Monday, September 17, 2012

Dough, a Memoir by Mort Zachter

This is a delightful memoir of Zachter as he details his life as what he thought was a lower middle class Jewish child. It concerns his uncles and his family .
The title can be seen on two levels. Dough as in the bakery he grew up in or dough being the money he discovered his Uncle Harry had in stocks and bonds. Over a million dollars was invested But when  Mort finds out about the money Uncle Harry is suffering from Alzheimer’s and there is no way to ask why he was never told.
Then there was Uncle Joe who ran the bakery . By the time Mort learns of the money  Uncle Joe is dead.
          Mort grew up thinking he had to be careful with each penny he received. His life centered around the family bakery and all he knew growing up was hard work and  long hours, struggling to make it in America.. There never seemed time to do anything outside the shop.
          It was a good childhood. He wanted for nothing. He didn’t starve. Money was doled out for special occasions. It was a tight knit family. It was a hard life. One time the bakery was robbed but the robber was forgiven and charges never pressed. 
          This was the family he grew up in. All life centered around the bakery. The uncles never ventured out. They lived and breathed the bakery. Deliveries were made on time to customers regardless of the weather. Snow never stopped the delivery.
          It is a story of forgiveness and acceptance of the family you are born in. And of secrets that are kept. In the end there was nothing that could be done but accept the fact that what matters most is family.

No comments:

Post a Comment