Sarah's Child

Because of my interest in World War II and the books I write, this trip to Eastern Europe was important to me. There were many really good and fun times, but also those that were sad and poignant, but I needed to see these places. I wrote "Sarah's Child" in 1995 while living in Santa Barbara and have tweaked it for all these years. It is finally being published, so now I can leave it alone and consider it finished. Sarah is a character I invented who was a Danish Jew and sent to Theresienstadt. She survived the war but just barely. This story is about her. While visiting that concentration camp, I cried for Sarah, even though she is fictitious. To me she is very real and I came to love her.

The surroundings are just what I would have imagined they were and I think she is symbolic of all the other people that were sent there. The book is coming out in about three months.

While at Auschwitz, we met a survivor who told us his horrific story. He now works for the museum there and is about 85, I believe. He lived in Auschwitz for five years, and lost all his family there. Because he was young and worked (at slave labor), he survived.

War Torn Europe

All through these countries you see reminders of World War II and what life was like living there. Also, after the war these countries were part of the Soviet Union and lived under communism. They are still struggling to rise above that era and these are poor countries. You see the Soviet influence everywhere as a reminder.

While in Poland, we visited Auschwitz and while in Prague, I visited Theresienstadt, a concentration camp and Jewish Ghetto, about an hour outside of Prague. These places have become memorials to the thousands of lives lost during the war, and have museums on site. I was amazed at how many visitors come and how many students there are visiting these memorials. It is amazing to think this sort of thing could have happened, but then, it is still happening in parts of the world. Those people and families that lost their lives so tragically should never be forgotten. When you see a room full of over 40,000 pairs of shoes, it is a startling and very vivid image.

Prague - Kafka Cafe

This is me in the Kafka Cafe, where Kafka used to sit and write. I was waiting for some vibe from his spirit, but it didn't happen. Nor did a waitress come to wait on me. Prague is the most beautiful city, just everything I imagined. Three days there wasn't enough but sure gave me a good taste for it, and makes me want to return some day.

Warsaw, Poland

This is Eugeniusz Chudak-Morzuchowski, a well known Polish Pianist. He performed a Chopin Recital for us in an old manner house, outside Warsaw. The house is about 200 years old and is being renovated. We also had dinner in another building on the estate, after the performance.

Fall, 2006 - Eastern Europe

Escrow closed 8/31 on the condo in San Pedro, and I became a full time resident of Palm Springs. On September 26 I left for Eastern Europe and visited Poland, Slavakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic. This is a picture of me with the Danube behind me. This was taken while staying in Budapest. The river breaks through the Borzsony and Visegrad Mountains at this bend.