Hello everyone,
In one of my previous posts The War of the Roses
I have written about my movie library... I have been the proud owner of 197 first-rate movies, many of which are Oscar winners... My library is arranged in 'Historical' order, starting with an A (A Quest for Fire) which describes Mankind's survival in the harsh world of 80,000 years ago (nea the end of the Ice
Age). At times I use the names of the movies as titles for my posts (War of the Roses, European Vacation...) For this up coming post, I borrowed the name from the movie about a Greek Immigrant, who comes to America during the 19th century, a young man whose
yearning
for 'world opportunities', is combined with the same longing of other immigrants, who leave their old countries, looking for opportunities to become successful in the new world... The name of the movie is: "America, America.."
Somewhere on the Atlantic Ocean
July, 1962
"Dear Anne,
I am standing on the deck of La France, crossing the Atlantic Ocean... Soon I'll be able to stand on American soil! This "Floating City", is so big I often get lost in it... It is over 1000 feet long and holds
2000
passengers! There are Shops, Movie theaters, Art galleries, several Music Bends,
magnificent Dining Rooms, perfect service, full days of activities like Swimming pools,X Tenis Courts, and several Bands for dancing....
|
| La France |
The ship "Jerusalem", on which I have recently sailed from Haifa to Europe, seems now like a 'small fishing boat', compared with this one... I smile as I remember, the 'Raft' we sailed on, from Israel to Cyprus when I was in high school (The Fun Years) which seemed to me then, as if it was one of the Seven Wonders of the World... This ship 'La France' must be four times larger and it feels as if I am sailing in a "Floating Palace"
Every morning after a brisk walk, I sit on a reclining chair, wrapped with a soft, blue wool
blanket, embossed with black and gold letters: S.S FRANCE...This dear old diary is open on my lap, clouds are changing shapes above
me
and the strong wind, is nipping at my face as I inhale and exhale the salty air... I have to admit, that being on a smaller ship is much more Intimate... It seems that the close connection, which
develops
between passengers a smaller group of fellow travelers, is absent in this one...
I've made some friends, with whom I go to see the shows, participate in the many
activities and dance till the wee hours of the night, but for the past few day, I find myself a
bit concerned, realizing that very soon this 'vacation' is coming to an end and an unknown chapter of my
life,
is about to be opened... In spite of my optimism and self confidence, I'm worried about the work in Texas and my ability to
teach
in English, which is still far from perfect... I am also concerned that as an Atheist, I may have some difficulties with the required "Religious Curriculum" and may feel as a 'fraud' when I teach it! Since today is the last day aboard this ship, I have only a few moments left to scribble in this diary, before it is time to go through passport control... I am glad to say that the self doubts, I expressed before begin to vanish, together with the morning mist, as the ship is
getting closer to the N.Y Harbor...
|
The Statue
of Liberty |
The excited passengers are leaning on the railings, staring with awe, at the small
Statue
of Liberty, which is getting bigger and larger,as the ship makes its way to the harbor... We stare with awe, at
the Manhattan's sky scrapers, which begin to materialize and my old excitement of discovering new places, is waking up once again! I am getting ready to take my first steps on the soil of one more country, such a country! "The United States of America!" People all over the world are dreaming about seeing it; and here I am! Once again, my dream about traveling the world, is being fulfilled and I can't wait to discover and explore this big, actually Giant Continent, the one which I read about, seen in movies and longed to see for so many years of my life...
Yours, Shira"
New York
July,
Dear Anne,
|
| Greenwich Village |
Manhatten is amazing! In
the few days I have been here, Lea took me to see the Empire State Building, Radio City, the United
Nations Chinatown and Central Park, as well as amazing Art galleries and the Museum of Art! We also went to see Macy's, a gigantic,well known department store, where one can get lost in... Lea began to laugh when I told her that this "Store, is about the size of one small 'Kibbutz' , in Israel (An agricultural settlement.) Two evenings ago, her husband Dan joined us after work and the three of us spread a blanket on the grass in Central Park, next to
scores of people, who were, listening to the folk music, played by several small bands... At one point I was taken by my hosts to Greenwich Village, the place I
promised
myself in high school to live in one day and write a Masterpiece
 |
| Central Park |
Right now, I am resting in the guest room of this homey apartment writing in my Diary... Today I walked by myself for many miles, falling in love with Manhattan! This city is not Paris, but it certainty has a magic of it's own... Right now I am nursing my blistered feet, raised high on two pillows. The
breeze from the Hudson river, blowing in through the open windows, makes the white curtains look like sails of a boat, which makes me feel as if I am still traveling on the ocean...
I realize that these few days, which I am going to spend in NY, are like drops in the ocean... In order to get to know
this giant city,
one has to live here for at least a year! I know that one day I will live here! I have
to stop
writing now! Lea and Dan are taking me this evening for a visit in Chinatown, to introduce me to Chines food, which we don't have in Israel... I will be using chopsticks for the
first time in my life!
I hope I wouldn't hurt my hosts feelings, if I find shrimps and other strange creatures, disgusting... If I do, I will cover it with rice and hope they wouldn't notice... I don't want to appear ungrateful, the two of them, have been such nice hosts, aware that I am a 'poor student', with a limited amount of money.and so far wouldn't let me spend even a penny.... This is what I like about the Israelis: after all, I am not even their relative or even a friend, just a friend of Tsipi, Lea's cousin and the two of hem, are not so wealthy themselves; far away from it...
Yours, Shira"
Pennsylvania
August, 1962
"Dear Anne,
I am at my Pen-Pal Sherry's house, in Philadelphia! Although we have never met, we have seen each other in
photos since we were thirteen years old, following each other's growth and changes through our letters... Sherry's dad who is a photographer, enlarged some of our black and white photos and even colored some of them! People say that soon colored film would
replace
the black and white in our cameras, just like the Technicolor movies!
It was a very exciting moment when Sherry and I saw and recognized each other at the train station! We fell
into each
other's arms and started to laugh and cry, at the same time! Her parents were just as moved and excited...
Sherry's
family is not Jewish; she is an only child, who was adopted right after birth. They live in a two-story red
brick
house! I have never seen a red brick house before (maybe in the movies) It is so quaint! Sherry and I are sleeping in a large room, with one bed on top of the other... I have never seen such a bed before...
It's the first time I am going to stay as a guest in a Christian household and I am really looking
forward, to experiencing
a different way of life! I was curious to find out if Adopted children and their parents,interact the same
way
biological families do... To my great disappointment I was not able to see any differences, except for bacon for
breakfast,
which I tasted for the first time in my life, just like the champagne I had in Germany...(European Vacation). Unlike the
champagne though, I enjoyed the taste of the crunchy bacon right away and
was not stricken down by any Jewish or the Vegetarian Gods!
|
| Drive-In Movie |
Sherry has been taking me to the regular tourist destinations, of this famous historical city, where the
Declaration of
Independence was signed, one hundred and eighty six years ago! We went to look at the famous 'Cracked' Liberty Bell... Sherry
introduced me
to some of her school friends and those from the youth group of her church... My sweat 'pan pall', took me to see a Drive-In
movie, in
a huge parking lot, where people stay seated in their cars, in front of a giant screen is watching movies!
Sherry
told me that not everyone comes to there to watch movies and eat popcorn... The real reason they come, is to Neck in the
back seat
of the car... "Necking" - A new English word for my vocabulary...
|
Waitress in
roller skates |
After the movie, I was taken to a place where the food is served to the people in their cars, by
waitresses on
skates!! Sherry is begging me to stay in Philadelphia, live with her and enroll in her college, saying she finally feels that she has the sister she never had! I have to admit it is very tempting, but I was always a
person
of my word and she respects my commitment to the congregation in Houston. I expressed to
Sherry my
deep concerns about arriving in Huston, without knowing how to drive and was worried about getting from the university to the Hebrew school, which was at least thirty minutes ride, from one to the other... Sherry offered to teach me how to drive, the question was where to find a place, I wouldn't bump into anything
or kill anyone, while learning. We finally came up with the idea that the best place would be in a Cemetery, where I wouldn't be able to kill anyone, since everyone there was already dead...
We entered a Huge Cemetery, which was so unlike the small cemeteries in Israel...It seemed in the U.S everything is big, even the size of the paths, leading to the Tombstones, are wide enough to drive a
car! For the next ten days, Sherry took me there, where I sat behind the wheel, almost knocking
down a few Tombstones, while the two of us were shirking, screaming and laughing hysterically... On the
eleventh day,
instead of driving to the cemetery, Sherry took me in spite of my protests that I was not ready, to the nearest DMV to take my
test.
"Go for it, soldier!" She ordered me, when I said I don't think I am ready... "You can do it!" And I did ... I now have a driver's licenses! The days past way too fast and it was time to say good by... My next stop before moving on to Texas, was Syracuse New York, where some of my dad's cousins, whom we have never met, lived... I parted from Sherry, her parents and new friends with hugs and tears, promising to meet again, got on the Train, moving on towards my next destination...
Yours, Shira.
Syracuse, New York
August, 1962
"Dear Anne,
I am in Syracuse! What an amazing experience it is, to discover and get to know the new members of my family! I'll never forget the reception at
the train station in Syracuse! Older and younger cousins, all smiling and shoving each other, to get a close
look
at me and give me a hug! When things calmed down a bit, I was told that I am going to stay at Aunt Rose's
place
and we drove there in what seemed to be a long caravan of five cars...
What a lovely two-story older house, my father's cousin Rose lives in... It reminded me of picture I saw in one of my favorite books;"Little
Women". We sat down for a sumptuous dinner at a table laden with so
much
food, it seemed as if we were at a wedding in Israel! Later, I found myself sitting in the
center of an
old fashioned maroon sofa, from which Aunt Rose removed a plastic cover... It seemed there were twenty five
people around me,including several teenagers and younger kids of three, five, seven and ten, as well as a few babes in arms...
Aunt
Rose,who is the eldest of the family, was the"Spokeswoman". She talked about our family connection and was showing me Albums with photos of the relatives...
"Our mother Bella, may she rest
in peace, was
the sister of your Grandpa Eliyahu, may he rest in peace... He left Russia for Israel and after a while, the rest of the family came to live in America... All of then except my poor father David, may he rest in peace, who
died five
years before. My sisters and I, are the first cousins of your father Max, his brother Aron and your three
aunts; Shoshana, Lea and Rachel. My two sisters here, are also named Lea and Rose, as you know now, my name is also Rose, which in Hebrew is Shoshana, the same name as your older aunt... She and I were named after our grandmother and my sisters Lea and Rachel you have just met, have the same names as their cousins, your aunts in Israel... We were all named after ourX family members..."
UP
I was introduced to spouses, children and grandchildren... The three sisters had one
brother named Joseph,
who passed away, but his wife Sonia ,with her sons and grandchildren, came to meet me... By the time my new relatives finished
telling me their names, I was completely confused...
Everyone
was grabbing the photographs I brought from Israel, chatting excitedly and pointing out the resemblance between our family members... I noticed that many of the adults, as well as the children in the room, had eyes which were slightly slanted, in different
shades of hazel, just
like mine, my brother's, my dad's and some of our cousins in Israel... My new family members, insisted that Carol, Lea's granddaughter and I look alike! I have to admit that even I could see the resemblance... The poor kid was
very
embarrassed by the sudden attention and was trying to hide behind her mother."Wow Carol" I winked at
her, "Aren't
the two of us lucky to be so beautiful?!" She blushed and gave me a shy smile, while every one cheered and clapped their hands! How fascinating it was, to find out I look like someone I didn't even know about! In the corner of the room, on a big curved, upholstered armchair, sat a very old man, who was
watching us and
looking at me with a sweet toothless smile... This man, who was ninety
three years
old, was uncle Abe the father of the one who sent the tickets, to bring the family from Russia to America... "If it wasn't for him, we will not be here today! All of us would be destroyed by
the Nazis!" A blond kid about thirteen stood up and said: "If it wasn't for uncle Abe, the Nazis would turn us into Bars of Soap!" He was pulled back to the chair by his irate father, while everyone was shushing and hushing him,
pointing
at the younger children, who started to giggle..."But we learned this in Hebrew school!" The kid protested...
What a lively, warm and loving gathering this was! Everyone was talking together, sharing and arguing,
while munching
on sandwiches, salads, cold cuts, hot dogs and homemade cookies and cakes... They were asking, answering and
laughing
uproariously, when I kept on mixing up their names... Suddenly someone noticed that it was very late and they all began to stand up reluctantly... An argument started, about who is going to show me around ,on the following day... After hugging, kissing and welcoming me again and again to the
family,
they formed a line and each one took a turn, kissing uncle Abe, including the small children... This sweet
old man, was
placing his hand on the children and babies heads, looking with pleasure at the three generations he saved, which were now gathering in the room, thanks of him...
Every day, I was driven to another place of interest... Five of my teenage second cousins (rather third) took me to an Amusement Park, where
we went on rides, such as I have never experienced before! We had a great time and they couldn't
get enough
of my stories about my years in the Israeli Army... After seeing my photo with the Uzi, (my sub X muchin gun.) They wanted to know, what
kind of gun it was and why didn't I bring it along with me, to the U.S... In spite of my strong protests, their mothers insisted on taking me shopping for clothes.When I visited their homes, the
young children
wanted me to play in their rooms with the toys I have never seen in Israel... I was delighted to regress,
kick
off my shoes, lie down on the "Wall to Wall" carpet (another 'wonder' we did not have in my country) and play with my adorable little
cousins... I tried to each them games, which children play in Israel and a few songs in Hebrew...
Yours, Shira"
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