“Please come in and make yourself at home,” Veronika said. When Martin stepped in and took a look around he saw that his boyhood home was much the same–a couple of leather chairs, a sofa with doilies on the arms, a fire in the hearth. “Please sit down and we will have tea and visit. We have so many years to catch up on.”
Once everyone had their tea and had taken a selection of baked goods, Martin asked, “How are things in Yugoslavia these days?”
“The war was difficult but with Tito we now have stability, even though there is little money to go around.”
“What about the people? Now that you’re unified as one country of the South Slavs has that helped relationships?”
“Martin, these differences have been going on for generations and they’re likely to continue for many more. In fact, a Serb opened a grocery store nearby. It is the closest one to us. But we prefer to walk further and buy from a Croatian. And Serbs do the same. That’s just the way it is,” Zara said.
After tea was finished, the women went into the kitchen to prepare dinner. Veronika called out, “We are having a big feast in your honor tonight and the whole family is coming. And tomorrow, if you’re up to it, my son will take you out fishing for sardines and anchovies. It will be a full moon so conditions should be perfect.”
Martin and Tom Paul glanced at each other. “That’s how I got my start with my father,” Martin said. “I guess I’ve come full circle.”
Tom Paul was waiting for a chance to check out the town and saw his opportunity. “I’ll go get the luggage and be back as soon as I can.”
Now Martin was left alone in the living room. He could almost see his father sitting in his favorite chair, a glass of rakija in one hand, a cigarette in the other, his mother sitting nearby on the sofa with her embroidery. The family Bible was still resting in its place of honor on the coffee table, a focal point in the room. Martin stood up to retrieve it. He remembered that every family Bible had a place to record family events such as births, deaths and marriages. It served as a history of a family.
He turned to the middle pages where the entries began going back to his grandparents. When he got to his own family he saw the entries for his parents’ births, marriages, children’s births and deaths. Now looking at the dates his parents died brought tears to his eyes. They made it through World War II while living in fear and suffering the effects of old age. That day at the port, he had known he would never see them again and his mother knew it, too, her tears ones only an anguished mother can shed. Martin blessed himself as he murmured a prayer for them both.
Then turning the pages, he found the entries for his brothers’ and sisters’ families as well as his own. They had not forgotten me. Even with all the time and space between us, our blood always kept us bound. The image of Bernini’s monument of the four virtues suddenly popped into Martin’s mind. Not until charity becomes stronger than blood will the world ever change.
Author Bio
Barbara Anne King is the author of The California Immigrant, the first book in her Monterey Bay series, featuring multicultural stories told from the heart.
Barbara was born and raised in Watsonville, California, set on the magnificent Monterey Bay. After graduating college, armed with a political science degree, she headed east for a job on Capitol Hill. But while she may have left California, it never left her and she remains a California Girl.
Now she lives in a New York City suburb with her husband in the place they’ve called home for over 25 years. After raising three children, she’s reinvented herself as an author so she can share her stories with readers wherever she finds them.
www.barbaraanneking.com
[email protected]
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank the following organizations for providing valuable information, either oline or through exhibits, that served the story and helped bring it to life.
Croatian Fraternal Union
D-Day Museum
Densho
Japanese American Citizens League
Naval History and Heritage Command, USS Nevada
Noguchi Museum
Santa Cruz JACL Collection, Mas Hashimoto Interviews
Slavonic Mutual Benevolent Society of San Francisco
Smithsonian Exhibit on Japanese Internment
UCSC University Library Regional History Project on Apple Farming in Watsonville, Interview with Ray Travers
Watsonville Public Library, Japanese Histories
Watsonville Memories that Linger, Volumes 1 & 2, Betty Lewis
Yale University Exhibit on Japanese Internment at Beineke Library
Book Club Questions
Martin was an immigrant. What makes it difficult to be an immigrant? Are there differences between then and now?
Most of us started as immigrants. What it your family’s story?
Pearl Harbor changed everything for people in the town of Watsonville. It triggered our entrance into the war. Do you think we would have entered otherwise? Or too late? How did things change for other people? People in your own family?
Do you think it was right to inter Japanese? Do you think people should be judged individually rather than as a group?
How do you think people should have treated Japanese upon
their return?
Power is mentioned several times in the book. What does it mean to be powerful or powerless? How can an individual in society exert power?
Martin came from the country with a lot of racial divides. Why do people not get along? Can they ever make peace with each other? How?
The cover has a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge. How does the theme of bridges fit the story and our own lives?
What did Martin mean by charity? Do you agree that if charity became stronger than blood the world would find peace?
What are the themes in the book?
What are the major takeaways?
Note: Please feel free to contact me if you would like me to participate in your book club discussion and we’ll find a way.
The California Immigrant Page 31