I went on a walkabout to the Potomac River’s Great Falls with my friend, Avi Bender. He gave me some great advice on portraits and we walked and walked and walked…he’s a walker, I’m a wannabe. We took lots of photos and talked of many things … I asked him about his family and he told me about his father and his mother, Holocaust survivors; I was more than intrigued. His father, Benjamin Bender, wrote a book, Avi gave me a copy, a signed copy: “Glimpses: Through Holocaust and Liberation.” I read it that night, the entire book. I am fairly certain Benjamin wasn’t looking to win the Pulitzer for the book, no…I’m pretty sure he wrote it for me. And others like me. The chronology. The facts. The emotion—narrative emotion. I cannot contemplate even a tiny bit of the horror. But I think I must, that’s the point of the book, that’s the point of remembering. The ghetto in Czestochowa. Buchenwald. I tried to imagine carrying those memories and how he handled them. I decided that the worst time might be when you first wake up and there’s that nanosecond to get oriented. I hope we remember.
LeeThank you for reading my father’s life story. He lived to remember what the world should never forget. I wish he could have joined us for a brief moment on that walk. Thank you for your warmth and kindness.Avi