To America and Back

by Mordechai Landsberg

At the age of sixteen and a half Humik was feeling like a grown up. He had finished the second class of highschool, and understood his parents’ problems, while he was unwillingly listening to their discussion about a visit of ‘another fertility Physician’. And Solomon said in a broken voice: “Maybe we leave that. I am too old for that already. Your two kids -are enough. I am tired of bothering with those laboratories and tests.”

  Ramona remembered, that at their first days in in LA, Solomon was very enthusiastic that she will bear a new baby, and after some sperm tests that he held, he was even complaining: ‘Maybe the cause for all that is not me – but you, Ramonka. We have to go Professor Sortheim. You know that I have not left my wish to have a kid of my own.’… Now it seems to be late, she said to herself.

  And now Nahumik had his own breakdown, regarding his studies: With his bad math he could still hire a private teacher and pass an additional exam; but his English also remained poor. He had spelling mistakes, and his compositions – in style as well as in ideas, were ‘awful’, so the teachers had told. Close to the exams period- Solomon tried to convince Humik to re-invite the retired actor, teacher Jack- but in vain. So, one day- at the end of the year studies, Humik’s schoolmaster called Ramona and told her:

  “I have decided, that your son would remain in same class for next year. He’ll repeat what he had hardly learnt this year.”

  Humik left high school, in which he had studied till that time. He had no wish for studying any more, he said. Perhaps he would do a favor to others by his quit, because sometimes he would ask questions, that stopped the teacher to advance more quickly. That meant that he had disturbed the others in the math and English.

  “All the this mess that you have now,” rebuked Kaplansky at him, “is a result of your missing a lot from class. I called your school two times by phone, because the teacher told me that you had disappeared. Nobody knew where you had gone to. Once you told me that you went to a club of horse-riding. But I can guess also, that you headed to the Famous tramps Quarter!”

  Nahumik answered angrily: “You want to insult me? You can hire a detectiive to trace me and investigate about me.”

  Despite his parents contradiction, Humik decided to seek some work, but it won’t be in their branch of business. He would try his own way. He told them that he would begin as a hired simple worker, having already found a partner for his ‘job’.

  “And you,” he shouted at Ramona and her husband, ”you should both respect my wishes, whatever I’ll do. That’s all.”

  It was night when this debate happened. Humik’s brother Danny came into the living room, dressed in his pyjamas. His eyes were winking from the electric light in the guests room, while he had been awakened by the shouts. He embraced his Mom, from dread of that quarrel.

  Ramona and Solomon had been adviced by a psychologist. ‘Such a behavior is a teenage characteristic known problem’ said the man. ‘It has to be solved by letting the teenager run in his own path. Of course you should take care, that the youth won’t be joining criminals or fall in some witch girl’s hands, and so on. In teenage – all can happen...”

  In that point of time Nahumik found a neighbor youth in his age. They decided to work together in taking small parcels from factories and wholsale businesses to retailers. For that they had bought a motorcycle. The friend had a girlfriend – whose father was from Italian origin. He had owned a BSA reputable motorcycle, that he wanted to sell. That man was ‘purses’ snatcher, cash Safes’ breaker, underworld Broker and so on. ‘But he never had been involved in murders’, so Humik had heard from his friend – Thomas Rigoletti. The criminal would always ‘work alone,’ but promised Thomas, that if he takes his daughter as a wife, he would become his ‘business partner’. Thomas Rigoletti was not so happy regarding that matter. He knew that two guys before him had left the girl, without chatting about her father; but his own mouth told all that history to his friend Humik. He added that the BSA had been very well maintained, and so on…

  Humik and Thomas bought the motorcycle and were both satisfied. Until one day Thomas told his girl friend that better they separate. His parents were pressing him not to be engaged to any girl, and ‘as I respect you’, so he lied to her, ‘I must break our relationship. You can choose any other guy you like– and I will have no other girl friend. Because I am too young, so my Pa says.’ Thomas had told all that to Humik, who justified the way he handled his situation. However, a week afterward – Tomas Rigoletti was crushed on this BSA. He was thrown from the motorcycle in a distance of twenty meters from the sidewalk edge, hitting a bricks wall fence of a villa. His brain was blown and spilt on the sidewalk. A truck hit him, that no one saw nor knew its number, nor could describe it- as it continued driving away in a speed. Police came too late with the Red Cross. Humik had heard about that and weeped, telling his mother that he was unlucky to have such a poor partner. Cruel Kaplansky rebuked him, however: “ have told you not to make friend with that Italian. He was a good guy, but who knows who his friends had been. Though I’m a cosmopolitan in my political-social opinions, I think you better make friends with Poles. I’ve told you that already. They are to be found here, don’t say they are hiding. I know that in your ex-class at highschool, you had only Anton Skestushky, the math genius. If you want – I’ll ask my Polish origin clients about their sons, or even their daughters… ”

  Humik remembered, that a day before- was his turn to ride the motorcycle, that he and Thomas were owning. He had seen some guy tracing him with a private car, and thought it was a homo, who wanted to get his interest… But no, he couldn’t be sure if his friend was killed by a gang of the girlfriend’s Pa, or…

  ‘Oh, my good friend Thomas,’ he said to himself, ‘I remember how we were riding together on the strong ‘cycle. Many times I had been the driver, and you sat behind. When you wanted me to bypass some vehicle, you would shout in my ear: “Hum, give him a gay hooter. …Hoot again! He hasn’t heard you!”

  Humik had attended the funeral procession, and afterward visited his dead friend’s family. Thomas’ father wanted in his adolescence to become a Priest. But soon he had left the clergy studies, and emigrated to the States with his bride, Thomas’ mother. “My son was killed because of you, murderer,” shouted the father when he saw Humik arriving at his apartment’s door. The young man, who had come to condole the parents of his friend, found himself under fire, and was very embarrassed.

  “His brain was crushed by a truck of a drugged man,” continued Mr. Rigoletti, “My son was a partner of a Jewish criminal like you. It was your idea to buy the cursed motorcycle! He was misled by you. You’ve told him, that you couldn’t buy the vehicle by your own means, and I know your Jewish parents don’t lack money. You are guilty, Jew! Out – Son-of-a bitch!

  Humik discerned that no one of the mourners and condoling visitors was rising to defend him. He went out, and heard that some others shouted at him curses.

  Since that day, the awareness that the States was a bad place for him, got even deeper in his mind. ‘In U.S – I won’t be able to making a wonderful living- as Kaplansky would say frequently. My soul is not built like a wall, that would be gradually hit by a childrens’ soccer. Maybe in a ‘moment of pure reason’ I would tell myself that a spitting is a drop of a blessing rain…Woe to me, because of my passionate, unexplained aspiration to turn back and fly to my fascinating homeland (though bleeding- starving- but struggling), I am doomed. My Mom paid attention to my sadness, that had come out of this accident. I haven’t told her about Thomas’ papa, that while Thomas had been alive – his relation to me was quite sympathetic.

  It seems like Kaplansky heard about the sad event; because he tried again to convince Humik to join his mother in her work at the shop. This time Nahumik agreed. He was convinced, that Kaplansky – from his point of view, was realy caring about him. He had also promised to bring to Humik the phone Number of a very pretty girl, a daughter of one of his clients, Marsha.

  In that- thou
ght Humik- maybe a double disguise will be my best solution for remaining here for some months, as I have not yet decided to leave. I am a hesitating kind of person, or call it cautious and responsible for his future.

  But soon something changed Humik’s plan: For years he had not written to his friend Mike in Israel. Now was the time for sending him a postcard. Nahumik was doing that for curiosity, and maybe due to longing to old innocent days.

  He was waiting for Mike’s reply in impatience. It has come after about a month, while he was in the store beside his mother, selling an expensive camera to the beautiful Hollywood star Simone Richland. Humik did not quite remember then the actress’ last name: She had a marginal role in a new movie, that he had recently seen.

  There was a ring on the store’s phone. Ramona indicated Humik to rush to it and answer. On the line was his best friend Mike.

  “I have received your postcard, Nahumik,” said Mike in Hebrew, ”have you gone out of your mind? You want to return to your homeland? Crazy!. I have just sent you a response by postcard.” …

  Three weeks later the postcard has arrived. Mike wrote:

  “We don’t have to buy here food by a special voucher– like in our old days, but it’s very difficult here. D’you remember the green sour apples we were used to eat? No red or pink or yellow apples in the market yet, only in pictures. Not to speak about buying a private Chevrolet car, that you should pay five hundred percent Import Tax to buy it in Israel. Crazy, you”.

  Humik thought that he should think about all that, and recalled he had written to Mike about the bad experience he had with the motorcycle. But Mike is too enthusiastic of America. ‘Surely he was surprised, when he read in my letter that Kaplansky was owning an expensive car, for a long time. And that I, Humik, use it rarely, though I have a license. Mom is much a better driver than myself. ‘Perhaps I am longing to Horsy’- thought Humik. ‘I don’t enjoy a car so much.’

  Then came a second phone call from Mike. Ramona received it again. Mike told her he had arrived in New York!

  “D’you come to U.S. just for enjoying yourself?” she asked in wonder. Mike complained about the bad times they were having in Israel.

  “We have told that to Humik for long.” she sais, “The press here doesn’t tell lies. Talk to him, and persuade him to remain here and neglect his dream to return to his childhood land.”

  Ramona asked Mike about his parents, and he answered they were well. Then she handed the apparatus to Humik, her fingers trembling, as her heart expected something bad.

  “Hi, Nahum,” said Mike, “you wrote me that you had left school, and I have done now the same. In Max Fine Technical school – I had studied the cursed mechanics, but it’s not for me. I prefer to be a driver, like my father-in-law.”

  “But you could study delicate mechanics. I know you have had good hand for that. Or even become an Electric Technician.You can find work everyewhere with that craft,”

  “No, these professions are even worse for me. I am not fit for the theoretical studies. My mind is narrow- you remember. So, my good Pa has long permitted me to learn driving his truck. Now I have passed the Government Exam and received Driving Licence code# 3, that means: including heavy trucks… But in short – I am in New York now!”

  “What?” shouted Humik.

  “I went on board a ship to America. I was a kitchen worker and a deck boy, a cleaner. D’you Remember our classmate Itamar Gitlefeld? His good papa was called a vessel economist or … something like that.. He had organized the voyage for me”.

  Humik was decisive to travel to NY and meet his friend. He thanked Kaplansky for the opportunity to date with young Marsha.

  “But the prettye girl is not for me,” said Nahumik.

  “She is a virgin, and Jewish,” said Kaplansky, ”Though she is coming from a Reformist kind of Jews: Her parents are not Zionist dreamers like the Orthodox Mizrahi or Messiah Believers, like Habad Hosidim.”

  “For the time being I am going to New york, I am decisive,” – told him Nahumik, while Ramona was also listening. It was noon, and the store was empty of clients.

  “You make a big mistake,” said Ramona to her son, “I know this guy, Mike. You are enthusiastic to meet him, but he is a bad guy. Like in his childhood, I’m sure. In New York it’s so easy to get entangled in some bad events. Be cautious.”

  “I’ll go there for a month,” said Humik.

  “You have to have much money for that. Don’t be living in a cheap hotel, it’s dangerous,” said Solomon and handed him two thousands bucks, “Take this, and report to us if something is going wrong. I hope you have saved some money last months. And you’ve yet to get compensated for the motorcycle, of which you were a partly owner. Your friend’s family will get a lot of money- from the insurance, even if the killer is not found.”

  “Thank you,” said Humik. His mother added five hundreds in cash that was inside the cash drawer.

  “I am worried about you, my grown up son,” she said suddenly. “Why d’you worry? You have two sons,” he said cynically.

  “Don’t dare talking to me like that,” she rebuked.

  She has not added anything, and even took him with her three years old Chev to the train station. He had with him a blue backbag and in it underwears and socks and additional shirts plus a sweater.

  It was spring time, and at the beginning of his journey he was looking on wide areas of the West. He was saying to himself why-do-you-want-to-return there?… and became sleepy. In his dream he saw again his friend Tom, who appologized for driving too fast, but claimed he had not been guilty for the accident…

  CHAPTER 4