The Beginning

To tell this story properly I must first tell you about the people who came before me.

My Grandfather was born in Germany and grew up there during Hitlers reign, he was of Armenian, German, and Jewish decent. I have only recently dug into the Armenian background, it broke my heart to read some of the stories from those people. As a young adult  he and his family fled the country, in the process he lost his brothers, one of his sisters and his father. He, his mother, and two of his sisters survived and succeeded in entering America where they were given an easier to pronounce last name and very little hope of a bright future. With no money, no patriarch, and no idea what to do, they somehow managed to not only survive but to thrive in this strange new world.

My Grandmother had it bit easier, her family came from Italy in search of an adventure. She was raised with the best of everything, and had never wanted a day in her life. She more than once embarrassedly admitted to that. She was however never particularly vain or haughty, she never looked at those with less and thought less of them, her finest attribute was her ability to judge a person solely on that persons intelligence, drive, and heart. She did as much with my Grandfather and they spent many years together, most of which appeared to be very happy ones.

Prior to my grandparents meeting my grandfather married a woman and they had two daughters. I have never been certain of the specifics but the marriage ended and my grandfather was once again a single man. Shortly thereafter he met my grandmother and married her. She proceeded to give him two more daughters, their eldest later became my mother.

My grandparents lived in New York, in both Brooklyn and in Queens until my grandfather took early retirement due to his health and reestablished themselves in a little town in North Carolina. Since then both have passed away and are buried in what was once their garden, under an oak tree.

Next time we will talk about their children, my aunts and mother. For now I need a break and another cup of coffee.