Red Cross Riding Through Blackness

By Helen Thau

During WWII, I went oversees. It was September 1942, our destination was Liverpool. We were a group of Red Cross workers plus medics, some of whom were doctors. We were on a hospital ship completely blacked out, with very quiet motors, so as not to attract submarines, and there was a huge red cross on top of the ship. This was the only color. We were surrounded by such a blackness that I had never before seen. There were no stars or moon overhead. It looked like the ocean was completely wrapped in black velvet. There was just this huge red cross riding through the blackness.

Helen Thau grew up in the Bronx. She worked as a school secretary and likes to read, do needlepoint, and eat. She has two children.

An Honest Salesman Talks to his Son

By Jacob H. W. Wolf

My father was an honest man and I tried to emulate him. But somewhere along the line he said, “Never lie but you don’t have to tell the whole truth.” I tried to set an example for my son, but I’m afraid he learned too well. He is a professor of mathematics and I suppose, in his field, the subject of honesty has a different interpretation than in business.

Some time ago, I discussed this subject with him. I told him that when I was a sales engineer for the Philco corporation. I sold transistors. Now Philco transistors were rated at a 25 mw power rating. This means that a transistor can safely dissipate up to 25 mw of power without effecting the life of the transistor. From each batch of new transistors, a sample is subjected to a 25 mw life test. The majority of these sample lots passed the test, but some did not. This means that millions of transistors were thus unsellable and a complete loss to Philco. I reasoned that if these failed transistors could be sold, it would be a great benefit to the Philco Corp, and to me. So, when speaking to a customer, where price was an issue, I would ask him how much power the transistor in his circuit dissipated. If, for instance, he replied 10 mw, I would say to him, “I will quote a price to you at $1.75 per transistor instead of the $2.50 you are currently paying. I will specify a maximum power rating of 15 mw, thus assuring you of the safety of the transistor in your circuit.” In this instance the customer was overjoyed and so was Philco management because it meant that transistors that were a complete loss would now be sellable.

Now my son, on hearing all this told me I was being dishonest because I did not tell the customer that the 15 mw transistors I was selling him had previously failed the 25 mw life test. So to Philco management I was a hero, but to my son, I was a crook.

Jacob Wolf grew up in Philadelphia and started a successful business, Lansdale Transistor and Electronics Co. He was an actor and enjoys theater and reading. He has two children who also live in the New York metro area.

What "We" Means

By Sylvia Tuchinsky

My mother laid the law down. Since she and I had done the preparing and cooking for our evening meals, it was no more than right that the men of the house share some of the chores relating to same. They were to take care of the trash and garbage removal.

My brother agreed on the spot and promised Dad that after he finished his homework, he would be available, adding that we'll get it done in a jiffy.

However, he was no where to be found. And my father fulfilled his part of the bargain.

Trudging the garbage and trash down the stairs, I could hear him muttering to himself, "The 'we' is always 'me'."

Blueberry Pie

By Doris Washton

After World War II, Bob and I and our infant son lived with my parents because there was a shortage of apartments available. My mother was thrilled with the arrangement because she cooked her heart out and Bob just loved her cooking. This went on for a while but we soon realized that Bob was enjoying himself a bit too much and was gaining a great deal of weight. Mom and I approached him and convinced him to go on a diet. He agreed and was careful until...

Well, one day Mom and I were passing a Horn and Harvest Retail store and froze. This presented a dilemma. You must understand that Bob, Mom and I were avid fans of the blueberry pie baked by the establishment. What to do! We desperately wanted a pie but how could we prevent Bob from knowing about it. My mom said, "We'll buy it!" and we proceeded home with our treasure.

Once we got into the house, then what? How could we hide the pie? Leave it to Mom -- she put it in a section of the dining room server. We would attack it the following morning when the house emptied out. Well, morning came. Mom put up the coffee and told me to get our treat out. I put the string-tied box on the table, took the string off the box, and pulled the wax-wrapped pie out of the box. Surprise -- there was a huge chunk cut out of the pie and in its place was a quarter and a note saying that $.25 was the cost of a slice of pie at the Automat.

Needless to say, Mom and I were shocked. Mom was a wise lady and could have fun with something as serious as a health matter. Bob on the other hand, showed his preference for eating pleasures -- damn the torpedoes ahead.

Doris Washton, who is married to fellow author Robert Washton, raised "four loving, thoughtful and devoted children." She was a bookkeeper before retiring and likes to read. She has 10 grandchildren.

The RiverWalk Writers

Creeping

By Mildred Lippes

In the cold-water flat that I lived, Jack Frost painted white crystal fanciful shapes on the parlor windows, obscuring the outer landscape.

I was comfortable, standing on the oriental carpet in the high button green suede shoes my mother thought she had safely hidden from me. It was typical of me, creeping into all the dark nooks and crannies my mother avoided.

The horn machine

By Doris Washton

I remember coming into a room and seeing this machine with a huge horn sitting on a table. What could it be? All of a sudden, music came out of it and, upon close inspection, I saw a black round disc spinning around. My parents told me this was a phonograph which played music. This was magic.

View from a carriage

By Al Levin

My first memory goes back to when I was in my carriage, and my father was taking care of me. We were in a park and soldiers were training there. I was about two or three. It was the time of the First World War.

Unforgettable

By Pearl Kline

I have a memory I can never forget. It is something that can happen to any young child who is depending on a mother's love for survival. I was about three years old and a child of a working mother, left in a day care nursery until she finished with her day's work. Time came for pickup and all children were gone and there I was looking out at a rainy night hoping soon to be picked up. Time seemed endless and tears came flowing down my cheeks -- thinking I was abandoned forever. Of course my big sister finally came and I flew into her arms happy and content.

The bath tub

By Sylvia Tuchinsky

I remember Saturday night after Shabbus. The bath tub was taken to the kitchen and set on two chairs. I was put in the tub to be bathed, then dressed in my nightie and put to bed. I was the youngest and much was made about me. My siblings were all much older than me and they treated me like a toy.

The bronze lady

By Helen Thau

One of my mother's wedding presents was a bronze statue of a lady in an old-fashioned bathing suit lying on her stomach with one hand under her chin. I can remember the joy as I prepared to play with the statue.

Unfortunately, I hid the statue when I had two small children because I was worried that they would hurt each other with it and I never found it again.

When I was three

By Claire Jacoby

My first memory is of lying on a rug in our dining room floor sucking on a baby bottle full of milk. I was 3 years old. My baby brother was only two, and I wanted to do what he was doing.

Blazing red flashes

By Aaron Winzemer

My first memory occurred at the age of about five years. I was in a hospital having my tonsils removed. I only remember a mask being placed over my face and blazing red flashes before I passed out. When I awoke I wasn't sure at first where I was. Then I remembered. All of my life I have carried in my mind these few first images.