When we got there the class had already begun and all the women had chosen their partners. That didn’t stop my mother. She handed her pocketbook to Aunt Lil and joined the circle of women dancing like Zorba the Greek and waving handkerchiefs over their heads. I couldn’t believe my eyes. My mother was transformed by the music and the dance. I decided there was nothing I had to do at work that was more important than watching my mother dance. To this day I know I made the right choice. Aunt Lil couldn’t care less about dancing. Give her the Jewish newspaper to read and she was happy. Nana Dora said to me, “What does she need this for?” So you see how differ- ent they all were - each strong in their own way but each one unique. I have often said the same thing about all the members of my fami- ly – children, grandchildren, spouses – all of them different, all of them wonderful. That day watching my mother dance , so uninhibited and joyful, has always been a very precious memory for me. NANA LECTURES AND NANA LATKES Our kids always called my mother Nana Lectures because she was always giving them grandmotherly advice. They called Herman’s mother Nana Latkes because she was always giving them potato latkes. My mother and Aunt Lil were also called the white collar worker and the blue collar worker based on their respective duties around the apartment. Marty Simon (Moishe), Tante Lil’s son, was taking Nana Sadie to the bus in West Palm Beach from where Lil and Sadie lived in Century Village. While walking to the bus stop my mother said, “Do you know how lucky your mother is to have me living with her? I go to the bank, the post office, write the checks, handle the bookkeeping and all sorts of things.” When Marty got back to the apartment he told his mother what her sister had said. Tante Lil just replied, “Ask her who cleans the toilet and makes the bed.” Tante Lil was also a classic misinterpret- er of signs. Once while driving she saw a sign that read “Freid’s Carpets.” “How interesting,”
Sadie Schluger
she said, “They sell fried carrots.” My mother was also good at these funny sorts of misinter- pretation. She began noticing how many busi- nesses were owned by a man named “Motel.” Yeah, that guy Mo Tel is a real entrepreneur. And when she worked for Sak’s Fifth Avenue she was famous for telling people in her strong accent, “I vork for sex.” Many years earlier Marty and his wife, Ethel, went out for a New Year’s Eve celebra- tion. By 11 P.M. they were worn out and think- ing of going home. Ethel suggested they go visit the mothers – Tante Lily and Nana Sadie, just to see if they needed a ride home from their clubhouse where they were celebrating. When Marty and Ethel got to the old folks’ clubhouse they found all the senior citizens dancing up a storm and having a great time. Neither Lil nor Sadie were ready for a ride home but Marty and Ethel were already ready for bed. Marty asked his mother to dance, she told him to dance with his Aunt Sadie instead. As soon as he got Aunt Sadie out on the floor a tall lady came over and said, “Okay, time to change partners.”
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