Italians And Jews As Playmates

Just you wait now and see. Some readers will interpret the heading as being racist or controversial when actually it's nothing more than a story about my child hood.
I grew up in a neighborhood of mostly Jewish & Italian families. Most of my school classmates were Italian and Jewish. My playmates on Saturday were the Italian kids because the Jewish kids were observing their sabbath. Not only was I not Jewish, I wasn't Catholic as were most of the Italian kids who seemed to spend a lot of time going to Mass or Confession.
Have I offended anyone yet? Should I continue?

 

Not I. My playmates and all my neighbors were one hundred percent Scott Irish American Caucasians. Closest I got to diversity was a German family, 'course they married into the Scot Irish.

Don't think it would have made any difference what they were. Kids seem to be willing to play with most anybody.

 

I grew up in a very ethnically diverse neighborhood and no one seemed to notice. We just did our thing and never thought twice about who was off to a Synagogue or who had to go to Catechism or whatever. Kids came and went when they were around.

 

Eating Jewish & Italian food when visiting my playmates was fun for me. I was always envious of the gifts that the 13 year old Jewish boys got when they had their Bar Mitzvah. I told my mother that I wanted to be Jewish.

 

MY neighborhood was quite a mix. Syrian, Armenian, Italian, Irish, Greek and me(a mix of Finish and Latvian).

 

Well, in northeastern Indiana farmland, the word "diversity" wasn't heard of. All families were white farmers. None of us really played as we all had farm work to do to keep us occupied.

 

My father was a bigot. He liked himself and that was about it.
At his mothers house we had to play with the black kids thru a large wooden fence.
Always felt so sad. He would crap a gold brick today to know all but 2 of my 11greatgrand kids are bi racial.
My mother loved everyone butbecause of him she loved them from a distance.

 

I was a kid in North Jersey (Paterson) Lou Costello's home town.
Where were you living as a kid Al?

 

Where did you grow up as a kid Gloria?

 

Allston(neighborhood of Boston)

 

My MIL had a real bias against catholics and non-white. So it was sweet justice when her oldest daughter married and became a Catholic and then her youngest married and American Indian

 

Texas..still here

 

My father went to school with Lou Costello.

 

Interesting.