Go Buy Yourself Something Nice
- Go Buy Yourself Something Nice
As a child in Berlin, he bathed with Marlene Dietrich's daughter.Einstein played the violin for the boys at the European prep school.Einstein wore sneakers.
He worked downstairs with timepieces,eye loupe in left eye, hands steady as a surgeon's.Never raised his voice. A low buttery laugh, a stack of palatchinka.
When I tell him in college I'm in love with a womanhe says nothing at first.Then: The important thing is to be happy.
Once, driving to Lake George: When you were a baby,this was all green. How many mallsdoes this country need? [End Page 115]
On Sundays I find him under a car, face streaked with grease.Roasted cashews and a funny movie. Ice cream at Friendly's.He raced me down the street to the beach once.
When he dies, I live in the house for years.Dance to Louis Armstrong eight-tracks.Play the boogie-woogie for me, Leeza.
Years later, I find a hundred dollar bill,folded in crisp thirds, in his leather money belt. [End Page 116]
Lisa Grunberger holds a doctorate in Comparative Religions from the University of Chicago. She has published in such journals as The Paterson Literary Review, Mudfish, The Drunken Boat and The Baffler. Her book Yiddish Yoga, about a Hippy Jewish Grandmother who discovers yoga, will be published by New Market Press in April, 2009. She has taught at universities such as Hofstra and Parsons. She is currently an Assistant Professor at Temple University in Philadelphia. Visit www.yiddishyoga.com
Footnotes
Palatchinka are the Viennese version of the French Crepe Suzette. They are thin crepes traditionally filled with apricot jam and often dusted with confectioner's sugar.
