THE ROCKAWAY I KNEW
By Matthew Bashie
CHAPTER TWO: OUR NEW NEIGHBORS
My father took the broom handle and began punching a series of holes into the ceiling of our largest bedroom. A snowy shower of plaster began trickling its way downward. One, two, three, four... more and more holes! This, I later found out, was called "knocking up" to let your upstairs neighbors know that they were making inappropriate noises at an inopportune time - like vacuuming or typing at two o'clock in the morning.
Let me backtrack a bit. When I refer to "our new neighbors" -actually WE were the new neighbors. The family who lived above us had already been there for eleven or twelve months before we moved in. As it is, the guy who just happened to live above us turned out to be famous - in a round-about way. It seems that back in the 1930s, he and a partner - while sitting in a high school classroom - had developed (or invented) the idea of Superman. They had written and prepared comic books and then had foolishly "sold away" their rights to the character they had created. However, from what I understood - the gentleman was still involved with his creation in some manner and he was, at that time, employed in the script-writing process for a television series which was about to be produced and shown on television - the George Reeves vehicle which appeared in 1953/54.
It seems that Jerome Siegel preferred to sleep all day and he got his "inspiration" to write at night. So, whenever he felt the "mood", he would drag out his typewriter and begin to compose - even if it meant that he would have to disturb a few neighbors.
Now - how can I give a name? Because I was there! I remember the man very well and, of course, it is a matter of public record that during the years 1951/52 the man and his wife and infant daughter DID indeed rent an apartment in Wavecrest Gardens in the lovely community of Far Rockaway, New York.
My dad worked a normal 9-5 day, and he, to say the very least, was more than annoyed at the interruption of his sleep by anyone - even if the person who was causing him the bother was writing material for the super hero idol of so many American children. In fact, simply because his wife did not want to wake him while he was enjoying his daytime naps, she held off on her housekeeping and found that it was best to use the vacuum cleaner while her husband was alert and sitting at his typing machine -which usually meant that the Hoover would see action after midnight.
This sort of "family feud" continued for months. By the end of the summer of 1952, the ceiling in my parent's bedroomlooked like Swiss cheese. I was strictly warned not to have "anything to
do" with our upstairs neighbors - which was perfectly alright with me because I slept during the night and played (or went to school) during the daylight hours. In fact, I only saw the family members on very few occasions.
I specifically remember once during a lovely summer morning, my friends and I were outside of the apartment building sitting on the stoop and we must have been making too much noise - talking and laughing- because all of a sudden, "someone" threw out a dishpan of water onto us. We looked up and saw a bedroom window open. Would you care to guess who's apartment it was?
Once, my mom and I rang for the elevator and Mrs. Siegel and her daughter
were in the small compartment - having gotten on from the floor above
- and then the elevator was briefly detained so that the two of us could
get on. So, my mom and the "other woman" had a very heated argument
and I still very clearly remember that Mrs. Siegel informed my mother
that her "husband was a genius" to which my mom replied: "Your
husband is a nut!"
Obviously, the living accommodations for the Siegels were not very conducive
to his literary endeavors and shortly thereafter, the family moved
away. In those days, the apartment complex offered a two-year lease so
thankfully (for all of us) the matter was resolved by the departure of
our
upstairs neighbors.
Years later, when the first of a series of pictures (Superman: The Movie) was released, I heard that Jerry Siegel was, at that time, having a load of financial difficulties and had lost most of his eyesight and that the producers of the movie "did him a favor" by giving him and his partner recognition in the movie credits - for which they were given a small sum of money. I really don't wish the man or his kin any "ill will" so I am pleased that he finally got the credit for his super invention.
Looking back over all these fifty or so years, considering the diversity of backgrounds and the many differing cultures and religions, it is amazing that for the most part, those of us who lived in that vast apartment complex got along with each other as well as we did. Although there were many troubling times in dealing with such a wide variety of neighbors, back in those days we really did get along quite well with each other and made many life-long and valuable friendships.
If you wish to contact me at any time, feel free to do so at:
I always love hearing from my fans and friends. M. B.