Above: Finch-Massenburg Carpet Shop, Military Highway, Norfolk, Virginia, 1960’s
In the perfect middle of my average childhood, what would I look forward to on New Year’s Eve?
First things first, the Christmas gear would be put away, but the new toys would remain with me in my bed, in front of the TV, at the table, in the car….
Spring would come because the heart of South Overlook Drive held and nurtured the bulbs and the buds of all the unborn flowers I knew by name.
There would be many weekend trips in the new year to Norfolk, and we’d always stop in the carpet store when we got there. If Ben and Anne were there we’d play hide and seek in the carpet rolls, treat them like playground slides, and I would feel like I was in an ocean of waves I had tamed not to knock me down.
In the summer there would be real waves. In the fall, new friends on a real playground.
And my dad would be taking pictures.
