David Kudler
People have always remarked that I look a lot like my father. But if you've seen the pictures, I look even more like his father.
Unfortunately, I never met him.
On my grandmother's birthday in 1934, my grandfather gave her flowers, went off to work whistling the Irving Berlin tune "Blue Skies," and was never seen again.
His disappearance devastated his wife and son -- my dad, who was 2 at the time -- and has had a profound ripple effect on me and even on my children.
There are many theories as to what happened. The most persistent is that either my grandfather or his business partner had borrowed from Meyer Lansky's Murder, Inc. to keep the business afloat, and that the mob called in the debt and -- whichever of the partners actually borrowed the money -- my grandfather paid the price.
But we'll never really know, and that mystery -- and the blank space that his disappearance left -- continues to inform all of our lives.
Unfortunately, I never met him.
On my grandmother's birthday in 1934, my grandfather gave her flowers, went off to work whistling the Irving Berlin tune "Blue Skies," and was never seen again.
His disappearance devastated his wife and son -- my dad, who was 2 at the time -- and has had a profound ripple effect on me and even on my children.
There are many theories as to what happened. The most persistent is that either my grandfather or his business partner had borrowed from Meyer Lansky's Murder, Inc. to keep the business afloat, and that the mob called in the debt and -- whichever of the partners actually borrowed the money -- my grandfather paid the price.
But we'll never really know, and that mystery -- and the blank space that his disappearance left -- continues to inform all of our lives.
More Answered Questions
Anty Notosapoetro
asked
David Kudler:
Firstly I want to let you know that I’m enjoying reading Risuko, but there’s one thing bothers me. Risuko is from a poor family, especially in the era you used as the background, she wouldn’t be disgusted by preparing fish and meat. The anticipation of eating a much better meal than she used to will be enough for her and the rest to ignore the dirty works. But maybe you only have modern kids’ thoughts in mind?
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