As Old as Disneyland

I'm not tellin'...you'll likely see the same commercial which alerted me to this fact. I'm still stunned - somehow I imagined Disneyland was as old as time.  Surprise!

I keep thinking, "My (loved ones) now gone are the lucky ones.  They don't have to see what's happening to our country, and the world."  (Photo: 1970-ish, during a trip to visit relatives in CA; AJ on left with my That Girl 'do.)  It was one of my favorite shows at the time; when we were all learning about Women's Lib and the possibility of being something other than Nurturer. My young  hairdresser never heard of the show or Marlo Thomas, but at least she knew about St. Jude's.

I'm sure you've had to explain something-or-other to someone younger.  I do it all the time.  It annoys the hell out of them but they annoy the hell out of me plus it reinforces my memory, so too bad:  the Oscar Meyer jingle; chicken salad; Mozart; searching for a pay phone.  OK, explaining chicken salad was more a regional thing (and Mozart's a cultural).

Explaining spectacles like Ringling Brothers or this Horse Diving show raises eyebrows, and scorn.  Try justifying letting kids ride bikes without helmets, driving without seatbelts or walking home alone after dark and you'll receive condemnation.  Playing games with Winners AND Losers?

I know people still aren't paying attention to what's happening or what's imminent, there's nothing you can do.  I haven't gone to a demonstration lately, and so I figure to do my part by continuing to express my opinion the best way I know how - writing.  It'll last longer than me standing on a sidewalk.  I didn't used to think that meant much, until I received confirmation that whatever I'm doing to keep doing, let me explain.

I've never been good at analyzing Stats on either my website or blog and never really cared, because making money hasn't been my focus.  My site is basically my portfolio; and my blog helps my sanity.

So imagine my shock and delight last fall when I opened my stats to find I suddenly had TENS OF THOUSANDS of views from some pretty distinguished organizations, including, but not exclusively:

Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Brown, UCLA, CBS, Fox News, NPR, Oxford, U of Michigan, Intel and Microsoft.  I practically wet my pants - what were they all looking at?!

FOR THE LIFE OF ME I COULDN'T FIGURE IT OUT!  I took screenshots, should I ever find some whiz-kid to translate.

The flood eventually ended; but regardless, to me it was a terrific shot in the arm. Must have been something good enough to pique the interest of such high-thinkers - OXFORD, for heaven's sake; so I'll continue to write my schtick.

Growing up in NYC and later New Jersey, our family trips usually revolved around history, culture or art, and I assumed everyone else's was the same.

Isn't that the gist?  Whatever we experience at a young age, we tend to assume EVERYBODY grew up the same.  I'm sure that's true for people living in slums or on Park Avenue. (Photo:  JFK was in office but not in D.C.- we hoped for a surprise appearance during the White House tour.)

My grandfather emigrated from Poland in 1913 with less than $20 in his pocket, that was the rule; followed by Grandma in 1914. The Emergency Quota Act of 1921 and the Immigration Act of 1924 significantly reduced Eastern European immigration, so I suppose I'm lucky they fled when they did or I'd be making perogi and naleśniki.

Our family survived World War II, but not without sacrifices.  Some of Dad's relatives, still in Poland when it was occupied, were either slaughtered or sent to concentration camps.  In honor of today, Holocaust Remembrance Day, I'll give a shout-out to my second-cousin, Bozenna (Bernice) Urbanowicz-Gilbride's book about her experiences in concentration camps, from Children of Terror:

"In 1941, my town, Leonowka, was under Naxi occupation.  Nazi policy was to eliminate all Polish culture and to eradicate its people through mass executions and sending us to contratrion camps. Not only were Polish Christians murdered and sent to camps, but the Jewish minority was especially targeted for extermination.  Hitler had a special hatred against the Slavic people and the Jews.

"All schooling was forbiden. Himmler decreed that Polish children were to be educated only so far as to be able to sign their own name, to be obedient to the Germans, to read simple instructions, and not to be able to count further than 500."  (Photo: Bozenna, seated on left, with siblings and Babcha, 1948)

"Polish priests were rounded up and sent to Dachau.  All Polish intellectuuals, doctors, lawyers, teachers and civic leaders were arrested and sent to concentration camps.  Polish children were abducted off the streets and sent to Germany for adoption and 'Germanization.'  We knew what was waiting for us."  THIS is what people today are warning about.

Buy the book if you want to read more; it's also on Kindle.  The first half is Bozenna's narrative, the second is by Inge Auerbacher, a Jewish holocaust survivor.  They met late in life, wrote this book then went around to area schools on Long Island to speak about their experiences; lest anyone forget.

Grandpa sponsored his brother's family and many others after the war.  It took some time finding everyone but Bozenna finally made it to America in 1947.  Talk about a tough childhood; but by Bozenna's account her life in America has been good.

Our family lost touch, but when I found her book and contacted her, she said "Yes (we're part of the same family) - your sister was the flower girl at my wedding!"  I've written some of this story in Shades of Grey.

Many people forget that it wasn't only Jews who were targeted for persecution but also Catholics, homosexuals, the disabled, the Romani - probably missing some.  

There are loads of Americans whose families arrived in similar fashion; but are now bashing today's immigrants. Ask the Irish.  Ask the Italians.  Some of them were actually lynched. My grandparents would be ashamed of any of their progeny mistreating recent arrivals who are 'different' and may not speak the language.

Well, it's Holocaust Rembrance Day and we should pay tribute to all who died at the hands of tyranny, both then and now.