BEFORE THE DAYS OF CARS

That’s a big woman. Over there. And over and over and over. I like horses.

That one hasn’t turned. I’d really like to do that. Happy birthday! Whose birthday is it? Yours! Happy birthday. How old am I? What we do in schools.

That’s a good one. Did he run away? There’s no wind out there. There’s two.

They’re keeping them under control.

Where are they? In the city. What’s a horse doing in the city? There aren’t a lot of them, but there are some. The horse is watching the crowd. That’s a good horse.

What’s the horse’s name? He’s a beautiful horse, that’s for sure.

Is that his horse? I think. That’s what I thought.

What’s the man doing with the horse? Seeing if he’s sick. That’s the way.

One, two, three. There’s your horse, there and there. Three horses. Aren’t you glad I’m here? You got it.

What are you doing over there? I don’t know. What’s the policeman doing there? I wouldn’t lead. What would you do? I have a few little pumps at home.

He didn’t do nothing. He’s got his hands on the reins. He’s looking for people he wants to take care of. I’ve seen these horses. That might be my fault. That could be. What if it’s their fault? Yes. So they’ll find you. She shouldn’t have said that one.

You’re a nice lady. That’s what I thought.

The women that were there, they were running. I’m not bothering her.

So they’re looking for people to take care of. To see if they’re new or old or know nothing.

Come on in. I think so. Everybody gets a popcorn.

Who is in the picture? It ain’t the best, is it? That’s the pretty one.

This one is going all around up the side. Goes right on up past the end.

It looks like New York. His brother got his act so fast. We can have it if you want it.

It’s hard to tell. It looks like it’s close to six o’clock. I just figure that. Okay. Just leave it low.

There’s either two or three there. This goes up and then it turns.

What is the policeman doing? He’s trying to hold the horse. What kind of luck is he having? It’s probably a bicycle. What is he going to do with the bicycle and the horse? Ride them! Both of them at the same time? Slow ahead. Have you ever been around with these horses on the street? I loved it. Did you ever ride a horse on the street? Once. Beautiful animals.

What kind of name could we give the horse? He’s watching him for sure. Then he’d stop with the horse and all the kids would be around him. It was good. That’s a saint. I’d pick that just to be in their head. I can do that.

These people are in the back. Evidently she’s going back over there. He’s just waiting to see if something is going to happen.

I was on a horse today. What did he do? You did. Once in a while, the policemen would let us feed them. Oh, that was fun. Two boys carried them? No. I always get it wrong, don’t I? Yeah.

Over in Lake Hamilton, it’s down. That is now going down. It’s going by this. They’re turning that circle down. The women are doing what the men are supposed to do. My mother is over there.

I hope we all are here. We had such a good time.

That’s his brother. There he goes.

What do you picture? The woman is walking behind the horse. Those two people were waiting for the woman. Right underneath, they cuddled. Okay, I’ll let you.

She’s watching the horse. This boy behind her, but I don’t know how he is. Is he saying something? Yes, you can see his little head, so he’s talking. He’s got a jacket on.

Something’s going on behind them. I would rather have more than that. Look at this woman. She’s looking at the horse.

I was on the other side when that happened. I’m much further than that. I was down there watching them. I don’t want to be under the feet! He took us for a ride. Good memories there.

If I remember right, I think there were times when the street cleaners did not enjoy their job.

Just one what? What is he going to do next? There were times when we went home after the horse parade, and our parents were not happy because we’d walked right behind the horse. My mother would be so disgusted. She had a fit. She said, “Get your shoes off!” Then she’d get after my father. “Get those shoes off of them!” We walked behind them. Slip and slide. It was a wonderful day.

A cop on the corner. On a bicycle. That’s before the days of cars.

There are eight of them there.

What is he going to do next? Clean up behind the horse.

Is there any trouble on the street? Oh yeah. Street people cleaning up behind the horse. The trouble is right there in the corner. He’s on his foot.

The young person is trouble. She’s walking past. He’s looking at her. She went there and he saw her, so they’re talking. That’s going to be trouble.

It’s warmer over there than here. The water is full all the time. Here is something. I don’t know what it is. The little girls were lost too. They lost their heads.

How would you like our story to end? I don’t want it to end.

It should end with my mother being a little bit wrathful. We had a good time. My dad took us there and he didn’t care, but my mother was a different source.

STORY BY: Gretchen, Patricia, Vivian, Henry, Joyce, June