[original page 28]
With that uncle's assistance, Father found employment in a junk shop just a few days after his arrival. Starting salary was $14.00 for a six-day week of eleven hours a day. We regularly received a good portion of his salary and were able to live with all the known comforts of the village.
With the news of his safe arrival, Mother became more relaxed every day, and the adjustment to his departure became a new episode in her life. The rattling of the wool-processing machine and its dirt in our living quarters were now eliminated. That monstrosity was now partially hidden. Mother no longer had to entertain the vulgar peasants with tea and salted herring so they would bring us more business, and for a while she would be relieved of childbearing.
I Rebel Against Chader
Not long after Father left, I stopped attending Chader. The reason? One Friday morning, when a review of the Cheemesh (a religious book -- a portion of which was studied weekly) was held, I was asked by the Rebbe (Hebrew teacher) to interpret a paragraph... My interpretation did not please him. That beast of a Rebbe physically punished me -- once too often -- to the delight of some of the other students. I ran out of the class and never returned to that or any other Chader again.
I [dawdled on the way] home in a confused state of mind... I was at a very low ebb. I entered our house with morbid thoughts. Instead of scolding me, Mother offered me some goodies she had baked for the Sabbath. With that bit of kindness and my newly acquired free time, I became mother's helper in many ways. Mother also had more free time. She was able to notice us more and became especially fond of sister Libby. She dressed her very attractively. At the age of five and a half years, Libby could recite Yiddish folklore verses and sing folklore songs, and did so to the delight of Mother and guests as well.
Preparations and Destruction in Bialystok
Mother received great consolation from our efforts that made life without Father pleasantly tolerable. [This] quiet and comparably easy life continued for three and a half years, until the preparations for our voyage to America started with an urgent train trip to Bialystok, Poland... We were in need of health checkups, especially the eyes of the six of us. A doctor in that city was the one recommended, and in all probability [he] was the closest doctor to our village.
Bialystok could have been a beautiful city to visit. The two- and three-story buildings were clean. [There were] horse-drawn streetcars [and] electric lights… on streets paved with smooth stones instead of cobblestones.
|
Table of Contents
(?)
