A Date of Infamy

Today is Pearl Harbor Day, and I always recall it through the memories told to me by my Dad when I was young.

He was 21, and working for the schmata company where his father was a pattern maker.  My Dad's job was "expediter," which meant schlepper -- he would deliver racks and racks of clothing to the various wholesalers and retailers and finishers in the still thriving garment industry of pre War NY.

My Dad had a small dream: he met a fellow who was decorating a store window on 5th Avenue.  My Dad was creative, and thought he could do that, too.  He chatted up the man in the window, and learned that there was a union of store window display people -- he could go to the hall, get a card, and become an apprentice.  After a year or so, Dad could become a master craftsman, and be off and running.

He came home and told his father, Simon.  Simon motioned for my Dad to come closer, and he smacked him in the head. "Don't be stupid," he yelled in a Yiddish accent.  "You have a good job already.  Don't risk losing it."  So my father's career in the visual arts ended there, and he was pusing dresses...

The street went silent.  My Dad asked a cab driver what was happening, and he was told.  Everyone gathered around the storefront radios and listened to FDR's historic speech.  The US was at war.  My Dad thought immediately he would be drafted.

He was -- 4 months later.  And so began his journey in the the US Army -- a journey shared by just about all of his peers -- except those savvy enough to figure a way out.  My Dad was lucky -- he was always stateside, and my Mom joined him in Pasadena to marry.  But he served nearly 4 years...

I contrast his life experiences with mine.  At 21 I had a choice -- law school at UM or Florida.  I was accepted to both, and was ready for a change.  But I went home to visit my newly widowed mother, and she was still clueless about handling finances, real estate, etc...

So in a way I was drafted, too -- to stay closer to Delray Beach, to be there for what seemed like an old woman.  Looking back, in 1983, she was just a bit older than Wifey is now...

Still, things turned out for the best.  I made lifelong friends at UM, and contacts that steered my career on a wonderful course.

And today marks 75 years since Pearl Harbor.  Amazing.

My Dad held no grudges against the Japanese.  They did what they did to advance their empire -- they couldn't care less about whether their enemies were Christians or Jews, unlike the Germans, who had a genocidal imperative.

When I was about 12, my Dad wanted to visit Japan, and made plans -- I remember being thrilled to ride a bullet train, and walk the streets where my Saturday movie favorite, Godzilla, wreaked his havoc.  But Mom got very sick -- nearly dying from a perforated ulcer, and Japan got cancelled.  We took a cruise instead.

To this day, the only Asian country I have any desire to visit is Japan.  China, Thailand, Vietnam are all fine -- but I don't want to go to any of them.  Japan is different -- I've always admired their culture (in my opinion their cars are the best), and might actually go someday.

As for today, a world event had a profound effect on my family's path.  To commemorate, Wifey is driving her Lexus...things come and go.