When I was a kid, my grandmother had a friend. She was a play-aunt that we visited periodically. Her name was Glennie and she was a lovely brown woman with laughing eyes, a hearty laugh and salt/pepper hair. One evening a dinner party was planned and my mom, grandmother and two younger brothers went to her house.
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| photo by food.com |
Exotic and wonderful fragrances met us at the door as we anticipated the coming food fest. Aunt Glennie’s friend Fritz was the chef of the night and this was the first night we met him. He was a German (Jewish) furrier who came to visit periodically bringing gifts and having dinner parties. He was a large man, always jolly and a wizard in the kitchen. He provided my first taste of German specialties: beef stroganoff, potato pancakes and strudel.
This was long ago and the fact that this couple was multi-racial was notable in the 1960’s. Fritz learned to trust us, as the closest approximate family for Glennie. He had nothing to fear from us. He treated her and offered her furs and gave her friends discounted items. Fritz and Glennie got along famously as far as I knew and I don’t recall hearing of any race-based incidents.
There’s not much of a story here other than I can say that my life was enriched by this early opportunity to engage in a different culture, learn from someone different and watch the interactions. This was gratuitous in the 1960’s but as the world grows increasingly smaller, this is an appeal for you to broaden your horizons and see what this ever-changing smaller world will show you.
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