By Joey McDermott
Eve Ewing's, "All I ever really wanted you to know about me / was Fullerton Avenue" inspired my own poetry efforts. I first read the poem as a professional development activity lead by my principal. The poem is part of Ewing's collection of poems published in her book Electric Arches. Our faculty read it to reflect on how the places we live impact the people we are and how that impacts the way we teach our students.
Ewing's poem amazed me, because it was about the same place I was raised, Fullerton and Kimball. On occasions we both rode the Fullerton bus past our normal stop as a safety precaution. I could feel the sights, smells and sounds she captures because I lived it as well. She captures the Logan Square of so few white people, you were either Polish or the child of a leftist.
I was also amazed at our different experiences. Part of it was me being a boy who played sports all over the alleys, parks and boulevards of the neighborhood. It was our age differences, Fullerton Avenue was a much different place in the 80's and 90's (when the Bulls were winning titles) than it was when Ewing came of age. Ewing described a community at the tail end of a gentrification process. My experience was a community at the nascent transition.
My poem focused on all the signs I read as a youth on and around Fullerton Avenue.
"The Signs of Fullerton"
No cruising zone is what the sign said;
But crotch rockets explode with noise
Demanding attention and attracting eyes-
From the honies on the ave, walking without purpose
Ground effects, car clubs, booming systems
Jumpin' Julian’s House music, Mix tapes and free style
We pile in deep, Mom’s Honda Civic for miles
Who’s got five on a dime sack? Or a Jew Town Polish?
Open 24 hours a day is what the sign said;
Once we called you Donald Ducks,
But Disney got mad, and then it was Dukes
Beer and wine on tap, by the pitcher
Winos, hypes, hobos anytime got their fixes
Arcade games under greenhouse windows
Busted and broken, shot up the night before
Broken sticks for 50 cents is what the sign said;
Andrews taffy apple, direct from factory defects
Pancho’s jibaritos, Casablanca tacos, Dimartino’s beefs,
Tony’s Finer Foods, arrachera, fresh cut meats
McDonald's coffee, sharing stories, seniors loitering
At Viking Ski shop, Yuppie benzo’s double parking
Avon Theater karate flicks, YMCA for a swim,
“At risk” and bible thumpers only used the church gym
In-between-kids had no mentors, me left to fend
Moneil’s Food and Liquor is what the sign said;
Heavy on the liquor, but light on the food
The best cut of meat came from Spam
The beans were fresh, yeah fresh out the can!
Milk and bread were sold all night,
Never any fruit or veggies in sight
We first called it the Greek store, but Abdul wasn’t Greek
Then called the A-Rab store, next wave of misunderstood outsiders
Must be 21 to buy liquor is what the sign said;
Kids were welcome to buy their sweets,
Being groomed for future illicit treats
Hostess, Jays chips, Little Debbies cakes
Cold pop washes down, years later tooth aches
Five years later, buying forties from the same guys
They smile when you buy food that’s no good
Same smile though, selling poison to the hood
To serve and protect is what the sign said;
Neighborhood kid makes it good as the law
But PoPo vet hates the new local youth
Sights on me, holding my brown bag from Moneil’s
“Pour the brew- into your new Jordan’s kid!
Or else I call Mommy - and in jail you sit”
Not my new J’s! Street justice blues
Okay Mr. Officer, I’m taking off my shoes
No ball playing on Kedzie Boulevard is what the sign said;
Can't go to Koz park this week, feuding gangsters
I played on their lawn, got chased off by neighbors
Alley ball is fun, but we want to run and shake
Our football field was the parkway, for the juke and fake,
Rushing cars run you down if the sideline you seek,
Courage and strength play this game, not the meek
Now it’s farmers markets, millennials and flowers.
Yeti coolers, white claws and hipsters don’t like showers
Shoplifters will be prosecuted is what the sign said;
“C'mon man, nobody will watch the white boy
We draw attention, then you gaffle - fuck Kimball Pharmacy!
Unnoticed - you stroll out, pockets filled with loot
They look at us Latin’s as thieves from the start
I knew you’d be scared, typical white boy - no heart”
Just to prove a point, protect my rep, I stole to fit in
Growing chips on two shoulders, look like twins
Bus runs Halsted to Narragansett is what the sign said;
To the edge of the universe out west, Brickyard mall
JC Penny’s, Z Cavaricci’s, Girbauds and Merry Go Round
To the East was my high school, other world, different town
Front of bus overflows with people, back door has no takers
Can’t get in front, in the back too many troublemakers
Uptight until Western, relieved after Clemente kids disperse
The old white lady stops clutching her purse
Fullerton and Kimball is what the sign said;
Lifelong friends, love and loyalty
I hated you at one time, ashamed and out of place
Embraced you, only after I traveled the world
Priced out, with my own shorties and family
Now, we all live further west, celebrating your memory
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