Category Archives: family stories

My New Hip

Hi guys. Sorry for my long silence. Eight weeks ago, Dr. Morteza Meftah, an orthopedic surgeon at New York University’s Orthopedic Hospital, implanted my new hip. My body is still getting used to the repair. The new hip replaced an … Continue reading

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Gifts of Summer Guests

Summer homes, especially when located in spectacular places, usually attract guests laden with gifts and improvements. This year, now that I am old, handicapped, car-less, and recently widowed, both were plentiful. Walter was the first guest. His contributions were novel … Continue reading

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Vati

I had my father for a relatively short time: 24 minus 6 years. When he died suddenly, more than half a century ago, I was distracted by both the immense joy and relief of having recently met my life partner … Continue reading

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Lockdown 1942, Lockdown 2020

For me, the current lockdown is a vivid reminder of the two years I spent as a “hidden child” in Belgium during World War II. Actually, I was neither a child nor confined to my quarters like that other, very … Continue reading

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Raising a Gay Child Before Stonewall

I regret to say that I barely remember the riots at Stonewall, the bar in Greenwich Village where on June 26, 1969, a group of gay patrons successfully resisted harassment by the New York City police. The event would play … Continue reading

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My Guardian Angel

I have a guardian angel. I think he is male, though you could not tell by looking at him. He has golden wings and wears a plain white gown. He does not concern himself with politics or other important things, … Continue reading

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Three Family Bar Mitzvahs

To the memory of David Loebl (1956-1993) on his 63rd birthday and the 50th anniversary of his bar mitzvah. I was eight years old when my mother and I attended the bar mitzvah of my cousin Ernst Wertheimer (later Worth). … Continue reading

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The Disastrous Consequences of Separating Parents and Children

More than fifty years ago, my three-year-old son David and I went grocery shopping in our smallish neighborhood supermarket. I concentrated on the week’s bargains while he immersed himself in the comics rack. Suddenly I felt a small hand tugging … Continue reading

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At Home on Echo Lake

For the past half-century, my husband of 67 years and I have spent our summers on Echo Lake in Somesville, Maine. This year we wondered whether we would make it. My spouse is not well, and I too have medical … Continue reading

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An Announcement

As many readers of this blog know, I have written two memoirs. One of them, At the Mercy of Strangers: Growing Up on the Edge of the Holocaust, is an account of my experience as a hidden Jewish teenager during World War … Continue reading

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