A Database of the Dead

My Grandmother's brother. He was tall and skinny and had a small grey poodle. He was a nice man and liked us, kids, around him. His apartment was located on the Buda side of Budapest. I liked visiting him because in Buda the streets run in unpredictable ways and directions.

Born and died in Vancouver. Survived two husbands. Mother of Thomas Edwin Raymond Bolster, grandmother of Stephanie and Kevin. Her nickname was Joy, though she was rarely joyful.

Survived 2.5 years in auschwitz' as a carpenter, thanks to dropping orthodox high-school and learning carpentry.
His 7 siblings and parents did not make it.

Legendary three-time Olympic champion and water polo coach Tibor is considered one of the best water polo players ever and arguably the best left-handed player ever.

He was part of the Hungarian national team that emerged as Olympic champion three times in a row (in 2000, 2004, and 2008). After having retired from playing, from 2013 he also coached the national team and led it once again to clinch the World Championship title in his first year at charge.

Grief and grieving are not only about memorializing the dead and death, they are to commemorate 'birth' also.

In all of Arendt’s work one might find three kinds of natality: factual natality, “birth into the world”; political natality, “birth into the realm of action”; and theoretical natality, “birth into the timelessness of thought.”

She says, “With word and deed we insert ourselves into the human world, and this insertion is like a second birth, in which we confirm and take upon ourselves the naked fact of our original physical appearance” (The Human Condition).

My grandmother, source of kindness and patience, who sang us songs before bed, saved newspaper clippings from the Canadian Jewish news for me, taught me to thank my teachers, Holocaust survivor who wished me, "God bless you" every Friday night.

My late beloved father, who adjusted his life to provide love, support, lifts, computer assistance, classic rock schooling, camping tips, barbeques and stir-fries to me and my brothers.

If you look up comedy in the dictionary, there one ought to find a photo of the great Groucho Marx. He taught many a person, young and old, to be quick witted, irreverent, and fearless--to stand up to authority, fake it til you make it, and never stop making the world laugh.

Much more has been written on her than she herself wrote, and yet her published work, never meant for public consumption, has become one of the most important texts of the 20th century. She was brave, spunky, clever, and offered perspectives on survival, perseverance and adolescence that continue to inspire new generations of readers worldwide. May her memory be a blessing, and her legacy be one of everlasting peace and unity amongst the nations.