The Story of Abe

I woke up in Toronto last Saturday morning to find an email in my inbox from my mother that my sister-in-law was in labor.

Abe & Maya - Day 1

The friend I was visiting helped me get to the airport early, where I was able to get on an earlier flight to Chicago.  While waiting in customs, I logged into my email to let my parents know when to pick me up, and I found an email saying that she had given birth. » Read the rest of this entry «

This picture is an old one. It must be from about 25 years ago, more or less. My brother looks to be about One and a half, maybe two years old, which would put this picture in 1985. My specific memories from 1985 tend to gravitate towards other areas, by no fault of my parents mothers.

Abraham, Ben, and the Grandmothers

My paternal grandmother, Yetta, on the far left of the picture, lived in New York in a home for the aged blind.  If I’m not mistaken it was also Jewish, which gives it quite the specific clientele.  My entire experience with Yetta was in this home, which for a little boy could some times be a little scary.  It was filled with odd equipment and even odder smells.  I remember being amazed by the gigantic tomes that sat in her rooms.  Braille printing necessitates heavier paper than can withstand the printing process and maintain it’s new shape over the long term, and space required by each letter.  They were big books.  I don’t remember now what they were, but my impression was that they were either general fiction or biblical or something.  I was a little kid, how am I supposed to remember. » Read the rest of this entry «