Our Songs, Our Story, Our Love.

Chapter 3.

A young, small dark haired boy was running quickly down the city street in the Queens area of New York City.
This was Forest Hills, a predominantly middle class neighbourhood where the houses were modern looking and spacious with moderately sized, well kept gardens and large drives where at least two cars could be parked more than comfortably on them.
This was a mainly Jewish neighbourhood where families would very often congregate within each others homes and where a real close knit community was built up. Everybody seemed to know everyone else and they all looked out for one another.
This was indeed a respectable neighbourhood, where it was considered safe to bring up and raise children.

Paul Simon was one such child.
He was brought up within the Jewish religion, often attending the Synagogue at weekends with his parents and younger brother. He wasn't particularly bothered about religion. It didn't really interest him much. In fact he found it dull and boring and would have much preferred to be bouncing a ball around the place, riding his bike, reading his comics or climbing some trees. He was a proper boy, with cuts and scrapes on his knees to prove it and like most boys his age, he wasn't at all interested in any of the stuff his parents were interested in either. He left that sort of thing to his younger brother Eddie, whom seemed quite at home just tagging around with his mum and more especially his Dad.
Paul had very different ideas. He couldn't wait to just go off and do his own thing. It wasn't that he had many other people that he could hang out with either, in fact he only had a handful of friends for Paul Simon was basically a loner. He had figured from quite an early age, that doing things on your own and in your own way was much less of a hassle  than ever trying to compete with any one else. He was competitive like that.
He also liked to please himself and do stuff at his own pace and definitely in his own way. He was especially single minded and very independent and this is what his father Louis didn't quite understand.

Louis Simon was a bass player and the leader in a band. He was well used to working as a team, to be a part of something and the big band sounds of the late 1940's was his calling.
Paul wasn't enthused by this at all. He didn't care much for his Father's type of music and so steered well clear of it.
Eddie, his brother though, loved it. He would very often sit in the house listening and watching his father practice with his other band mates, whilst Paul would be bouncing a ball outside up against a wall or something, or even swinging a baseball bat about the place practicing his swing.
Paul loved ball games. He actually yearned to be a famous baseball player when he grew up or even a famous basketball player. But baseball was his passion. He simply loved it and had become a lifelong fan of The New York Yankees. His home team.

Paul's  mother Belle, taught English at a nearby kinda garden. She was forthright and took no messing. She said what she thought, even if it was sometimes out of turn, although she wasn't too strict on her boys. She just somehow expected them to do well in school and to stay out of trouble and of course, they respected her for that.
Louis on the other hand, really didn't have much time for his eldest son.
He found Paul's love of baseball infuriating, as he couldn't understand the fascination with it. He also didn't like his son's  insistence in being a bit of a loner. He thought it odd that Paul wasn't a part of the cool kid brigade and he also couldn't deal with his eldest son's bouts of quietness and awkward insecurities.
Of course as Paul grew older, these things became more prominent and to the fore a lot more, which in turn drove a firm wedge further into their already struggling relationship.
Louis though, had Eddie to practice and lavish all of his fatherly love and devotion on. There was no room in his life for Paul as well, particularly with  his inward somewhat sullen ways.

Now bursting through the family home, after another day at school Paul was excited that his favourite Captain Marvel comic was out today. It was the little things, such as this that made Paul Simon the most happiest.
As he entered the large kitchen, where his Mother Belle was preparing dinner, he could hear his father in the adjoining dining room, practising his playing on the big double bass that he had in there. Paul listened for a second, before asking: