Early in life, the author realizes the extreme uniqueness of his family and their special circumstances; their speaking accent, foreign language use at home, and a remarkable total absence of any immediate relatives, including grandparents, aunts or uncles. Moreover, all their close circle of family friends have these almost identical characteristics. He realizes that they all come from a very special shared history which has selected them with these attributes. Over his growing years, his father narrates the many stories and events which gave birth to these peculiarities. He thus learns of the cataclysmic Holocaust experiences and travails which his parents and their gang of friends have endured. These trials and tribulations become embedded in his soul. While his father discusses these prolifically, his mother holds back with obvious pain. Her stories are mostly kept locked inside, presenting only limited fragments. With this background, the author has endeavored to memorialize for posterity the narrative of these monumental occurrences paying tribute to his parents and their tenacious endurance.
