Holocaust Remembrance Day

As we remember all those who perished and those who were freed 70 years ago, we should keep in mind that adage of never again!

Time after time I have heard from those who had no idea that those who perished did not have a choice.  They were taken quickly, lied to as if it were for their best interests, and assured they would be protected in a new location.  Rounding up by Nazis was the norm and their homes were confiscated so quickly confusion reined supreme.

During the past few years I have read so many books about the Holocaust which were written by those who had survived.  There were many books written by non-Jews based upon what they had seen as well.  Some of the exploits which have been described are unbelievable and doubters could easily  say they did not happen that way.

One book that stuck out in my mind was about a young Jewish man who was living in Berlin.  He moved from apartment to apartment which had been previously occupied by other Jewish families, he found food, clothing, and other things of use.  No one dared to enter into those premises and thus things remained as they had been a year or two previously.  Since he was blond, looked like any other German on the streets, he was able to pass and get along.  He sold many possessions that he found so that he had money.  In fact he found that he could eat at restaurants among the Nazi elite and they did not suspect him at all.  Eventually, he left Berlin and traveled to Norway so that he could live without fear.

Another book which stood out in my memory was how a non-Jewish family took in Jews who were escaping from the concentration camps.  This couple hid them in a Zoo!  The cages for the animals were equipped with tunnels underneath where the zoo keepers would feed traverse to feed them.  In these tunnels Jews were hidden, walls in the house were rebuilt with  secret passages.  At the same premises of the zoo were German occupiers with their storage of weapons.  It was difficult at best, but through all this subterfuge there was survival so that those who had been hidden could find passage to safer places.

The stories go on, even with all of this, however, 6 million were murdered.  Every living Jew has knowledge of the events.  All vow to never let it happen again.  Our hearts go out to those in Israel who have to live in fear daily because of their neighboring countries who have vengeance in their hearts.

Musings about getting more out of the Internet

There are some days which seem to occupy more time than others with just sitting on the computer and playing games or reading the news.

What if we started to change our existing habits of same old, same old?  That is to say we should shake up our thinking and confront our ways to be a bit more!  More what?  Well, education, sharing our life experiences, reading about others experiences, or delving into our families. 

This past year I reached out to existing family members who I discovered on Ancestry.com and found many of them who had been close to each other, but not close to my immediate family.  How do we get them altogether?  That is where the Internet comes in.  We use this space to integrate our lives and share the things that have been going on about us with others.

Sometimes we have been so busy that we forget "to smell the roses," and old cliche, but oh so true.  We move along in our daily journeys and do not communicate enough with everyone.  It takes a few minutes out of our hectic schedules to just say howdy!

I am moving this Blog out further so that all family members can join in, comment what their thoughts are and share their thoughts.  Hopefully, it will catch on!

Regarding the past with Delis

Today seems to be a day in which I received an email about Jewish food. My thinking stimulated a response!

How true it all is. I can remember, even when we lived in
Toms River, going to NYC to have deli there since there was not very much in TR. When I lived in Rochester NY we used to go to Cohen's Deli and it was such a joy! A corned beef sandwich which was too big to hold on to. Pickles in the barrel! Oy, I salivate just thinking about them!

Then years later, we moved and raised a family in St. Paul, Minnesota. We had come back to Yiddish land. Many delis to choose from in both St. Paul and Minneapolis. Years have passed, when we visit now, there are a few of the Delis left, but oh so few. One that I know of in St. Paul and a couple in Minneapolis. Indeed our heritage is dwindling.

When I lived in Houston, Katz came to town and there were a couple more which we indulged in. They are still there and in Houston Judaism flourishes. We lived in an area where they were over 13 synagogues in a 3 mile radius! Even a Jewish Community Center.

Now we live in Kingman. There is one place where you can still get a pastrami sandwich! It is tremendous! Homemade by a transplanted Yid who also makes home rolls on which he serves this colossal delicacy. You also get a can of soda and a bag of chips for the handsome price of $5.00! McDonald's eat your heart out!

We also can go to Las Vegas and there are several places where you can gourmet deli food. All you have to do is put them in your GPS and get directed to their doorsteps. One store (Smith's) is a part of the Kroger group, and they have a section in the store which is the largest Kosher store I have ever seen. It beats the heck out of those in your area since it also has a meat market par excellence.

Enough reminiscing, now on to bigger and better things since I cannot eat much of the Yiddish food anymore!

Testing the waters!

Testing the waters for blogger!  This is a test to see how to get this working and writing a regular blog.

Sometimes we have thoughts that are relevant to the way things are working in this world and those thoughts should be shared. 

This is the purpose of this blog to see the way it will work out.