Wine and Wisdom with Baba Alla

Nothing like spending a few days catching up over Fu-Ki plum wine, chai, and Russian TV all while cutting through the immigration BS with my baba Alla.

Unlike most of the protesters & immigration “experts” vying for their 15 seconds of fame, my grandmother knows first-hand what it’s truly like to be an immigrant in a foreign land. She, & my great grandmother, emigrated from the USSR in 1979. One year before my parents, brother & I did so, I guess that you can say she’s an expert on the subject.

I forget all too often & take for granted all too frequently their sacrifices & courage.  From when she was a child escaping the Nazies during WW2 to when she was a young woman fleeing the USSR for America all because she is Jewish. Her hearing may be going but her memory is remarkable in the level of detail she remembers. The grace by which she retells. The stories that she tells whenever I ask.

I love our occasional trips down memory lane & as taxing as it may be for her at times, I believe that she appreciates the opportunity to keep the memories alive. If only I can live my life with such dignity & sophistication.

Thank you Baba Alla. I kiss you & toast you with your favorite, Fu-Ki wine!