Growing Up Near Bucknell Manor

Mr. Leesee's kid pausing from exercising on wheeled instrument
Mr. Leesee's kid pausing from exercising on wheeled instrument, native to Alexandria, appears he placed in contest
Gregory Sheridan of War Child, Loud Boyz, 29, on stage at a jam packed concert
Gregory Sheridan of Rattler (also known as Rory), War Child, Loud Boyz, 29, on stage at a jam packed concert, native to Groveton
When I was a kid growing up in Belle View for fun we would play in the streets and in the suburban yards. Summer days were spent walking to the Mount Vernon Rec Center, being indoors watching Rocket Power marathons on Nickelodeon, practicing ollying sewer caps on our skateboards or razor scooters, climbing trees, walking to Belle View Shopping Center to get some candy with money that was scraped out of couch cushions, or maybe playing James Bond 007 multiplayer on N64. Summer nights were spent playing kick the can until it was time to go home. Eventually we would get bored with the activities listed above. This meant it was time to venture a couple blocks out of the neighborhood (with our parents permission) and visit Bucknell Manor Park. Bucknell Manor Park is nestled in  between Bucknell and Belle View,  just off Belle View Boulevard. This park is surrounded by homes (Cape Cods and Duplexes). I remember me and my brother liked to go play pick up basketball there. Some days it was dead but other times there be good game of twenty one  going on with a bunch of local kids. A lot of these kids I grew up with and ended up going to the school with at Belle View Elementary School, Carl Sandburg Middle School, and West Potomac High School. I remember when I played little league baseball my dad or one of my friend's dad would drive us to the park to practice. One day I was in the outfield and my friend was working on his batting and he really cranked a good pop fly right towards me in the outfield. I had a bad habit of turning my hand palm up when I caught the ball (for some reason it felt natural). Well the ball was high up in the air and going fast towards and I turned my palm up and got underneath it. Smack! It hit me right in the chest. I'm not happy to admit that I started crying and screaming "I can't breathe!" but that's the truth. I remember my friends dad along with everyone ran to me as I was on the ground balling. He said "If you can talk you can breathe" and that was that. I cried until I got my composure. However from that day on I had less interest in catching pop flies and more interest in kicking the dandelions in the outfield.

Aubrey NesbittAbout the Author --- Aubrey Nesbitt is a native of Northern Virginia who attended Virginia Commonwealth University. He is a veteran of the US Army and helps his family business by providing informational articles like this one. In addition to photography and blogging, Aubrey provides administrative support for the office.
Belle View, Bucknell Heights, Bucknell Manor, Parks

Aubrey Nesbitt

View posts by Aubrey Nesbitt
Aubrey Nesbitt is a native of Northern Virginia who attended Virginia Commonwealth University. He is a veteran of the US Army and helps his family business by providing informational articles like this one. In addition to photography and blogging, Aubrey provides administrative support for the office. Aubrey is a service-disabled retired veteran and a part of our family. We give him the opportunity to work at the office and on the web as part of his recovery. The opinions and statements presented by Aubrey are his own and we don't necessarily agree with them.