Alice Lang Rosen - August 5, 1991
Father Falls Ill
They're old...older then. They're older.
Yes. Well they live--one lives in Rome, New York, and one lives Schenectady, New York. Both grandmothers too, of course. And, we--I just talked to Margo uh, just this weekend. I mean it's, you know, we've been sisters from that day we met, always. They just--ask--they embraced my father, that's how they did me. They accepted my father as their father and then accepted me as their sister and there was just no turning back, you know, from it. But uh, so they planned to get married. What happened is my father became very ill and as a result of the concentration camp, you know, he was beaten and with the malnutrition and what happened when he came back uh, of course they were able to buy food on the black market. I mean, him being in the textile business he would give someone a suit and they would give him a dozen eggs and so, they were eating very well. Well, what happened he got uh, like a poisoning of the kidney--poisoning and he was in the hospital and he was very, very ill and they weren't married yet. In fact, was so ill I know my mother had a bed put in his room and she stayed with him constantly. I mean, they truly cared for each other. You know, I--at the time of course, I thought they were old but they were only in their forties, when, when you think back. I mean, when I was twelve years old, you know, I mean they were just in their early forties, they're young people. And she stayed with him and when--at the time--at one point it was so critical they didn't think he would live and so my father said to her uh, "If I don't live and if you go to America with your girls, promise me..." By that time I was Freya again. Frieda was forgotten and I was Freya again. "Promise you take Freya with you and take care of her." Which she did, she promised that. But he survived, he got well and they got married. And, in fact they had quite a religious ceremony, she walked around him seven times. It was quite, uh...
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