Diary #3

RYBNIK, POLAND, 1920 — My great-grandfather Eran Wasser circa 1920. My father’s mother’s father. His daughter went to America, but he never did. I don’t think I’ve ever seen any other picture of him.

THE HAGUE, 2012 — I never met my great-grandfather Eran Wasser, he passed away before I was born. He never left Poland. I was born in Georgetown. My brother Jeff and I stomped around the globe as the young kids of an FS-4, but we never went to Europe.

My father’s parents passed away when I was very young. My grandfather had a series of heart attacks. His doctor wanted to put him in a public facility, but as Jews in America so stereotypically did, he was a small entrepreneur and had amassed some money. My mother thought it was appropriate to spend his money making his last days as decent as possible so she put him in a somewhat expensive private facility. A while after his passing my grandmother had a stroke. She survived it but had limited functionality. She was terrified of becoming a burden on her children and committed suicide by hanging herself from the door of her hospital room.

I honestly do not have living memories of my father’s parents. I know that we spent time on this earth together only through photographs.