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Wednesday, April 23, 2008

§ Survival and More Life

§ ≡ A section of The Pilot's Saga { Chapter 1.7 « Chapter 1.8 » Chapter 2.1 }

They were newlyweds when driven from their home in Warsaw by the Nazi plague. For two and a half years, Lucky and Sara struggled for more life in a small fishing village, about 50 kilometers upriver on the Vistula — Czerwinsk.

Their struggle bore fruit, so to speak, but in an unexpected and troubling way, and it became more desperate after their son was born on the last day in February 1942. Youthful naiveté, nature's gift of optimism, gave them the will to follow the example of their ancient Patriarch, Jacob, whose own life was the apotheosis of "the struggle for more life".

They named their son Chaim, after Sara's grandfather, who had been killed in the German blitzkrieg bombing of Warsaw, a blessing in disguise, considering the almost certain fate that awaited all those who became trapped in the Warsaw Ghetto. The root of the baby's name has a double meaning: "18" and "life". And Sara adopted "18" as her personal lucky number, determined to continue with Lucky the struggle for more life. Their struggle would last a decade, as we shall discover, before a lasting success was achieved.

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