Tenement

A tenement is a type of dwelling, typically with flats or apartments on each floor, and having a common entrance into a ground floor foyer. There are usually six floors with walk-up stair access. I spent many a weekend in one on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, in New York City.

Though I never lived in one, in my earliest years, during visits to my friend Jackie, I especially remember the aroma of those surrounds, and the wonderful people who lived in a more up-dated apartment - it was a sweet, heavy aroma, somewhat intoxicating, and very, very memorable. Jackie and I often met in the foyer, and had a 'friendly' tussle or two, ending up bruised, and sweaty, and then having six flights of stairs to reach his top floor apartment! We were always greeted by his Mother, who had a glass of Pepsi waiting for us - From my bedroom window at night, I could see the Tug Boats on the Hudson River and be completely overtaken by the night air outside.

There would not have been a happier family, un-mindful of their very small apartment, but having enough food to eat, and loving the constant mealtime conversation, which gave us all a sense of 'all’s right with the world' - I learned very early that life with less, can be as fulfilling, or even more so, as life with a lot - it all depends what you make of it.