Then and Now

Two Turkish Jews—A Perfect Couple, 1984

My uncle grew up in America in a poor Jewish neighborhood with gangs. He served in the U.S. Army and became a foot doctor. He was a beloved pasha—the head of the family—to his wife and two sons and had a manly laugh. My aunt, his wife, grew up in Turkey, coming here at fifteen after difficult years with a lack of food during the Great War. She was a skilled homemaker—happy in their beautiful house in New Jersey, joyously cooking Sephardic meals for her family and relatives who came on holidays to celebrate together their survival. When her sons were grown, she wanted to work outside the house at “something interesting,” but that never happened. When my aunt and uncle turned eighty, they moved to Florida—a paradise without cold winters. One day my cousin, their firstborn, a heart doctor, and his wife, visited. The four were seated on the balcony drinking freshly squeezed orange juice. My cousin, chatting, said something about the Democrats being good. His father said quickly and clearly, “Mama and I have always voted Republican.” After a minute, suddenly my aunt said to her husband, “Actually, all my life I’ve voted Democrat.” As my cousin tells it, my uncle’s jaw fell—so far that it fell all the way back to New Jersey.

The Good Book, 2003

One day my mother called to tell me she was reading a book—and it was DISGUSTING!

At that time, she was around ninety-two, and living on 23rd Street in Manhattan. Every day she...