There is no place like New York City

I have had a love hate relationship with NYC, having lived there for 20 years from 1983-2003, through some of the best and worst times NYC had to offer.
But there are moments like the one I experienced yesterday, which cover more than a multitude of problems.
I walked into the Barnes and Noble on B’way and 82 to hangout, killing some time on my laptop until my old friend Steve got off work.

Up at the coffee area, I was deep into email and board prep, when I started to notice the conversation of 3 elderly people next to me. They were clearly speaking in German but with a Germanic/Yiddish accent. I could not resist and asked them how long they had been in the States. Their English was heavily accented despite their answer — more than 60 years in the US.

I was in the presence of survivors of the Holocaust! They were not concentration camp survivors, but survivors nonetheless.

The elderly, distinguished woman had grown up in Belgium only to flee with her family when she was 14. She noticeably teared up when I asked her if she spoke to schools or other organizations as a way to help us all to never forget. She commented that it was pretty painful to recall.

The other two men both left Germany right after Krystalnacht as young boys around the ages of 14. They kept repeating to me that no one saw Hitler coming. Despite his book and the increasing noise, no one imagined how evil he was.

Where else but NYC would you meet Holocaust survivors in a Barnes and Noble, hanging out chatting in Yiddish and German?

I was very blessed to have my kids spend their formative years growing up in NYC. They met a number of people like the trio yesterday and homeless people as well — that’s another story — all of whom have left an indelible mark on their lives.

The diversity of NYC is like no other city in the world.

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