Stephen Shooster but there was still no snow or ice on the ground; it was just chilly. As he was crossing, a Russian shot at him. Since he was halfway across the river, the shooter must not have been so accurate, because he missed. After brazenly crossing the river, Max was full of nerve and went directly to the Gestapo. At the office, he casually said, “I need a permit to go to Grybow and Nowy-Sacz.” The Gestapo did not ask many questions. It would be unthinkable that a Jew would ask for a permit, so the man behind the desk did as requested and gave the permit to him. Max meandered his way back into Grybow, being careful to avoid the authorities. Even though he had a permit, there was no reason to flaunt it. When he saw his father, his father’s eyes lit up with joy. Then Max pleaded, “Papa I found the City of Lwów. It is a good place in the hands of the Russians. Our family will be safe there until after the war. I want to move you and the rest of the family there as soon as possible.” His papa forever the optimist refused saying, ‘The war will be over soon, and things will return to normal.’ He would not budge. Then he said with a serious look of concern, “Max, they are looking for you already.” “Who?” Max asked. “The Gestapo,” his father replied. Max wondered out loud, “Why, why are they looking?” His father said, “Because they are saying you are with the partisans.” The very last thing he said to Max was, “You better leave right away!” Max said goodbye to his family and left, carefully picking his way through the town. Before he would go back to Russia, he wanted more stones back in Nowy-Sacz. These stones had a Yiddish name: ‘Szteindlech.’ It’s a slang term. It comes from the combina- tion of Sztein meaning ‘rock’ and Lech meaning ‘small.’ Their value had nothing to do with their size. Their value had to do with the spark they could create when you scratched them, and their size made them perfect for kerosene cigarette lighters. Self- contained lighters with lighter fluid with a wick were the fashion. The flint was evi- dently hard to find, and Max knew there was a shortage in Russia. With his refreshed pocketful of flint, he left and went back to Russia again. This time he took his sister and her boyfriend. But things were different, they all left by train. Their destination was Krosno on the border. There was an exchange between Russia and Poland by the bridge. The Germans were letting Jews and others go to Russia and accepting from Russia anyone who want- ed to come to Germany. When they arrived, no one was allowed to cross the bridge. The border was sealed. So, instead, they tried to cross the river. Gunshots told them not to take another step, so they turned back. Max had to do a little planning. The way he
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