It is very hard to talk about
I was born into World War II
1936 in Hungary
You hide in the basement in the bottom
They drop an egg and the whole thing blows
Like newspaper
Terrible sight to see people under buildings
One person occupies you then the next
I left in 1956 to America
I am a Catholic, a Catholic, not a Jew.
I went to New Orleans to work on a ship but there were hurricanes there
Tornadoes, I’ve never seen anything like it
You see they do not have those
In my country they bomb and everything goes
Here you have hurricanes and houses blow off
People are in New Orleans and land in San Francisco
Terrible sight to see people under buildings
I joined the Merchant Marines
I got to steer the boats the captain says starboard and I go in the direction
Eighteen years I spent on those boats and when it was over I had nothing
People pay you sometimes they don’t and you pay them
Always trying but who was waiting?
I lost my mother when I was young and my father always working
My little sister needed me
I was the mom
What do you call that when you graduate and a few years later you dress up in suits
To meet your friends?
That was not me
Young kids do not understand
Today they say give me five dollars I need to get lunch
I worked my whole life then I was an old man
They put me in a place like this where the government says
Here, you can live here, but if you have more than two thousand dollars in your bank account
you cannot live here.
Tell me where is all the money?
The social security check has gone up but now the rent has gone up too
They give me twenty more dollars but an extra seven goes to rent
Tell me what is the benefit?
Do you think if you work hard you will get something in life?
If you are a good girl they will give you something?
I was a good boy
I came here in 1956 and now I am 76
Where does all the time go?
It’s very difficult to talk about but I did not have a childhood and I did not get to be a teenager
Kids today have computers and phones and radios and DVDs
My family had very little money and we could not afford a radio
I still do not have a radio
Now we worry about North Korea and Iran
They are making bombs
They put them in the oven at the same time and now they are done
And when the bombs come
The kids will not know what to do
They will ask their computers what do I do when bombs drop
And they will not know where to hide
The safest place is to keep going down until the roof blows off.