My father is very ill and in the last stages of his life, as we know him. I began to think about my father’s illuminated life full of wisdom and generosity. He centered his life on his family, his business and his community. He has always been generous and fair-minded. He obtained the goals and objectives he set for his life through hard work and perseverance. I love him and I am proud of him.
My father’s family originated in a shtetl called Grodno on the border of Poland and Russia. His father’s father left there and arrived in the late 1800, early 1900’s in New York. My great grandfather was a peddler. He yelled bottles, rags, rubber, etc. Just like the documentaries portray peddlers. At least he stayed true to himself and made his way to San Francisco where he opened a scrap yard. There were two brothers, one Joseph, mine and another Sam. Both brothers ran the business and somehow, Sam ended up going his own way. My father came to Huntington Park because his father sent him and his brother Stanley to open a new branch of the scrap business. Brother Stanley returned to San Francisco to help with the business there and my father stayed here to continue running the Huntington Park branch.
I was lucky to find myself on an Insight Tour to Russia starting in Warsaw. The name Insight could have not held any truer. I felt a presence with me for several days as we traveled from Warsaw to Belarus and the town of Minsk. My ancestors did all they could to contact me and let me know that I was welcome and wanted. This sounds insane and could be misconstrued, but it is the truth. My ancestors greeted me, blew my hair and told me things telepathically. When I wanted to buy amber they told me to taste it and I would know if it were the true thing. True Amber has a tangy taste and is unmistakable. I licked and tasted many an amber piece. I settled on one with a bug trapped inside. Unmistakably tangy and a true thing that occasionally hangs around my neck. The prickles on my arms and neck, cheeks and back never happened before I went to this part of the world. The essences of my father’s family are still there and they wanted me to know they were glad I had come. I did not know what I was experiencing until I came home and contacted the family historian. He said I had just traveled the roads our family had traveled and visited places they inhabited. Now I know there is the ability to transcend one plane of living into another if you want to badly enough. Now I know that you can perceive it, as well, if you want to baldly enough. What do you think?
Sheilaclapkin's Blog; 
Feb 09, 2008 @ 12:30:06
I just read your blog about your father. My sympathies for what you are going through. Just be with him as much as you can. You will never regret it. My parents died about 9 years ago, about a year apart. The sense of being alone, because you have never been without them, just leaves such an ache.My parents were always there, non judgmental, when we needed them. They were always willing to help. I have also been researching my roots. It just fills me with wonder and incredible respect in learning about the hardships encountered with leaving your home and starting again in a new country, with few resources and hard. hard work.
My mother’s grandparents may have come from an area close to your great grandparents. It was part of the Austio-German Empire then, now part of Poland. They had been moved before because of religious persecution-early 1800’s, then again around 1880. They brought 4 children, 2 died en route to Saskatchewan where they homesteaded. They had a sod dwelling with no windows (no money) and made a mud stove for heat and cooking. They slept on the other farmers for money, and my great grandmother dug up Seneca roots.
They went on to have 5 more children, and celebrated their 50th
wedding anniversary. I love going to Sask.and seeing the old homestead, grave-sites, and church pictures. I would love to find the area where they came from in Europe. There is a book that tells the stories of many families that settled in the area, and mentions our family. I gave the book to my sister Nancy. I don’t think she ever read it, and I don’t want to lose it. I think there is a connection with the past as you do.