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Wednesday, 10 March 2010

Alexander and Nouriel: Meet Your Ancestors

By Ernest Leichter

Dear Alexander and Nouriel,

I’ve been writing about our family each week for the past year. Sometimes I ask myself why I’m taking the time to do all this writing. I’ve concluded that I want you to know about our family history. It will give you a better idea of your roots.

I’m not spending long hours writing these memoirs because I want to show why you boys should be proud of your family (although there’s every reason to be). The essays will attempt to show what your ancestors were really like, warts and all.

Unfortunately, when I die, I will have no material assets to pass along to you boys. Since you’re only eight and nine years old as I’m writing this preface, you probably will have no interest in learning your family history until you have a family of your own. In your thirties, you might begin asking philosophical questions like: Who am I? or Why do I act the way I do? You might be able to rationalize your actions, but these memoirs will clarify your inherited behavior.

I try to include some historical background in these pieces. There were a few famous people who changed the direction of my life, either directly or indirectly. John Shelly, the ex-mayor of San Francisco and Kenneth Stampp, the foremost expert on the American Civil War, directly helped me get a job overseas. Kennedy and Khruschev’s Cold War battles prevented me from teaching in Cuba at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base.

The memoirs include stories that take place in Greece, Germany, Italy, the United States and Israel. There are several pieces on Italy where you boys spent two years of your life. One of these essays explains how Italy was different in the 1960s than it is today. There are a couple of articles on earthquakes which are major problems in Italy and California.

The California earthquake occurred in San Francisco in 1957, the day your Grandmother Sally came home from the hospital after being diagnosed with terminal colon cancer. The other earthquake took place in Sicily in 1965, a week before your grandmother and I were scheduled to go there on vacation.

Another commentary deals with the massacre at the Lod Airport when we visited Israel in 1972. Scores of Israelis were gunned down by terrorists. This dramatic incident was the beginning of the intrusive security that passengers have had to endure at airports throughout the world to this day.

More important, my memoirs will introduce you to unforgettable characters like my Aunt Lala, who was the matriarch of the family. She weighed less than 90 pounds, but she controlled the family psychologically using her guile to get what she wanted.

You’ll get acquainted with your Great-Grandmother Sally, who was as nice a person as I’ve ever known. There are tales in the memoirs about your dad and your Aunt Sally. In my essays, I’m sure you’ll find anecdotes about your dad that might surprise you.

One last comment on your dad. If one of your children is as nice a son to you as your dad has been to me, you will be truly blessed.

Enjoy!

Love,
Grandpa Ernie

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[INVITATION: All elders, 50 and older, are welcome to submit stories for this blog. They can be fiction, non-fiction, poetry, memoir, etc. Instructions for submitting are here.]

Posted by Ronni Bennett at 02:30 AM | Permalink | Email this post

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