Sonia Nothman - January 4, 1983
Life in America
And after he worked a certain time he asked for a raise. They didn't want to give him a raise. They said no. So he went by himself. There was a store on 12th Street, I forgot his name. He have gro...not groceries--he have china, he have a lot of products he had sinks, he had toilets. So he went to him, he said, listen, I'm going to work here. ??? He took him in. Very handy. Everything. See my husband can do anything. And he worked a little. He start work. Somebody called him up, said he wanted to pay something so he sent a toilet. He didn't have tools. He took a box of tools. We didn't have a car. He went on a bus. He came home dirty many times and...But he didn't make in the beginning much money, very little. But I know little by little it's going to be better. And that's what happened. And if you work for somebody who'll be later, many times. It was a struggle here. Nobody knew. My sister used to come. She passed away three ago. She used to write me lot of times from Newark. She used to come over lots of time. And I know she came over I went down and bought something, otherwise I wouldn't, because I didn't have it. And uh, they liked us. We have later--it's not everything. I know I'm free, I can do whatever I want. So I don't eat so good, so I don't have a big house, I don't have... It's not--and I know I have my family here. In the beginning it was very hard. Oh, how hard. Struggle.
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