Oscar. The Langmans had something like twelve children, making my grandmother, Pearl, number ten. Oscar, her kid brother, I guess must have been born here. He was the last. When I talk about family history, it is a lot like writing fiction, made of bits and pieces of my mothers facts and opinions, further distorted by the limited viewpoints of her best friend, a little boy, who used to be me. So when you read this, well, it doesnt really have much to do with history. Oscar played the violin. I imagine that in those days a huge family of immigrants was expected to grow into a diverse group, with children separated by a generation, some educated, some ignorant, some beautiful, some not so much. Maybe by the time Oscar was born, the only thing missing was a musician. I gather he was very talented. The story goes that he auditioned as a very young man for the Philadelphia Orchestra, and was accepted. But he refused the job, saying, First violin or nothing! Oscar played in theater orchestras. I never heard him play, not once. Apparently he didnt love music that much after a time, because by the time I knew him, he was also a professional photographer, and later taught golf. He was married, and obviously very happily, to an extraordinary woman, a very modern woman, a schoolteacher who became a published botanist. Im sure there is a species or two somewhere, Somethingus langmania. They had no children. I always assumed this was by choice, but of course I dont know. They traveled the world repeatedly. My mother said he was some kind of disappointment, because he had not lived up to his potential. And yet, there was something about the way she talked about him--something like admiration. I always thought he was one of the happiest people I ever met.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 14:21:45 +0000
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