Floo Powder & Rogers Park, Chicago: The Magic of my Childhood
Robin B. Zeiger, Ph.D.
In the words of Wiki, Floo powder was a glittery magical powder used by witches and wizards to travel by the Floo Network, which connected the fireplaces of nearly every wizarding household and building.[2] Through the use of Floo powder, witches and wizards were able to enter a fireplace at the origin building and exit a fireplace at the destination building.
In my second-half-of-life, I had immigrated with my family to a new country, with horizons of challenge and blessings. Out on an “art jaunt” with dear friends in South Tel Aviv, out of the corner of my eye I spotted a simple kiosk with a big sign:
ROGERS PARK.
My floo powder experience happened in a flash. I was magically transported from my home over 6000 miles away to another place and time of my childhood in Chicago.
Born in 1958, at the crack of Thanksgiving, 12:01 a.m., as an only child, I was my parents’ “thanksgiving”. I spent my childhood growing up in two apartment buildings in East Rogers Park, a stone’s throw from Lake Michigan, my instant playground. Eugene Field was my grammar school for nine years. And Morse Avenue and Clark Street my magical places of candy stores, the library, the kosher deli, and the Affy Tapple Place
I left Chicago over 35 years ago living in two other states and eventually immigrating to a new country. I now live in a small agricultural village halfway across the world. Yet, the scenes and scents of Chicago remains etched, sketched, and painted within. It is no accident that my prolific dream life has blessed me with many scenes of my childhood home and neighborhood. Just the name on the kiosk halfway across the world from my “childhood” was enough to leave me dreamy.
What do I remember the most? I must confess I am an introvert and do not really like cities. I prefer the peace and quiet of nature. However, somehow my childhood Chicago is not a “city” to me. It has been coined by so many a “city of neighborhoods.” There are more than 100 neighborhoods, many with long histories of culture and tradition. I earned my BA, MA, and Ph.D. at the University of Illinois at Chicago, nestled amongst the Greek culture of the neighborhood.
My floo powder transported me to Rogers Park, not Chicago. I remember the soda fountain at the local pharmacy and the penny candy store that I was allowed to walk to by myself. I remember Charles Variety on Morse Avenue where I went to buy simple presents for myself and others.
| remember the ice cream store, at the time coined, “31 Flavors.” I am sure as a child I counted to make sure…On a hot summer day, I remember going there in the evening and trying to lick the cone fast enough before it melted. And of course, it was a given that one bites off the end of the sugar cone and savors the last of the ice cream.
The round brown cardboard ice cream buckets that held all the treasured flavors were available for the taking. As an only child, my entire life I have been blessed with adventures via books. Nancy Drew and the Bobbsey Twins became my life-long friends.
When one of my childhood best friends, Sharon, and I were old enough to travel about alone, we became resourceful and used the buckets for an important task every summer. We collected a few of them and made the 10-minute trek to the local library on Clark Street.
To honor the dog days of summer, patrons were granted the privilege of taking out a larger number of books for a longer loaning period. As partners in crime, unburdened by homework, Sharon and I immersed ourselves in our summer reading. The ice-cream buckets were just the right size to bring our collection home. (One day, I will write to my readers about our adventure with the buckets and the run-away “evil” cats.)
Perhaps my fondest memories were of the lakefront in Rogers Park. My parents did not own a car when I was very young. My mother would often put me in the buggy and take me to the sandbox at the beach. I grew up in the park with swings and slides. As I grew older, I played along the shore of Lake Michigan. My father, who eventually taught me to swim, entertained me with special stories of his own childhood skating on the frozen lake, his adventure in rescuing an almost drowned mouse, and his journey to become a lifeguard. It was along these shores that I watched the seasons change from the blustery cold of a “windy city” to the budding trees of spring, to swimming and boating of the summer.
Several years ago, I traveled to the States to visit two ailing family elders. I found myself in Chicago during one of the iciest winters in US history. My friend Sue lovingly took me back to Rogers Park and to the lakefront. In spite of the sub-zero weather I had to get out of the warm car for a photo shoot.
I must confess floo powder seems like a wonderful invention. However, if I understand its properties, wizards are only able to travel within the same time zone. I think I prefer my version.
Please follow me and discover articles on mindfulness, finding peace in difficult times, Jung, longing and the Little Prince, Black Lives Matter, Amanda Gorman’s poetry and childhood nostalgia such as lighthouses and ice-cream trucks.One of my favorites is Dark Feet & Dark Wings: Wendell Berry’s Wisdom for Difficult Times.
Robin B. Zeiger is a practicing Jungian psychoanalyst, a certified Sandplay therapist, and a free-lance writer.
She is a member of the:
International Association of Analytical Psychology the Israel Institute of Jungian Psychology and president of the Israel Therapists Sandplay Association. She can be reached at rbzeiger@yahoo.com.
