Are we sharing again ? One hot summer day, August 14, 1935, my mother and I were
walking hand in hand on Zabriskie Street in Jersey City. Windows were open everywhere
curtains moving in the slight breeze, some parted, some knotted on the rods. You could
hear the Philco radios blaring static and sound within, suddenly the windows filled with
people yelling, shouting hoorays! In the streets they laughed and danced and sang “Happy
days are here again!” I turned to my mother, she squeezed my hand tightly and said “Mr.
Roosevelt passed the Social Security Act “. “Thank God !” I couldn’t forget that day, it
was like the biggest party I ever saw, no balloons, no ice cream, but a lot of whooping it
up and delirious people. It’s a memory that still lives happily with me but what I most
remember is that tired old house dress my mom was wearing and how joyous she was.
Some memories are worth keeping, don’t you think ?
Claire V. Bogdanos 