Impressive Woman in My Life

Can you imagine... you are female growing up in Anderson, SC and you dream of going to college.  You are lucky, and you have supportive parents who believe an education is a good thing.  You are the oldest of 8 children...  parents immigrated from Russia and moved to Anderson, SC with your parents looking for a better life and freedom.

You reach out to go to Converse College, in Spartanburg and get a college degree.  Imagine, your ambition not satiated, you decide to leave and go further from home and go to New York and Columbia University and get a second degree a Bachelor of Science.  You stay in New York to work, before choosing to get married and return to your hometown.

Let's add a few twists to this, you are female, Jewish, parents immigrated from Russia, and oh by the way it is not today you achieve your second degree it is 1929.  This is more amazing because I knew her, she was my grandmother, and I have her diploma from Columbia University.



I sit here with love in my heart and such strong memories as for me she was a force in my life that I am afraid that she didn't realize her influence on my life.  My first memories are quite vague of her visiting Lagrange to see us.  But, one of the first and most vibrant, was of her as a social worker getting ready to go to work alongside my Dad as he went to work on the West Point Damn as an attorney for the Corp of Engineers.

When I was 8 years old, she had her stroke and stopped working.  From then, till I was 19 my memories are centered on her house and being with family.  Aunt Minnie's stories and love for her sister.  Uncle Rueben and Aunt Frances and when we went there to visit, my Aunt's fabulous hot chocolate still is a memory in my taste buds.  Thanksgiving with my Aunt, Uncle and Cousins was always nice and sometimes an adventure as well.  

When she was mad or wanted you to do something different, she would look your way and as she talked point her finger and you knew she meant business.  I remember my great Uncle trying to teach my brother how to play solitaire and make money at the casinos.  When he left, she pointed her finger at both of us and made us promise never to gamble.  I have to confess to playing black jack on occasion, but never have I gambled to seriously make or lose money and I remember my promise to her.

When I was 19 my Mom and Aunt decided she should move to Savannah.  I drove my Mom up to Anderson to be with her, pack her home, sell it, and prepare to move her.  It just so happened to be the same week I started at IBM as a Co-Op.  She moved in to the Rose of Sharon in Savannah, which was a senior citizen complex and she had her own apartment for quite a while.  I would go by and just spend time with her.  What was she reading, she was always reading a book, or talking about what was going on in the building.   I remember working in a library both in college and in high school, and we discussed the great boredom associated with shelving books!   I remember talking to her about Eleanor Roosevelt and how much I admired her.  She had to correct me on a few facts, and as I questioned her because of what I was reading, she gently reminded me that she was alive through what I thought of as history (I wonder being in New York in the 20's if she maybe even knew or at least had a reason to have met her.).

I know she knew her children and grandchildren loved her.  I remember one of the first things my brother did when he got his car was to drive up to Anderson to see her.  I know I went with him on one of these adventures not sure if it was the first one or not.   My only regret was not asking her more questions about her time in New York.  Not only was the idea of her there alone amazing, the idea that she was a woman in that era from SC pursuing another college degree amazing, but this was in the 20's and you have to wonder what she saw and experienced. 


She established in my life and I would hope the lives of her family, the ideal of equality.  She was a strong, educated, and successful lady and a loving Grandmother.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Where were you 22 Years Ago on 9/11?

Image
It has been twenty-two years since 9/11, and as we look back on one of the moments in my life I can remember exactly where I was, who I worked for, what I did, and how the country and city I worked near responded. This is a blog I wrote about 9/11 22 years ago.  People say where were you? It is not perfect. No Grammarly applied, no ChatGPT analysis to make it perfect, or even format improvements.  Because, as 9/11 should seem like yesterday, twenty-two years is not that long ago. I don't feel healed, and honestly not sure the country has either. I am in Las Vegas for an IBM conference, something I have done numerous times since and before 9/11. As Frank kindly drove me to DFW, we saw a sign on a Whataburger that said we remember 9/11.  I wonder if they remember 9/11 and the immediate aftermath. A country in the horror of attacks that spanned more than the Twin Towers, as well as the Pentagon and Pennsylvania.  A country that forgot who was a Democrat or Republican.  A country that
Read more

Hot Summer Day Random Top 10

Image
  I would like to do an odd top ten. It has been a long time since I have done one, so here it goes.  I didn't start with a theme in mind, but as you read it, you may notice a theme after all. 1) If you think turning on your turn indicator while turning is the point, you are wrong.  Or, more importantly, you have yet to be a pedestrian crossing that intersection.  The point of using your turn indicator is not to show off as you turn but to let us all know what you will do ahead of time to keep us all safe. 2) If you want to complain to me but don't want to solve what you are complaining about, please don't.  I have spent most of my career trying to fix problems and move the ball forward.  Nothing is more frustrating than hearing complaints, giving good advice, and realizing that all the person wanted to do was complain. 3) Generative AI, led by ChatGPT, Google Bard, and Meta's LLAMA2, creates a unique moment in history.  It will change the jobs of white-collar workers i
Read more

Another First Father's Day

Image
  Another First Father’s Day. 58 years ago, around this date, I celebrated my first Father’s Day. I don’t remember that one as I was about seven months old. This one is my first Father’s Day since my Dad passed, and there is much to share about my Dad. June is sort of my Dad’s month. It starts with his and my Mom’s anniversary, which would have been their 64th anniversary. There is, of course, Father’s Day, and then his birthday was June 24th. So, June this year has many dates to remember my Dad. That said, I am diverted to memories from yesterday evening. I was going to Savannah to see my Mom, my sister, and my family and to “check” in. I was lucky to find a reasonably priced flight from Longview, Texas. The only airline to choose is American. To say that American Airlines didn’t show their best service yesterday is an understatement, especially in the last leg of my journey out of Charlotte, but that is not the point of this Father’s Day. After a few delays and odd gate changes
Read more