12 October 1942 – Kings and Queens / Re e Regine

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Playing in the schoolyard . . .

My father always had a love for chestnut trees, especially the horse-chestnut variety, called in Latin, Aesculus hippocastanum. When I lived in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, there was a horse-chestnut tree in front of my apartment building, the former Lehigh Railroad Office. I remember him scooping up a bunch of brown chestnuts, handing me one, and popping the rest in his pockets.

When I read this diary entry, I realized why my dad loved them so . . .

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10 October 1942 – “Giarabub”

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School, and a movie . . .

Dear readers, it is only the second entry of this diary, and already I require your assistance!

When I read the first sentence of this day’s journal entry, I was mystified by two strange words. One seemed to be “Giarabub,” which revealed itself in a simple Google search. The other, a slightly more disturbing word, appears to be “Nemiche.”

Uh, oh. Seems like my father was already talking about the enemy, but which enemy was he referring to?

The day in school began with a movie . . . Continue reading 10 October 1942 – “Giarabub” →

The First Page / La Prima Pagina

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The real diary is in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It’s preserved in the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books, and Manuscripts, located in the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library of the University of Pennsylvania. The diary is over 70 years old, and I had never seen it in person before.

In July 2015, I flew from my home in Los Angeles to Philadelphia to visit my sister and her family. I also planned to visit the university and examine the diary for the first time.

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