A huge chestnut tree shaded the small front yard rock garden, that was blanketed in lily-of-the-valley in the spring.
Like many other people in the 1930's and 40's, Mary and Frank made a bedroom out of the main floor dining room for themselves, and rented out both upper floors. When my mom married at age 19, she and her new husband, Arthur, became my grandparents' third-floor tenants. Two babies later, my parents were still living at the house on Hogarth Avenue.
When I asked my dad if angels were real, he said he knew they were, because he'd seen one himself. He told me that one night when he was asleep in the house on Hogarth Avenue, an angel appeared to him in a dream and told him that someone was trying to steal Frank's car. He woke with a start, jumped out of bed, ran to the other room and looked out the window. Sure enough, two men were trying to break into Frank's blue Chevy, parked out back.
My dad threw open the window, yelled, "Hey, whatcha doin'?" and the would-be robbers ran away.
My mom told me recently that she must have been the "angel." Very pregnant with her third child, she'd been having trouble sleeping, heard a noise, looked out the window and saw two men trying push Frank's car down the street to get it started.
Soon after, Frank drove his car up to a new housing development and put a ten thousand dollar down- payment on a McClintock model home. He drove home. Surprise! He told my parents to get ready to move out, they had a house of their own.
I was only two when we moved, but I remember that I missed my grandparents.
One of my first memories is of my very tall grandpa, wearing a grey plaid shirt, standing at the gas stove in the kitchen on Hogarth Avenue, cooking macaroni and bacon.
I've never had macaroni that good, since.
Frank's Bacon Macaroni
Double this recipe to make dinner for 6
- 500 grams (1/2 package) shell macaroni, cooked
- 1/4 lb thick-cut (old-style) smoked slab bacon (from the butcher on the Danforth) OR diced pancetta
- unsalted butter
- salt and pepper to taste
- shaved cheese for garnish
Cook the shell macaroni until soft in salted water. Drain.
Chop the bacon and fry in a pan.
Chop the bacon and fry in a pan.
Toss the macaroni with the bacon, the pan drippings, a chunk of butter.
Sprinkle with a little pepper.
Frank didn't use Italian cheese, but you can shave some cheese from a hunk of parmesan or pecorino on top.
