It was the late 1950’s and my siblings were populating faster than any other family on the block. (My claim to fame.) My Father had built our home in Coral Gables, Florida when I was two years old. It was a duplex, with three bedrooms and two baths (on the side my family lived in) and two bedrooms and one bath on the other side.
One weekend, after a tenant moved out, my Father came up with a brilliant idea. He suggested that my older brother David and I help him knock down the wall between the two sides of the duplex, to accommodate our growing family. We were so excited to be given such an important job! My mother was thrilled because she was pregnant with her fifth child and really needed the extra space. I was happy because I knew that it meant I would finally get my own room!
My brother and I were each given our very own hammers and we spent the day blissfully banging away.
Eventually, we saw light and cheered at the progress we were making. Finally, after many hours of banging, the hole was big enough for my brother and I to climb through to the other side! We felt so accomplished, especially when our parents praised us for a job well done!
I couldn’t understand why the next day, two big muscular men showed up to help my Father finish the job. My brother and I would have been more than happy to miss elementary school (for as long as it took) to complete what we started.
A few more days (or weeks) of hard work and I am sure we could have knocked down that whole wall, saving our Father a bundle of money!
