“60 Cents of Forbidden Pleasure” © (2015)

Secretly, we saved meager allowances. When we had 60 cents, we knew we would do the unthinkable!

My sister Sondra and I went out for the afternoon, “peacefully”. She was 14 and I was 10.

Mama should have known 🙄that we were up to something devious, because we left our tenement flat without my sister rebelling loudly about me…going anyplace with her.

This was not the norm!

Today we had a secret plan. Heh! Heh! 😏😏

We walked in the direction of Sutter Avenue, over the train tracks that divided Brownsville, from East New York. This was another Brooklyn neighborhood, completely. Surely no one would catch us there.

Sondra & I were the children of the Kosher Butcher shop-owner of Brownsville. We raised to be respectful, nice Jewish girls.

Of course, that meant we must eat only Kosher food, following its dietary rules, honor The Sabbath and other religious holidays.

It seemed like it was always “Erif”, Eve of some holiday when we would get a list of what we could or not do on that occasion.

SOOO it was sinful, & scary and rebellious… what mischief we were up to.

Then we spotted the red painted store front with “Chop Suey” and Chinese symbols on its steamy window.

Sheepishly, we entered its door to the strange smells of the Orient.

I sneaked 😎a careful look around to make certain no one saw us enter this place that might cost us “Eternity in Hell”.

The bowing elderly waiter asked, “Yeh, youse here for da lunch”?

“Y-yeah”, we, now very American cool kids, (or so we thought), nodded.

He sat us in a booth with a red floral oilcloth.

We stared at the odd selection of 60 cent lunch specials.

Soon the busy waiter returned to take our order.

My big sister said, “We’ll be sharing one combination lunch.

Let’s have… the #3 tomato egg-drop soup, egg roll, fried rice with lobster sauce… then for dessert, we’d like kumquats” she added with confident authority.

I was in awe …so impressed with Sondra’s worldliness.

“B-but how did you know what to order”? I asked.

“I didn’t”! she admitted while kicking me under the table.

We ate every morsel with such relish and forbidden pleasure, I wish I could enjoy such an experience…today! 😋😋

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