Grandma Esther.

Esther Wainer lived a long life. She was 92 when she died.

I hope she shared some of that DNA with me.

Esther and I share a birthday.

It is today.

Grandma Esther was born in Russia. Most of what I know about her life is oral history. So half of what I know is probably not true and the other half is exaggerated.

Her father did not believe in girls getting a college education. She ran away from home and went to Heidelberg in Germany where she met my grandfather, Samuel. He was studying to be a dentist.

At some point around 1910 they came to the United States and settled in Connecticut. They had four daughters: Bea, Francis, my mother Helen, and Doris. And a son, Al.

It is interesting that nobody names their daughters Bea, Francis, Helen or Doris anymore. There are not many Als either.

In the 40s my grandparents moved to Los Angeles. They lived in the Jewish community of City Terrace on LA’s east side. They joined the Arbeter Ring, the Workmen’s Circle, an organization of Jewish socialists.

My grandfather could not practice his dentistry legally in the US. He set up a little office in the basement of their City Terrace home and earned a nice living fixing the teeth of his friends and neighbors.

When our family moved to Los Angeles in the late 50s, we first lived with Esther and Sam.

The house always smelled of dental wax.

But they had a huge backyard. For a kid from North Philly, it was a wonder. The had an avocado tree. They had a lemon tree. And tons of places to run and hide.

Esther was an activist, a person who lived and fought for the idea of women’s equality. She marched against the A-bomb, for the Rosenbergs, civil rights and for progressive Jewish causes.

That part of Esther’s DNA has been spread throughout our family.

Happy Birthday, Esther.