But, first, I wanted to wish a happy 100th birthday to my Gung Gung (that's Chinese for grandpa - because I am clearly Chinese, that is what I called him).
He passed away a couple years ago - but we always told him we would celebrate his 100th!
There we are! He was almost exactly 70 when I was born.
100 years is pretty incredible - he was born in 1912, the year the Titanic sailed! While the story of the Titanic is pretty incredible, my Gung Gung had a pretty incredible life of his own. When I was growing up, I chose to write my school report on him. Today, I write a blog about him.
Growing Up
My Grandfather was born in Nuremberg, Germany at a time very hostile to Jews. He came from an extremely poor family and remembers having nothing but a potato to eat in an entire week. He was fortunate enough to come to America when he was only 9 years old. He sailed on the Susquehanna in 1921 bound for Ellis Island. Of course, the ship ran aground in Boston, which became his port of entry. He remembers disembarking the ship and hearing his very first words of English. "One Side!" The ship workers screamed at the immigrants who were crowding the walkways. "One Side!" He repeated and smiled.
Meeting my Grandma
My Grandparents were both musicians throughout their entire life. My Grandmother played the violin (at Carnegie Hall!) and was a music teacher. My Grandpa played the french horn, harmonica, and drums (he was even in a rock band and had a stage name - Marty "White"...I guess Marty "Schneebalg" didn't have that rock star ring to it). When my Grandmother was only 17, my Grandpa saw her sitting on a rock by a lake playing the harmonica. He got very excited and said to his brother, "There's a girl by the lake! She plays a terrible harmonica, but she sure is beautiful!"
New York Living
As much as I complain about New York, this is where my family started! My Grandfather became a dress cutter. Until the day he died, he could tie the perfect bow! I always used to ask him to tie the bows on my dresses and I loved receiving presents wrapped with his touch. He liked living in New York in the Lower East Side and the Bronx. He even won the New York City 50 yard dash and was congratulated by a world famous runner. Of course, my Grandmother's parents did not like having a poor dress cutter courting their young daughter. They moved to Florida to get away from him. He followed.
A Flying Career
Once in Miami, my Grandpa became a mechanic for Pan American Airlines. He maintained the planes and painted them. He loved planes and always wanted me to be a pilot - we even have an old wooden propeller from those days. Working for an airline had great benefits including free stand by travel to Hawaii! I was glad I got to see my Grandparents so often despite living far away. Of course, I remember many times we would say goodbye to them and have a mini cry fest only to have them bumped off the plane. Then we'd have to do our goodbyes over again the next night. This could go on for weeks.
A Chicken Story
My favorite memory of my Grandpa was when I was about 10 years old. My mom was away and he was home taking care of me. On my way to Japanese class after school, a woman stopped me and asked if I liked Chickens. Of course I said yes. She handed me a box and walked quickly away. In the box was a baby chicken!! I brought it home to my Grandpa and asked if I could keep it. He didn't know what my mom would say so he said yes. We fed it creamed corn and it pooped all over the carpet that night. (My chicken, "peep" turned into a really cute rooster and would crow at 5am until my neighbors stole it and ate it).
Oh, the Irony
My Grandpa lost contact with a lot of his family that stayed in New York. It used to be very hard to keep in touch. But, the internet fixed that. Once day when my uncle was googling my Grandpa, a different Martin Schneebalg popped up. There's ANOTHER Martin Schneebalg?! Thinking it a bizarre coincidence, we contacted him. It took throwing out only a few names to realize he was related!! Martin Schneebalg #2 opened up a whole world of family we had never known. He even came down to Florida and got to meet my Grandpa right before he died.
Happy 100th birthday, Gung Gung! I love you and miss you!
No comments:
Post a Comment