My cousin DVARLE
By Beckie Shopnick
My cousin Dvarle was very clever. She had high cheek bones and soft brown eyes, her mouth looked as though it was always ready to laugh and when she did her tears ran copiously, they could have filled a salt-water pool. She walked with grace and a firm step.
Her husband Lazer was a terrific storyteller. He also had a melodic tenor voice. They lived in the West End of Boston in a four-room cold-water flat, and my sister and I occupied one small bedroom, my cousin Dvarle and her husband the other bedroom. Her brother Israel and her husband's brother Phillip slept together on a sliding couch in the living room. Also Lazer's sister Sarah slept on chairs in the kitchen. The huge black iron coal-stove was a prominent fixture in the kitchen, it shone like a mirror so that even the old-time b.v.d.'s hanging on a line above it were reflected in it.
We all paid a small amount for board and room but still Dvarle managed within a couple of years to save up penny by penny to buy a house on the outskirts of a town called Everett. My sister, myself and other members of the family were frequent visitors to their home when we were ready for a good time. My cousin Dvarle had a special knack of boiling potatoes that melted in your mouth. So she boiled a "kessel" full of potatoes and cut up a few shmaltz herrings that made your mouth water.
After the feast, Lazer would say to my sister, "well, Maryutch,How about a little opera?" Sure enough within a couple of minutes without standing in line for tickets we listened to our family duet, Mary and Lazer, who sang arias from well-known operas.
Once on one of those visits cousin Lazer told us an interesting story. He was a mechanic in a machine shop and was sent to repair a meat grinder in a balogna and salami factory, naturally he was attired in his working clothes covered with grease and oil. He took his tools and oil can and off he went. When he got there, he found a very huge meat grinder, which he had to walk into to make the necessary repairs. Immediately after he repaired the machine the Owner put the meat in to grind. Seeing this Lazer swore he would never touch his favorite delicacies again. He said, "I don't mind so much my own dirt but how about someone else's Dirt when machines need repairs?" Innocently I remarked "what would happen to you while you were in the grinder and there was an emergency?" My cousin Dvarle roared with laughter and we all joined in chorus.
Such good times and laughter we had every time!