Created 02 Dec 2018  

Rose Moves to New York and Meets her Beshert

When Rose was 16, she came from Russia to Erie, America. It is very hard to go so far by yourself at any age, but for a girl of only 16 it was very, very hard.

At first Rose was very happy to be with her two brothers and their families, as time passed and Rose learned English and American ways, she decided to move. Erie's Jewish community was very small and Rose wanted to meet more young people. She decided that the place she really wanted to be was New York City.

Rose had a girlfriend, a landsman (a person who came from the same town) who lived in New York. Rose wrote to her friend. Her friend replied. They wrote again. Soon Rose was invited to move to N.Y.C. She could share her friend's room. New York would offer many opportunities and adventures. Rose went.

One day the girlfriend said to Rose, "I know a wonderful fellow for you. He is my cousin. He 's a hero, a doughboy. He'll be marching down Fifth Avenue. You'll see how handsome he is. "

They went to the parade. Row after row of soldiers in brown suits, leggings, and round flat metal hats passed. Finally they spotted Sam. They waved and shouted as he passed.

What did Rose think? "He's O.K., but nothing special. The uniforms - brown with leggings .... Ugly, feh pooh!"

Soon Rose began seeing Sam regularly. No, it’s not what you think. He worked at her subway stop. As you entered onto the platform, you gave your ticket to Sam. He was a ticket chopper. He wore a beautiful blue uniform with a small cap. Rose was captivated by how handsome he was in this uniform. Soon they were engaged and married.

Forty years later, Rose still sighed romantically when she described Sam in his blue uniform. I can tell you he was charming and a wonderful storyteller.