For men in the neighborhood—the German section of Brooklyn, which teemed with breweries—the sport of drinking was king. On the corner of Driggs Avenue there was a conveniently located saloon. In that 1971 article, Miller recalled: “I remember the saloon because as a child I was often sent to get a pitcher of beer at the side entrance; we called this ‘rushing the growler.’” A few doors from the three-story brick townhouse in which the Millers lived were “the shanties, two or three decrepit buildings right out of a Dickens novel.” One of them was a candy store operated by the Meinken sisters. Farther down the street squatted the Novelty Theater, locally known as “The Bum.” The Bum featured burlesque shows frequented by drunken sailors. Henry and his friend used to loiter near the theater trying to pick up dirty jokes.
Miller was the golden boy of 662 Driggs Avenue. But like many a little urchin, he was an accomplished actor, able to slip into an entirely different existence outside the home and then return with an air of innocence and childlike simplicity. Apart from being coddled and encouraged at home, what made those early years a paradise to him was a rich supply of youths, many of whom became his friends. With those friends, he would go on expeditions across town to beat up sissies, and engage in all sorts of looting, marauding and mischief. His greatest friend was Stanley Borowski. Stanley was a leader because “only he, it seemed, knew when to call a halt to our depredations.” Stanley also defended Crazy Willy from some of the more zealous bullies in Miller’s group. Only he knew how to calm Willy down.
For all his life, Miller reserved great loyalty for the memories of the boys of his youth, his early role models. “The boys you worshiped when you first came down into the street remain with you all your life. They are the only real heroes. Napoleon, Lenin, Capone—all fiction. Napoleon is nothing to me in comparison with Eddie Carney who gave me my first black eye…Robinson Crusoe lacked imagination in comparison with Johnny Paul…Johnny Paul was the living Odyssey of the 14th Ward; that he later became a truck driver is an irrelevant fact.”
