Letter to Soren 1

In the autumn of my life I have received this wonderful gift of a great grandson Soren. I would have loved to talk with him about all the things I lived through in the 20th Century. That being not possible I thought the highlights from the time I lived might give him a sense of where he came from. This is the first in a series of the Decades of My Life. Soren I hope you enjoy and it peaks your curiosity to learn more about where part of you came from. Love Great Granpa Roberto

They named you Soren
At last I have a great grandson.
Born early in the 21st century
Like me early in the 20th century.
History builds a platform of your life.
Here is my first decade.

World War one was just ending.
Our troops sang,
”Over There Over There The Yanks are coming.”
Music, song is a mirror of who we are.
8 million died. For what? For what?
A war to end all wars said President Wilson.
Question jingoist propaganda for war.
For you I hope the Iraq war is ending.
Or does it just rollover to Afghanistan?

The 1920’s were called “The Roaring Twenties!
The theme sung,
“In the Morning in the Evening ain’t we got fun?”
The country was Dancing the Charleston, Black Bottom, Shimmy
Drinking bathtub Gin as liquor was illegal.
As in your war on drugs
The Gangsters were in charge then, still are.
Silent movies gave us a saviour.
A dog Rin Tin Tin. Yes, Rin Tin Tin
German Shepherd came to our rescue
Over, under all obstacles put in his path.
Good old dependable Rin Tin Tin.

Russian revolution, workers threw out the Czar
Called it Socialism.
Scared the living delights out of capitalists.
From fear Government raids sent innocent foreigners.
Scurrying for cover. Where was Rin Tin Tin?
You don’t know from women suffrage?
Women not allowed to vote!
Betcha you can’t believe that.
Women marched the souls off their shoes.
Straight to the voting booth of 1920 for President.
The decade gave us,
Wilson, Harding, Cooledge Hoover
That bunch gave us war, scandal, depression.
What were the women thinking?
Oh about the same as the men.
Good old dependable Rin Tin Tin

KKK the Klux Klux Klan under white hoods
Lynching Black men across the South.
Germany defeated in war made to bleed,.
Worthless money sewed seeds of Nazi weeds.
However the world looks when you read this
This was the ideal we were fighting for.
Leave the world a better place then we found it.
I tell you that was not easy.

Soren, I have big trouble
Remembering that world of horse drawn wagons
No televisions, radios, few telephones, no cell phones
And damn few automobiles.
We were uplifted with “Lucky Lindy he’s flying high.”
First non stop to Paris, first Broadway ticker tape parade for me.
Lucky Lindy’s father a Socialist, My Papa liked that.

Everything was Rin Tin Tin until Black Thursday 1929.
The big boom party ended over the cliff in the abyss.
The bottom fell out of bankers heaven called Wall Street.
Our country sank into a disease called depression.
Forgot “Aint We Got Fun” and sang,, “Buddy Can You Spare a Dime.”
Twenty five million out of work and hope.
Central Park crowded with cardboard shacks for the homeless.
Now we all marched for jobs, home relief, health care, social security.

Papa and Mama were part of an extended family of Socialists.
Don’t know if Socialist means anything to you?
These were people who tried very hard
To make the world a better place.
They believed in working people.
Coal miners, steel, rubber and automobile workers.
Yes, garment workers who made the clothes on our backs.
Though we couldn’t live without them
They were “exploited” by factory owners
In conditions we called “wage slavery.”
Paid hardly enough to live on.

My Papa was on a blacklist of people
Called “dangerous” for trying to organize
Working people for a living wage.
And don’t forget Rin Tin Tin
No matter, he was always there for us.
See you soon in the thirties.

Love great grandpa Bob.
Thanks Kate, N.H.W.Y.