"I didn't rebel as a child. I missed that angry teenager thing." Billy Crystal

My bris ... well, not really ... just my idea of what it might be if I had to do it over again ... Hawkeye cracking jokes and sneaking me a drop of wine killing the pain a bit ...

I was born in-between the end of World War II and JFK's assassination. The reason for these two milestones?

World War II included The Holocaust and this affected my mother's life in ways I cannot begin to imagine.
I idolized JFK and he struck my imagination more than any other leader in my lifetime. Without him, the words of the first man on the moon would have been something like - Я здесь, водка для всех!" ("I'm here, vodka for everybody!").

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I was born in Bucharest (Romania).

This is a picture of my family - my mother, my father, my brother, me. I'm very fond of this picture. Everyone except my mother is focussed on some object to their left. My mother is looking straight at me!

The first 7-8 years was a blur highlighted by;

my first time in school and loving it, especially having learned to read and attacking the library and devouring every book (especially fairly tales with heroic princes saving lovely damsels in distress)
my first good friend - Doru
my father worked exceedingly hard and long to the point where I rarely remembered seeing him and spending a lot of time with my mother. And every time I was asked who was my favourite, inevitably it would be my father ...
my first operation (and my first exposure to adults fibbing ...)

The Tonsillectomy!!! I was promised ALL THE ICE CREAM I COULD EAT ... (actually it turned out to be true ...) ALL I REMEMBER WAS THE PAIN! ... and apparently I couldn't keep still (WOULD YOU??!!
I was writhing in pain and I was kicking anything within kicking distance ... including the doctor ...) to the point where the doctor apparently told my mother she never wanted to see me again (fine with me ...). As for the ice cream, I think I might have managed one teaspoon full ...

BTW, the reason for the Lenin poster? He was a hero for me ... like just about any other child growing up in the Communist regime. Ain’t brainwashing wonderful!?