My favorite place in the whole wide world is my old street, Marylin Place. It is located in Sandy Springs, right off of Highpoint Road, surrounded by a loving Jewish community. This place is my personal definition of what “home: really is. It is a place with a great environment that bears a friendly atmosphere.
Turning onto this street sends an automatic feeling of ease and security to me; I always feel like I belong there, even nowadays, when I don’t live there any longer and only pay once-a-week visits. Some sites I notice at first glance are nine houses lined up next to each other in the form of a cul-de-sac. The structure of the houses always exceeds a feeling of safety. I see many trees in between the houses. I spot fathers and their songs playing baseball, while their wives are all congregated on a different driveway every day, updating one another on the latest gossip.
If I were to step outside my old house in Marylin Place and were to just stand there with my eyes shut, I would be able to hear the sounds of adults discussing work, many boys playing an intense game of basketball, the screechy sound of an old rusty swing making its way back and forth and amusing the swinger with its simplicity, the barking of the neighborhood dogs, the sound of children’s bike chains work, and most of all, the laughter and joy.
I can taste the appetizing cooking in every woman’s household. There are the hot meals that I can smell from miles away and can’t wait to taste. The freshly baked Chalah that Elana braids every Shabbat, the heavenly chocolate chip cookies Conny makes, and the delicious green salad Jody prepares are part of the reason I come to visit. And the best thing about it all, is that I am welcome in every single house, which means I am exposed to a variety of delectable foods.
A feeling that other people who don’t or have never lived there may feel is that the street is very welcoming. They would feel at home in every house, but they will never understand what it is like to live there and almost be part of that big family.
Actress Lois McMaster said, “My home is not a place, it is people.” This proves true to my old neighborhood of Marylin Place. This home of mine is filled with people that are more than just “neighbors” to each other. They are young kids, teens, parents, grandparents, siblings, lovers, friends, coaches, and mentors, but most of all, they are a family.