The story....part two.



Irving Shulak

 It looks like Irving still had it.......this was 1951. A very rare vacation for him and Dorothy. The man worked six days a week, ten hours a day his entire life. He also would work on Sunday or after hours if someone couldn't get out. He would go to them (like a hospital) when they needed a haircut.

Part 1 ended with the great "newspaper hustle" probably in the early 20's in Detroit and so.....

The family flourished. My Uncle Bill began his business laundering and supplying uniforms and coveralls to restaurants and service stations. (bet you thought these business' were all mob owned) Dad and Grandpa Jacob, sorry; he was now Jack, had the the barber shop. My Aunt Rose made a fortune in the shipping business. She had nothing to do with boats and freighters. She did however have a very large house near the docks where she would entertain sailors. Now I realize why so many people called her Madam. My father and mother met, married in the early thirty's and eventually would have three sons. The family was changing along with the times.

In 1954 I began public school. The area was once a Jewish ghetto and the bond of family was still very apparent. Most of the aunts, uncles, and cousins lived in the immediate area. I could walk to relatives of both parents in probably fifteen minutes or less. The closeness we all felt then would soon be a thing of the past. The world was getting larger and people were moving with the change.

My father was putting his eldest son Fred through college. Fred was actually born, Boris Fredrick but mother enrolled him in grammar school as Fredrick B. My old man, who, whenever we had company for dinner would silently unbuckle his belt under the dinner table, wait for mother to ask him to get something and drop his pants on the way to the icebox, had a son in college. My other brother Allen would soon follow Fred to college and Mother and Dad would shortly thereafter divorce.

I spent the first six years of my life in a happy, sheltered, family. Circumstances had forced a change to what was now a very different area. I was going to school with Jews and Gentiles, blacks and whites. I first experienced prejudice when a black kid accused me of winning a prize in class. He said, "you got that only because you are white." Three or so years later I got beaten up by an Irish Catholic kid for saying, "Jesus Christ." Apparently I had taken the Lord's name in vain. Silly me, I thought the man was a Jewish carpenter. I once was held down and spit on for being a "dirty Jew." I never could understand that as I did bathe regularly.

It's now almost a century ago when Izzy Shulakovsky fought his fights. I guess I had a share of my own fifty five years ago. Here it is 2011 and people are still fighting. I guess Izzy was right, life can be absurd.

How did all of this affect me? Very early on I learned the importance of humor. I believe life does have a meaning, and it is: try and have a good time. Izzy looked at the lighter side of life. He always said there is very little one can do to change someones idea or prejudices, so tell a story and have some fun. I live this way now and see that my daughter has remembered many of the philosophy and stories I have told her over the years. The stories that didn't hurt but made her feel better.

It's so hard to believe I am now much older than Izzy was in his best years. I'm sixty two, look in the mirror and wonder who the Hell is looking at me. I have had many friends pass on. The idea of living life on the lighter side means more to me now than ever before. It took me two tries to get it right (I did not) before I met Wanda. I don't want or need anything I can't have, or get and I'm thankful for each and every day I live in northern California.

My oldest brother Fred (Boris) is a veterinarian living in Michigan. He is fifteen years my senior. He has been married twice. His second marriage ending around twenty five years ago. He has been alone since. This blog evolved from e mails I was sending to the family when he was hospitalized last October. So many years ago I could walk to my aunts, uncles, and cousins. Today I have one aunt in Michigan and seventeen or so cousins in ten different states. If not for free cell minutes, text messages and e -mail I doubt we would communicate. Actually, now it's Face Book.

My brother Allen had also been married twice. He has as many post graduate degrees as ex-wives. He lives about twenty minutes drive from me in California. The last time I saw him was in November, in Michigan, when Fred was in the hospital.

I'm not sure what everyone else is searching for, if anything? Even if we don't see each other often, even if we brothers never shared body waste, we still have a bond-our father, Izzy. Izzy wanted us to have a better life than his. He worked hard to help my brothers through school. By the time it was my turn the money had run out. In spite of that I think I got the best of what was left, the gift of humor.

The truth can make you cry but a good story will always make you laugh. Hey, did I ever tell you the one about...

What costs $2 and will save your soul? Probably not Confession: A Roman Catholic App, but they’re trying. The first app okayed by the Roman Catholic church, as indicated by the “Imprimatur” in the description. It’s an app that simulates the whole confessional process, with praying and a guide to the sacrament. They are quick to ensure that it’s not an actual substitution for confession done by a priest, but rather just a way of thinking about all the horrible things you’ve done that your mother would be incredibly disappointed by.
“Our desire is to invite Catholics to engage in their faith through digital technology,” said Patrick Leinen of the three-man company Little iApps, based in South Bend, Indiana.

Honest.....I saw this in yesterdays home page news. It reminded me of a scene in the Woody Allen movie, "Sleeper." He confesses to a robotic type statue that spits out a Kewpie Doll when he is done. I'm sure you can search the above topic and get lots of information.

Have a great day everyone and I will "see" you later............Chuck