[Cz-L] Re: 19th April 2007

Since my writing was often considered to be "too light" I did not dare
sending this article to the list.
However, now with Jerome's encouragement -his message quoted below -
I...just risk it!
With deep affection for my fellow czernowitzers,
Sincerely,
Lucca

----- Original Message -----
From: "jerome schatten" <romers_at_shaw.ca>
To: "Lucca Ginsburg" <lucca99_at_netvision.net.il>
Sent: Thursday, April 19, 2007 6:43 PM
Subject: Re: 19th April 2007

> Ah, my Lucca... this is such a good piece, can I put on the website
for
> all to read? If not, can I induce you to send it to the list. Maybe
both
> of theses things?
>
> Was there anyone there that you know of that didn't speak enough
German
> or Hebrew to directly understand the presentations? I wonder how it
went
> for them with the translations?
>
> Best,
> Jerome
>
>
> On Thu, 2007-04-19 at 15:02 +0300, Lucca Ginsburg wrote:
>> The ramblings are early this time!
>>
>>
>>
>> After an impressive and very emotional ceremony of the Holocaust Day
>> in the Towers, I found myself next day in a taxi together with Hedy,
>> Anita and Irene, on our way to the Czernowitz reunion. We arrived at
>> the Holiday Inn, also called Crown Plaza, I really don't know
why. We
>> were full of excitement and anticipation of things to come..
>>
>>
>>
>> A carefree childhood, a common language, a shared mentality and
>> attitude toward life in a unique city, can be a very strong bond. We
>> had shared our early youth for a limited time in blissful ignorance
>> of a terrible future lying in wait
>>
>>
>>
>> Anita and I received our plastic keys for our shared room. As soon as
>> we entered it, we found a cozy alcove next!
>>
>> "Oh no, I exclaimed in dismay, let's go down to the
reception and
>> explain to them that we need a room with twin beds! Because you know
>> me by now, I am a restless sleeper and throw off pillows and blankets
>> which I collect next morning from the floor, and you, dear
>> Anita, ..snore!"
>>
>> Not that a bit of distance helps in this latter case!
>>
>> After some mutual protests at the desk, we got another room. Anita
>> immediately retreated to the balcony with a cigarette, she was
>> nervous! I lied down on the bed with a piece of chocolate because I
>> was nervous too.
>>
>> A bit later we went down to the main hall. I immediately started to
>> look for familiar faces, and some faces were looking for me as well.
>> The atmosphere was warm and full of expectation. We talked again that
>> special Czernowitzer German, Hebrew, of course, and English as well.
>> The hall was very full and they had to bring chairs from other rooms
>> because many more people had shown up than were expected initially..
>>
>> A woman grabbed my shoulders and shouted at me:
>>
>>"I dare you not to recognize me!"
>>
>> Well, I really didn't.
>>=
>> A white-haired man looked at my name tag and exclaimed:
>>
>> "Are you THAT Lucca? Don't you remember you sat right
next to me in
>> grade school and I had to do all your math lessons, otherwise you
>> would not help me with my German grammar?!"
>>=
>> "Oh it's you, I said, do you know that when I was
nine I decided to
>> marry you?"
>>
>> "No kidding, really? Why don't we sit down someplace
after all this is
>> over and talk for a while?"
>>
>> "Look, if you intend to refer to my obsolete plans for
marriage,
>> please note that."
>>
>>
>>
>> The organizing committee had asked the visitors to bring along copies
>> of their written work if any, which would then be displayed on a
>> special stand. I had brought along a copy of a memoir I had written in
>> 1999 and it was laid out with the writings of other
>> Czernowitz authors. After a couple of hours, to my great distress I
>> noticed that my book had been stolen. I turned in despair to a fellow
>> Czernowitzer who stood nearby, who once, in the dim dawn of
antiquity,
>> used to be one of my boy friends:
>>
>> "Can you imagine, I wailed, they stole my book!"
>>
>> "You must have another one at home, I suppose!" he
said complacently.
>> Now you understand why we broke up so many years ago!...
>>
>> Incidentally my book turned up again mysteriously a few hours later.
>> Someone must have looked at it and decided in the end that it
wasn't worth an act of petty larceny.
>>
>>
>>
>> There were many speeches. People told stories of a tragic past which
>> can never be forgotten. We saw video pictures of a town which had
lost
>> its splendor by the time we lost our illusions. Of course we know
that
>> during the war every city, every country had its tragedy, but this
was
>> our own tragedy, a reminder of the great price we paid for survival
>>
>> and the pain in our hearts for the ones who did not!
>>
>>
>>
>> At the end of these two days we felt emotionally as well as
physically
>> exhausted, although we hadn't done anything strenuous, except
for
>> sitting there and listening. In the taxi on our way back, it started
>> to rain. The car couldn't climb up Mount Carmel and had to
make a
>> detour.
>>
>> "It's the football game, said the driver, Maccabi Tel-Aviv is playing
>> and there are traffic jams!"
>>
>> Life goes on. Thank God.
>>
>> Lucca
Received on 2007-04-19 11:05:40