A dear  friend just shared some childhood memories with me, and it brought back some very happy times in my childhood, with my cousin Jim.  He and I were raised together, and are more like fraternal twins than cousins.  I am superior of course, because I am three whole months older than he is.  Now that it is no longer a mark of superiority, he never lets me forget it!

My wonderful Irish grandparents raised me after the death of my parents when I was 2 years old.  My grandfather was a caretaker on a large estate about 2 hours north of NYC.  It was a magical place for two kids to grow up.  One Christmas, Santa brought us a brand new flexible flyer.  It was HUGE.  Big enough for Jim and I to use together.  One snowy day, we went to the looooong sloping hill behind the “big house” with our sled for the maiden voyage of our new “flying machine”.  We started down and hit a rock, tipping the sled and falling off.  We laid in the snow, laughing uproariously, completely oblivious to the fact that the flying sled was doing what it was born to do…..continuing to fly down the hill.  That would have been fine – except that at the bottom of the hill was a lake.  We finally came to our senses and ran after the sled.  But too late.  With weight on it, sleds usually came to rest at the flat ground next to the lake.  Without any weight –  it just continued right out onto the ice…the very thin ice.

Fortunately, we were bright enough NOT to go after it.  My grandfather tried many ploys to retrieve it, but to no avail.  We had to give it up to the depths of the lake.  Oh well.  We each got smaller sleds after that.  I think the grown ups figured we got into less trouble steering our own sleds than collaborating!  Here are some pictures of the estate.  It is no longer a private residence.  It has been turned into an ashram.  And in a strange twist, it is called Ananda.  Just one letter short of where I spent most of my professional career!

 If you click through the various categories on this website, you might see other pictures of the estate.  Ananda Ashram

 The original guest house burned many years ago and there is now a replacement.  But, the “big house” is the same.  The boathouse next to the lake also remains exactly as I remember it.  The part of the estate where we lived has been sold off.  But most of my happy memories involve the hill behind the big house, the lake, the boathouse and the walking paths around the lake.  I have been unable to find a picture of it – but at the end of the lake was a small waterfall and a brook where Jim and I spent hours recreating TV shows such as “Sheena, Queen of the Jungle”.  I LOVED that show and now I realize it was because the woman was strong and was the main character.  She did not dither around like most of the stupid acting 1950s women I was used to seeing on TV or reading about it fiction books.  She was a refreshing change.  And more closely resembled my strong minded grandmother who ruled the family.

 Here are some pictures.   

The “Big House”

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Boathouse

 

 

 

 

 

 

View up the sledding hill from the lake.  The big house is on the left, boathouse to the right.  That is the hill where we lost our sled

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The bridge at the end of the big sledding hill.  It lead to an island that was always beautifully maintained by my grandfather – but evidently has been allowed to go wild now.