"The Knish War on Rivington Street" by Joanne Opperheim and Jon Davis (2017)

 Of all the gifts I received for my birthday this year, this 32 page children's book was the most delightful. It was given to me by my daughter Sarah Marie. And it put to rest any doubt about the story told to me by my Great Uncle Irving Henkin.

Rivington Street in Manhattan runs across the Lower East Side. It is named after James Rivington, who is mostly remembered for his Loyalist newspaper during the American Revolution while he secretly ran a spy ring for George Washington. John Carroll Lynch portrays him in the the AMC drama "Turn: Washington's Spies".

But less than 150 years later, around the turn of the 20th century, there would be a different kind of  war raging. This one would be commercial and indicative of the society wrought by America's "melting pot."

My Uncle Irving used to tell me this story, which I kind of thought was based on a kernel of truth, but I wasn't sure how much of it he had embellished. It turns out he didn't have to stretch the truth at all because it really happenrd. There was a Knish War on Rivington Street.

Joanne Oppenheim wrote the story down, with illustrations by Jon Davis in 2017. And, although it is a childrenn's book, it is a delightful story for children of all ages.

Basically one immigrant family moved to 150 Rivington Street and opened up a shop selling baked round knishes for a nickel. They were delicious. But soon after,  another family moved into 155 Rivington Street, directly opposite the first store. They too sold knishes, but theirs were square rather than round. And fried rather than baked.  And thus began the Great Knish War of Rivington Street.

But this war was non violent, and the weapons used to decide the outcome were economic. A price war and brass bands versus an orchestra were the weapons of choice. Crowds formed, and music blasted from one side of the street to the other.

Finally the Police were called and even the Mayor came to broker a peace. Tasting both the baked round knish and the square fried ones, he declared the contest a tie. There WAS room for both on Rivington Street! The price went back up to a nickel from the 4 cents engendered by the "war", the brassband and orchestra were disbanded and life went on.

A wonderful book which both entertains and informs, it also preserves an almost lost piece of Jewish heritage. Read it for your grandchildren, and also for yourselves. You will be richer for the experience. And afterwards, have a knish! 😀

Queen Elizabeth - The Passing of an Era

 Amazing to think that Queen Elizabeth has really passed. She was already Queen for 2 years before I was born in 1954. So she has been a presence in the world for all of my life.

An amazing woman, from childhood to driving an Ambulance in the Second World War and marrying Prince Phillip in 1947, she really was unique. Her portrait is featured on the currency in 33 different countries, underscoring the breadth of the old British Empire, upon which the "Sun never set."

She surpassed Queen Victoria in years on the throne and was getting ready to become the longest reigning Monarch in history. Only Louis XIV of France, with a 72-year and 110-day reign from 1643 until 1715 surpasses her in that regard.

Interestingly, the Stone of Scone, also known as Jacob's Stone, is now in Scotland, having been moved there in 1997. It is currently displayed in Edinburgh. The Queen passed away in Balmoral, also in Scotland. Every reigning head of the British Empire has been installed while seated on the throne with that stone beneath it since about 1296.

She will be replaced by her eldest son Charles, the third to bear the name as King. But more importantly, she will be missed by most, if not all, of the world.

The Garden of Delight

 

Here is Mother Nature,
who works so hard unseen.
All the flowers, and all the world,
are products of her dreams.

She often gets no credit
for all that She provides.
The beauty that She creates
with no homage to Her pride.

Working hand in hand with God,
and against the clock of time.
The Mother of all that we enjoy,
and all things which are so fine.

She never signs what She creates,
giving all Her time for free.
Her work is never dated
and goes on eternally.

Her seasons are unnumbered
and in a race with Father Time.
She's always right on schedule,
and Her creations all Divine.

Changing Stars

As Arcturus in Bootes is descending,
and Spica in Virgo ascends. 
My heart's like a cup runneth over, 
the surprises for me never end.

One constellation is going,
as the next one arrives on the scene.
I've met them before, they're never a bore,
they burn with a light as they gleam.

The seasons are ready for changing,
you can tell by the stars in the sky.
To the ancients 'twas simple star gazing,
which filled up their hearts and their eyes.

Like a clock the earth keeps on moving,
it still spins, it still tilts and revolves,
and I find this truly amazing,
like a riddle that's never been solved.

They say it's mathematic equation,
but it needs no persuasion to me.
I only gaze up at the magic,
in these mystical stars that I see.

"Captured" (1933) with Leslie Howard and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.

"Captured" starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Leslie Howard, Margaret Lindsay, Paul Lukas and J. Carroll Naish may at first seem like an innocuous forerunner to later POW films, but it is much more. It is an exploration of both the captured and their keepers. It explores the duty to ones comrades as well as the duty to what both are fighting for in the first place. And the validity of it all.

The prisoners are French, British, Italian and American. At first they are held in inhumane circumstances and likely to die of starvation and disease. The ranking British officer is able to come to an agreement with the prison camp commander, guaranteeing more humane treatment for all the prisoners. To effect this agreement, he guarantees their obedience to the Commandants rules, which are not unreasonable.

Is brutality ever justified, or does some leniency result in a more ordered situation for both sides? And just how far should this cooperation extend? And, how far does personal vengeance go in the scheme of larger issues? All eternal, and still unanswered, questions in these modern times.

Although these things may seem obsolete in the modern era, the theme of the film is still valid. When other powers, with whom we have no personal quarrel,  are at war, how far should the common soldier go in his personal struggle to escape, and what are his obligations to his comrades who have been temporarily removed from the larger struggle by their captivity?

In this film, all of these themes are played out when a British prisoner of war becomes imprisoned alongside his best friend from home, unaware that while he was captured earlier, that same friend began an affair with his wife. When that friend then escapes, jeopardizing the other prisoners safety, he is also charged with criminal rape and murder of a local peasant woman. What then is the moral obligation of his friend, who is also the superior officer?

When the enemy calls for the British Command to return the escapee to face trial for war crimes. The question then arises as to whether any loyalties remain to unite these two friends in their common struggle, personal differences notwithstanding.

Is that struggle, in which they are only pawns, undermined by personal betrayal? And more importantly, at what point do personal differences between friends, and responsibilities to those under ones command, begin or end?

Are the actions of the senior officer in this instance motivated by personal revenge, a sense of right and wrong, or is he doing his duty to protect the many for the war crimes of one man?  

This film delivers on all these points, and with its pristine restoration, and a rousing finish, is well worth the viewing.

"Hangmen Also Die"

"Hangmen Also Die!" is a 1943 film directed by the Austrian director Fritz Lang and written by John Wexley. It originated as a story by Bertolt Brecht (credited in the film as Bert Brecht) and director Fritz Lang. This is their only known collaboration.They were both German Refugees of the Holocaust.

The film, based on the real life story of The Hangman, stars Hans Heinrich von Twardowski in the title role of the real life German leader Reinhard Heydrich. He was a high-ranking German SS police official and a principal architect of the Holocaust. For his full, inhumane story just Google his name.

Walter Brennan, usually cast in character roles and more widely known to many as Grandpappy Amos on the TV sit com "The Real McCoys", is cast here as a well respected Professor and member of the Czech underground in Praque.

Not since the film "Swamp Water" had he played such a serious dramatic role. When compared to films such as "To Have and Have Not", the screen adaptation of Hemingway's novel of the same name, written for the screen  by William Faulkner, and starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, had his true range of acting been so plainly revealed.

During the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovokia, a well respected Surgeon named Franticek Svoboda (Brian Donlevy) assassinates the Hangman. Dr. Svoboda escapes with the aid of history professor Stephen Novotny (Walter Brennan). He, along with 400 other Czechoslovakians, are then betrayed by Nazi sympathizer Emil Czaka (Gene Lockhart). The Czech prisoners are told that if Svoboda does not surrender, they will all be executed.

Finely restored from the original silver nitrate film, this story is the story of the never ending struggle of Good and Evil, which still goes on in 2022. This was my first encounter with this gripping film.

https://youtu.be/WiQFkEM1H00

"A Book" by Desi Arnaz (1976)

This is one of the best autobiographies you will ever read. I first read it when it was published in 1976. It is now out of print and available only in e-book format. An old battered copy of the book, in poor condtion, fetches about $224 on e-bay, if there is one available. A copy in good condition goes for $400 or more, and a signed copy goes for thousands of dollars. Even a battered paperback will set you back $80, again, if you can find one. The e-book runs for $15 or so and is readily available, both new or used.

But here's the thing, this book must be read. To really appreciate the depth of his story you must hear it in your head as he would speak it. In 2010 I reviewed this book from my memory of reading it in 1976. I didn't do it justice. I seem to have concentrated on only his years in America and merely eluded to his wealthy and privileged past.

The book is titled "A Book" simply because so many people asked him when he was going to write a book,  it seemed only natural to title it in that way.

Desi Araz, born Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III, was a man who, years later, arriving in Ventura, California found himself walking down streets bearing his family name. Even Ventura Blvd. was named for his family, who at one time owned a good chunk of Southern California by virtue of a land grant given to his family by Queen Isabella of Spain.

His paternal side was composed of Politicians, Police Chiefs etc. His maternal side were the Bacardi's, the ones who made the rum. His love of his grandparents, and their stories, is endearing. His description of growing up in Cuba, pre- Batista, is fascinating and educational. Unlike Lucille Ball's 3 books, which focused briefly on her childhood, meeting Desi and then "I Love Lucy", Desi's book is a history of a family and a way of life which simply doesn't exist anymore.

His stories of growing up in Santiago will lend you a new understanding of how Cuba went from Spanish ownership to an American protectorate, and finally into the puppet government of Batista, which is when his family lost all their power. He left Cuba 20 years before Castro ever came into view, arriving

Beginning with his life in Santiago, Cuba in 1917 where Mr. Arnaz was born, this book reaches back to the 1860's and introduces you to the roots of the life of privlege he led as a young man when he was heir to the Barcardi fortune. When Batista came to power all that changed. In the 1930's he went to Miami where he was spotted by Xavier Cugat. He became a singer in Mr. Cugats' band and carved out a small reputation for himself at the same time.

From there, he was the first to introduce the country to the "Conga" craze. This was the age of Xavier Cugat and Carmen Miranda with her fruited headpieces. After serving time in the Army, drafted as a foreign national in 1943, where he shortened his name to Desi Arnaz, he went on to Hollywood and some minor roles before being cast with Lucille Ball in some "B" movies. From there it's all, as they say, history.

Mr. Arnaz takes us through the years of "I Love Lucy", giving us a "cooks tour" of not only the show but the thought process which was behind it. This was the show that introduced us to the use of 3 camera angles, a process still in use today. He also chronicles the changes in his relationship with Lucy that finally led to their breakup in 1960. And he takes the full blame for that.

Though they both remarried, they remained close freinds the rest of their lives. There was just too much passion for their own marraige to endure. An honestly written, straight from the heart autobiography, in which he often paints himself in a bad light, this is one of those books that you really don't want to pass up.

If you want to read it you will mostly have to do an inter library loan. It is worth the small fee, and the wait. All well written books are.