we officially moved into our new home. It was huge; it had four bedrooms, three and a half bathrooms, a dining room, kitchen, living room, a den, a laundry room, basement, two-car garage, and an attic. It was a far distance a way from where we used to live, but my dad said it was less expensive to live there. I didn’t understand it, but I did like the house. It was in a complex called Crystal Fountain. I will never forget that name. It’s where most if not all my memories are. It’s where I grew up and met all my friends. The complex was still new. At the time we moved there were houses still being built. Including our home, there were nine homes in the development. The thing I remember the most about Crystal Fountain were the people who lived in the houses.
Verma Jean Thompson was the first one to welcome us to the development. She was known as Momma Jean. She was like the mother of the neighborhood and just about everyone respected her, some were just afraid of her. Everyone knew not to mess with her, get in her way, or even get on her bad side. She had a way of making you think twice before speaking to her, because you never wanted to say the wrong thing to her. She spoke her mind and always made sure you knew her opinion. She said things as she saw them and she never cared whether or not you were offended. Sometimes it seemed like she said things to offend. She was an old school mother. She didn’t care who your parents were, if she saw you misbehaving, she would spank you in a minute. Overall, she was a nice person to be around; she liked her peace and quiet. If it got too loud, she’d be out of her house to quiet down the neighborhood. I don’t know how old she was because she always looked very young, but I knew she was old. She lived alone. Her children were grown and married with children. She was widowed and if you got the chance to sit with her on her porch, she would always tell stories about her husband. Everyone would go over to her house to visit, especially to seek out advice. She would welcome anyone, as she would say; “who is decent minded and knows how to respect themselves.” Her children would visit on Christmas, Resurrection Day, Mother’s Day, and during her birth anniversary. I remember those times, because she would have so many people coming over to her house. She had four children, eight grandchildren, three sisters, four brothers, and a whole slew of aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, and cousins coming into town. Mama Jean was the one I remember the most.
Kenneth and Barbara Standards, the vacationers, lived across the street. They were barely home. They were retired and all of their children had moved out so they would vacation for weeks. Once they returned, they would usually share their pictures and memorabilia with the neighborhood. It seems like they went everywhere, they would travel to Florida, Hawaii, England, Italy, Israel, China, Nigeria, and so many other places, and they would always bring home gifts and trinkets from their travels. They were in their mid 50's and it seems like their life just had started. Their children would visit for the holidays as well. They had three children and four grandchildren. Their youngest son Christopher would visit more often, in fact he would baby sit my sister and I sometimes.
Edward Hill was another neighbor who was rarely home. He was the only one who had the guts to disrespect Mama Jean. Mama Jean disliked him very much. Well, the whole neighborhood wasn’t too fond of him. He would be away from home days on end because of his job, to this day I don’t know what he did for a living. However, he had a dog, Liver. Liver would bark loudly, and for long period of times, pretty much trying to get the attention of Edward, who wasn’t home. Every time Edward would finally return home, everyone in the neighborhood would tell him he shouldn’t have a pet if he wasn’t going to be home to care for it. He would ignore their comments and continue about his day. Mama Jean and he were always arguing. Edward used to always say he would hate to have to come home because he knew Mama Jean would be in his face. He would be home for about a week or two before leaving again for weeks. One time he left and didn’t return for two months. Everyone would enjoy his return because we all knew that was the only time his dog would be the quietest.
Another friendly neighbor and the patriarch of the community was William McCarter. We lovingly called him Papa Bill. He was 88 years old and a veteran of both World Wars. He would tell stories about the service and the other wars he witnessed. He was actually against war and fighting and would always say no matter how many wars or battles you fight you can never win. He was fun to be around because his stories were intriguing and he would always have chocolate to share.
Another neighbor living in Crystal, believe or not was Zelda Zeal. She was another not at home on a regular basis. She would live in her home for the seasons she wasn’t in Hollywood making a film. Thankfully for her and for us the paparazzi didn’t know she had a home in Crystal Fountain. She lived a peaceful life in Crystal thanks to Mama Jean. Mama Jean made sure no one in the neighborhood would hassle her for pictures or autographs. She would, however, sign something for you, but Mama Jean made sure Zelda got her peace and quiet.
Then there were the Matthew’s. I remember them just as much as I remember Mama Jean, because their son Mark was a close friend of mine. Robert and Linda Matthew’s are their names. I spent many days and nights in their house. Mark and I would spend the night at each others’ home many times on the weekends and especially during the summer.
The Pearson’s were another family I knew pretty well. Peter and Regina had two children, Michael and Camille. Camille was my age we would play together along with Mark and Kathryn.
Kathryn Bisco was the last of the nine, Daniel and Cassandra were owners of a near by drugstore, Bisco’s Family Drug Store. We used to hang out there a lot and we would help around the store sometimes.
At this time, we were the nine families living in Crystal Fountain. As time moved on more homes were built and more families moved in. We all witnessed people moving in, moving out, great trauma, and amusing times.