Laredo, Tejas

I live in a fabulous little city. Well, it can’t really be considered little nowadays, it’s gotten a bit bigger then when I was a child running around our unpaved streets. Most people who were born and raised here and haven’t had the chance to live elsewhere would say this city is boring. That it has no charm or character. Well I’m proud to say I’m not one of those individuals. I was born and raised in this city of mine but I have had the chance to live in another state and another city. There really is no place like home. Laredo has its drawbacks…lack of a variety of entertainment, politics are questionable (but then again, where isn’t it), and people are more close-minded than other places. Yet this is where I was brought up and my family resides here; they always have and probably always will. Laredo to me represents the childhood I had; the adventures I’d get into, the ambiance, and most importantly the community in which I was raised. I remember as a child running around the street in front of our house. It wasn’t paved and it had some pretty sharp rocks, but they didn’t deter me from running around in high speeds. Now, I try to walk on my paved street and I can’t go farther than a couple of steps (I only do this when I forget something from my car and I’m too lazy to go and put on my shoes). I don’t really remember when the street was finally paved but I know that we ran around barefoot on that street for quite a while.

 Across from where I lived, there was a head-start that had a playground. The first chance we’d get, we’d jump the fence and go and play on the swings, slides, and merry-go-round. My brothers, cousin, and I would make sure to jump into the shadows whenever we saw a car pass by. Our parents told us that we’d get arrested if we were seen there. That didn’t scare us at all. My father even went as far to tell me that the devil lived in one of the buildings of the head-start. I still went; just made sure to leave way before it got dark (I didn’t want to risk the story being true). We weren’t doing anything wrong. There were a couple of times when the gates would be left unlocked…I’m not sure whether it was intentional or not but we took full advantage of it. This was the same head-start that I attended when I was younger and I have absolutely no recollection of being taken out to play out there. All the fun I had there was when I was finally in elementary…even in middle school, why bother lying.

The elementary school I was attended was within walking range of my house. So every morning, my mother would walk my brothers and me to school. After school, she’d be there waiting for us and she’d take us to the little mom and pop store across the street. It was called Penita’s. It was and continues to be the best store ever. You could walk in there with a dollar and come out with a ton of stuff. If you were looking for candies: gum cigarettes and Pal gums were a penny, the strawberry sugar straws were five cents, the blow pops were fifteen cents, the laffy taffies were twenty cents…everything was super cheap. If you were looking for a raspa with ice cream, it’d cost you fifty cents…and it was a good size. They also had those giant frozen pops, chips with cheese, anything with chili con carne…this little store had it all. It was owned by Mr. and Mrs. Penita…they looked as if they were grumpy but they were always nice. This was our store for years. Whenever we needed to stock up before our spook-fests, sleepovers, or just because we were aching for sugar, we’d always head over to Penita’s. I’m not sure exactly when Penita’s closed down but it was definitely a sad day for the community. Fortunately, we had another mom and pop store that we could walk to. Mama Luz still exists right down my block. I need anything last minute or forgot something for dinner, Mama Luz has it. They have everything; even things you wouldn’t imagine they’d have, they have it. Prices aren’t the same though. They’ve gone up. I remember when we’d go and buy a Continental Cola with twenty-seven cents…and that was with tax included!

Life in my little city isn’t all that bad. Its got its little quirks but that’s what gives it character. It’s what makes it what it is. Growing up, I shared that opinion of ‘I can’t wait to get out of here.’ When I moved back home, I thought ‘well it really isn’t that bad.’ My most precious memories are based in this grand little city. My roots are cemented here. Besides, they know me already at Mama Luz…why leave that?