From my grandmother’s diary when she was sixteen and working in the family bakery. All first names mentioned are those of her siblings except for Tom Wachenfeld who I believe worked at the …
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My father was a natural musician who picked up instruments easily, playing mostly bebop jazz on the sax and clarinet. During the Korean War, he played in the Navy band and because he was also a fast …
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Ramona Jan
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10/18/22
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From my grandmother’s diary when she was sixteen and working in the family bakery. All first names mentioned are those of her siblings except for her schoolmate, Clara.
Oct 1st
Rain …
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Ramona Jan
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10/11/22
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Does anyone really become a writer without the influence of others upon their lives? Certainly, not me. We all have stories. It’s putting them on the page that needs careful consideration. I …
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Ramona Jan
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10/4/22
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My grandmother, Lina Dreher, was sixteen and working in the family bakery when she kept this diary. She has one brother, Joe, and six sisters some of whose names are mentioned. Lina’s excited …
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Ramona Jan
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9/27/22
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I’m walking across the Callicoon Bridge hoping that a large vehicle doesn’t traverse it at the same time when, not one, but two gigantic buses turn the corner. The bridge shakes, as my …
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Ramona Jan
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9/20/22
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From my grandmother’s diary when she was sixteen and working in the family bakery. All names mentioned are those of her siblings except for her friend Daisy.
Sept 3rd
Fred and …
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Ramona Jan
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9/13/22
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In between waves of nausea, I suddenly realized I could no longer breathe. I was facing a blank white wall in my bathroom and gasping for air, telling myself, just breathe, for God’s sake, just …
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Ramona Jan
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9/6/22
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I’m listening to the ‘huz’ (that’s short for husband) as he rehearses a plentitude of cover songs. He just debuted as ‘singer of the greatest songs’ at The Old …
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Ramona Jan
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8/30/22
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“There’s a phone call for you,”
“What? How could that be?” I was staying in a boarding house on the corner of Poplar and Atlantic in Wildwood, NJ. No one but my best …
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Ramona Jan
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8/23/22
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My grandmother, Lina Dreher, was sixteen when she kept this diary. Lina and her sister Tillie work in the family bakery where they recently installed a candy counter and ice cream parlor. In some …
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Ramona Jan
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8/16/22
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It started with tooth soap, a soft, long thread of creamy material used for brushing teeth typically made from saponified olive and coconut oils, distilled H2O, and Himalayan salt. The idea came from …
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Ramona Jan
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8/9/22
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My grandmother, Lina Dreher, was sixteen when she kept this diary. She worked as a store clerk in the family bakery/ice cream parlor. In this excerpt, she mentions visiting the grave of sibling Em …
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Ramona Jan
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8/2/22
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I’ve seen a lot of sights on the Delaware River ranging from ordinary to unusual to outright miraculous. I’ve seen dogs of all sizes; some that like to swim and others that just lap up a …
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Ramona Jan
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7/26/22
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Grandma’s diary July 1913, part 2
My grandmother, Lina Dreher, was sixteen when she kept this diary. She was bribed, by her father, with a bank account of $200 to quit school and work in …
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Ramona Jan
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7/19/22
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It was 1978, around midnight and, for the first time ever, I was about to go onstage at CBGB’s. My band, Comateens, consisted of two people, myself on guitar and vocals and Nic North on bass …
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Ramona Jan
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7/12/22
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My grandmother, Lina Dreher, was sixteen when she kept this diary. She worked as a store clerk in the family bakery. In this excerpt, she grapples with going back to school, which she had quit due to …
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by Ramona Jan
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7/5/22
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I’m a big fan of the Great American Songbook; a collection of the most important and influential American popular songs and jazz standards from the early 20th century that have stood the test …
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By Ramona Jan
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6/28/22
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When she entered the room her hips would bang against desks toppling papers, vases, ashtrays, picture frames and the like. Large in every way and at the same time oblivious to her surroundings, she …
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by Ramona Jan
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6/17/22
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My grandmother, Lina Dreher, was sixteen when she kept this diary as she worked in the family bakery. I have not changed any of the vernacular though some of it may be politically incorrect today. …
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Ramona Jan
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6/14/22
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I’m watching the Netflix special, Andy Warhol Diaries. They’re going through his massive archives of Polaroids, and it occurs to me that I must be somewhere in there. I had three …
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Ramona Jan
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6/7/22
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Ah, June is now merely a day away. When I think of June, I think of my childhood neighbor about whom I wrote the following lyric:
I watch her from across the way,
wondrin’ what makes her …
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Ramona Jan
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5/31/22
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My grandmother’s diary of 1913 spanned one full year. The longest entry was entitled My Only Secret.
It begins with, “when I went to school…” a reference to her being …
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Ramona Jan
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5/24/22
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My grandmother, Lina Dreher, was sixteen when she kept this diary. Her father, my great grandfather, was a talented German baker who rescued bakeries in NYC and NJ, and then sold them for a profit. …
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Ramona Jan
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5/17/22
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My grandmother, Lina Dreher, was sixteen when she kept this diary. Her father (my great grandfather, an immigrant to this country) was a talented German baker who rescued bakeries in NYC and NJ, and …
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Ramona Jan
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5/10/22
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