Remembering Papi with Annual Chocolate Ice Cream

My grandfather, my mom's father, who we called Papi, died 3 years ago yesterday (October 26, 2007).  He grew up in Germany and fled to the U.S. during the Holocaust.  Years ago he created a huge family tree and drew a red swastika next to the name of every relative killed in the Holocaust.  The entire page was covered in dozens, possibly hundreds of swastikas.  After he came to the U.S., he enlisted in the American military and was sent back to Germany as a spy for the U.S. because he was fluent in Germany, knew the culture, and knew the country.  Of course, this was incredibly dangerous being Jewish.  About 10 years ago, he was interviewed for a documentary about people like him, called "Enemy Aliens"...about German Jews who came to the U.S. and went back to Germany on behalf of the U.S. military.

Papi taught me some invaluable life lessons.  Because Nazi Germany prohibited Jewish children from attending school in the 1930s, my brilliant grandfather never finished high school, much less college.  I think he would have been an architect if he'd had access to an education.  Instead, he started a very successful men's shirt business in the 1950s and did very well for himself.  But, he never forgot how he was deprived of an education.  He always taught me over and over again "All of your worldly possession can be taken from you.  Your money.  Your house.  Your family.  It can all vanish in an instant.  But what you have in your head, what you learn in school...that can never be taken away from you."  Because of him, my cousins and I have all attended college and all went on to receive graduate degrees.  Education is a very important value in my family.

Papi was also a huge fan of FDR and a lifelong Democrat.  Having arrived in the U.S. with literally nothing  other than the clothes on his back, he truly built his own fortune.  He also gave away a lot of his wealth to those less fortunate.  I will never forget his mantra that "Paying a lot of taxes is a sign that you've had a good year and the government will therefore have enough money to take care of the poor people who need help from the government."  He never complained about having to pay high taxes.  I wish that our tax system and government expenditures was as simple as his perspective made it sound, but perhaps this is where I get my Democratic ideals from.

Sam is named after my Papi.  It's a Jewish tradition to name a child using the first letter of the first name of a relative who had passed away.  Sam was named for my grandfather, Steven.  Normally, Hebrew names closely resemble the English names.  My Hebrew name is Rivkah, which is the Hebrew translation for Rebecca.  My brother David's Hebrew name is David (but pronounced like Dah-veed).

When it was time for Sam's bris, I was surprised to learn that Papi's Hebrew name was Avraham.  He was given this name because his German name was Verner - and Avraham is very close to Verner.  When he came to Ellis Island, he wanted to shed all of his German heritage and become as American as possible...hence, his chosen name of Steven.  So Sam's Hebrew name is Avraham, after his great-grandfather.

Papi's favorite food in the world was chocolate ice cream.  My mom recalls him eating chocolate ice cream for dessert every night of her childhood.  I think he probably ate a bowl of chocolate ice cream every night for 50 years.   It's no wonder why I love chocolate so much!

In his honor, my family and I always enjoy chocolate ice cream on the anniversary of his death.  Although Sam never met Papi, he shares many of Papi's qualities - his fabulous sense of humor, his deep hearty laugh, and his curiosity about how things work (and how they can come apart).

Last night, Sam joined us in devouring a bowl of chocolate ice cream to celebrate my beloved Papi.   I forgot to mention that Sam also shares Papi's deep love for chocolate ice cream.

 

Papi would have loved this one, Sam eating ice cream double-handed!