Eisenberg Assisted Living: Our Stories, Our Lives, Vol. One

got behind the wheel, and made believe I was driving. I released the emergency brake (remember the house was on a hill), and the car started rolling backwards. I jumped out, and left my brother there until the car gently came to rest against a tree, and e was unhurt. He didn’t even cry. We used to call him Kid Unconscious, and I guess he was.

I speak a lot about Mother, because she had a big influence on me. We were always friends, and if she went somewhere I usually went with her. But I have not mentioned my father so much. My father was nice with us. He was kind. If he could he would help us with our homework. We didn’t have ballgames to go to and he didn’t participate in our activities, because at that point parents didn’t. My mother and father were always around the house and you could always go to them ad ask them question if you wanted to.

My father was the owner of a silk mill, and he was always worried about the shop, the union, and the workers. He did not have a lot of time to be with us, but he certainly imbued honesty in us with a feeling for right and wrong. He was a very ethical man. He was very very honest, and he did what was right. After World War II, many of the silk manufacturers in Paterson were investigated by the FBI for black market activities, and when they investigators came up to our house, my mother kept the books, and the investigator said the books were clear, and everything was there, and no further investigation was necessary. Which kind of made me proud.

As we got older, we used to say his character was impeccable, but his personality left a lot to be desired.

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