[... in 1949, when I was born] to Sol & Lilyan Calderon we lived at 1115 Walton Avenue in the Bronx, NY. My parents were married [in] 1941. Prior to their marriage my father still lived on the Lower East Side. I had an older brother, Michael... Our sister is Lori-Jo...
I remember going to Brooklyn and my Nonna standing at the stove with her white/gray hair preparing a feast. My Papu would sit like the king; he was a kind & gentle man. We always had a lot to eat. The Turkish coffee was like mud, and if your spoon didn’t stand up in it, then it wasn’t strong enough. We were much closer to my mother’s parent as we lived in the same building. I unfortunately never really knew my cousins except for my Uncle Abe’s son Jackie. My father would take me & my brother to visit Abe in the nursing home in the Bronx. I remember when he was in a wheelchair we’d wheel him around. Then he became totally bed-ridden & I was scared to go there because I didn’t understand the severity of his disease.
Every Saturday morning my father & I would go to the shop, and clean up and make sure everything was ready for the seamstresses, so on Monday morning they could get to right to work, cause if the sewing machines weren’t working they weren’t making money. There was a small shop across the street, that would be our 1st stop when we’d get off the train from the Bronx, get a powder-covered donut and I’d have chocolate milk. I looked forward to Saturday it was a real treat, as a kid it was fun going to where your dad worked.
I have favorite foods from my childhood that I eat till today. Fijones, Pastelli (mina de carne and mina spinaka) Borekas and Brown Hard-boiled eggs (huevos haminados) & Feta Cheese (queso).
After 1961 we were estranged from this side of the family.
My lasting impression of my uncle Nelson was when he died, the funeral procession took a detour past The Sephardic Temple (Monastirli) in Cedarhurst, NY for a final farewell. I remember him an as tall, handsome man as my father was too. He was a much beloved and respected man in the Monastirli community.