This is around 1950, so it's pre-map drawing. Will and I were already into town-building, though. On this day, either before or after lolling about on the lawn amongst the hollyhocks, we might have been playing in our make-believe town, named by Will "Le Petit Orleans." It was located in the back yard south of the house, along the trajectory of Mother's clothesline strung from the bedroom window. I remember few details, except that it had telephone lines made from string and mock-chicken leg sticks. Alas, there are no pictures of us in Le Petit Orleans, but the activity was probably similar to building sand castles.
La Petit Orleans was the outdoor analogue to the unnamed cities and towns Will and I would create indoors with a couple sets of wooden blocks along with the ancillary toy vehicles. In later years, Will would play records during this activity, and that undoubtedly contributed to my appreciation of classical music. My most frequent request was for "Rock Monument," my clever way of referring to Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto. Of course, I also played towns and cities by myself, staging imaginary conflagrations, car crashes and other typical community activities. Once while doing so, I discovered that Rosemary, sitting in a chair nearby, had been surreptitiously taking notes on my behavior for her college psychology course. Thrilled as always to be the center of attention, I threw a minor tantrum when she refused to continue. back