Joseph Szpiro was born in Poland after World War II and attended public school from ages five to eight. During this time the Catholic Church was gaining power and anti-semitism became more common. As a young boy, Joe did not notice that anything was going on, but his parents did. One day, when Joe was eight his parents pulled them into their room and explained how they would be moving to France to be closer to their cousin Raymond and to escape the anti-semitism. The next day, they boarded a train set for Paris. Joe was amazed by the countrysides that rolled by and the vast plains he had never seen. His vast wonder consumed him as he sat with his head facing the window the majority of the ride. In Prague, the train came to halt as two men in
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Once a month Joe’s parents would visit him and after 6 months they found a home near Raymond. Joe then went to a Parisian public school where he claims that he became a Frenchman. Years later his mother found that her sister was living in Los Angeles. Excited, Manya declared that their family would be moving to Los Angeles. The day before they left Joe went in front of his class and pointed on a globe where he would be moving to. The class was entranced by the fact that Joe would be moving to a land that they were so unfamiliar with. From Paris, the family boarded a boat where they had a cabin without a window at the bottom of the boat. This was where Joe found his love for Grapefruits as he had his first grapefruit on the boat. From New York where they landed, Joe and his family boarded a plane to arrive in Los Angeles. Morris and Esther Trukenberg met his family at the airport and gave them a ride in their 1957 Plymouth. The urban city was so unfamiliar to Joe at first that he did not know what to think. He never knew that a city existed that was so metropolinistic. The first years in Los Angeles were difficult for Joe because he was teased in school for being a Frenchman. When Joe came he was originally going to be in 6th grade. However, his school could only find a student in 5th grade who was willing to be his translator, so that was the grade he
Once a month Joe’s parents would visit him and after 6 months they found a home near Raymond. Joe then went to a Parisian public school where he claims that he became a Frenchman. Years later his mother found that her sister was living in Los Angeles. Excited, Manya declared that their family would be moving to Los Angeles. The day before they left Joe went in front of his class and pointed on a globe where he would be moving to. The class was entranced by the fact that Joe would be moving to a land that they were so unfamiliar with. From Paris, the family boarded a boat where they had a cabin without a window at the bottom of the boat. This was where Joe found his love for Grapefruits as he had his first grapefruit on the boat. From New York where they landed, Joe and his family boarded a plane to arrive in Los Angeles. Morris and Esther Trukenberg met his family at the airport and gave them a ride in their 1957 Plymouth. The urban city was so unfamiliar to Joe at first that he did not know what to think. He never knew that a city existed that was so metropolinistic. The first years in Los Angeles were difficult for Joe because he was teased in school for being a Frenchman. When Joe came he was originally going to be in 6th grade. However, his school could only find a student in 5th grade who was willing to be his translator, so that was the grade he