Today is the first day of the new month of Kislev. (It is actually the second day of the Rosh Chodesh [new moon]  celebration, but that’s a talk for another day.) Which means that 24 days from today, we Jews will begin our holiday of Chanuka, the celebration of lights.

That’s the good news.  The bad news.  Today is the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht (The Night of Broken Glass).  The pogrom that was initiated by the Germans (the citizenry!!!!) as well as the Storm Troopers (brown shirts).   At least 91 Jews were murdered, 30K were deported to concentration camps, 7000 businesses destroyed, along with the burning of 267 synagogues.

On a different note, this Sunday is a world-wide celebration. It is the 100th anniversary of the end of the “The Great War”. That was what the first World War (no one expected the second- but they should have) was called that back then. It’s the name my father and grandfather used, too.  That war was the last sanctioned battle in which my grandfather (my mother’s father) was a participant.

By the second decade of the 20th century, the Ottoman Empire was dissolving.  Which afforded  the Balkan region the ability(???)  to serve as the surrogate battleground for competing powers.  Czarist Russia and the Austro-Hungarian (including Germany) Empire used the region as a proxy to garner control and influence in the world, as the Ottoman Empire crumbled.

Supposedly, the Great War began because a Serbian nationalist (Gavrilo Princip) assassinated the Archduke Franz Ferdinand (the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary)  in Sarajevo. But, it was really just the tinderbox- because all the various powers were seeking the upper hand, desiring to become the next great power of the world.

Instead, Russia’s efforts in the war provided an opportunity for the Bolshevik revolution, for the Romanov Empire to be destroyed and replaced with Communism. The Ottoman Empire was dismembered and the victors (primarily the United Kingdom, with the “wisdom” of Churchill) created the map that has led to conflicts ever since. Germany (and Austria) were left so destitute that a nationalist regime under Hitler could create further havoc in the world, killing 6 million Jews in the process.

But, this “War to End All Wars”, the Great War (now known as World War I, since the world is so effective in creating world-wide conflagrations) continued for 4 more years after the assassination. Killing 18 million. Maiming 23 million more. Famine and disease (the Flu Epidemic of 1917, among several) raged through civilian areas. Chlorine gas (the first chemical-biological weapon) terrorized the populations. (This is why Europe uses the process of ozonation to purify water; the concept that chlorine could be used for civilian health was unthinkable.)

But, the war ended. Finally. On the 11th hour of the 11th month of the year 1918, “The Great War” had ended.

The words with which President Wilson announced the end of the war still resonate…

” To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day [what Veteran’s Day was first called- and the name by which it is known outside the US] will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations.”

(Unfortunately, those sentiments no longer seem resonant among the country’s leaders.)

As I stated above, my grandfather was a veteran of that war. Sol Kuchlik was never sure of the date of his birth. Because they didn’t track that well where he came from- and because my grandfather was a man in a hurry. (You think I might be related?)

Sol was born on “one of the days” of Chanuka (that he remembers well) in Minsk.  That region is now part of Belarus, but was then considered the “Pale of Settlement” associated with Russia (most of the days of the week).

My grandfather was a strapping young man with bright red hair. And, strong. Willing to do anything to get out of the Pale- and get to the ‘Goldena Medina’… Crossing Europe by himself. Getting to America and fending for himself, never letting anyone know how old [read “young’] he really was. (Yup, I learned that concept, too.)

I don’t know how he met my grandmother. But, I do know he fell for her in a big way before he was asked by his boss to help Black Jack Pershing in a new war. (Rumor had it that all three of them had met decades before.) Thinking my grandfather might have been kind of old for the job, Teddy still knew he was strong enough and smart enough to perform the special task he had in mind.

Like many a soldier, my grandfather wrote to his “girl” back home. I have some of those postcards somewhere. I remember finding them after he died and realizing that there was yet another part of this man I did not know. But, I do know they married soon after he returned to New York and stayed that way until death.

Every once in a while, I could get my grandfather to talk about his exploits. Most of which he kept bottled up inside. His normal response was to immediately pepper me with arithmetic (or math, as I aged) questions. Ones that demanded instantaneous responses. He wanted me to use my brain- quickly, adeptly, and to do great things.

Here’s to you, Sol Kuchlik. I miss you very much.

And, here’s to every other Veteran. It’s your day. You earned it.

By the way, on Sunday, 11-11-18 at the 11th hour, was the exact birth date and time for one of my dedicated employees.  Harry Thornton wanted to go the extra mile, wanted to be there when my personal life was falling apart.  A veteran of another war.  Here’s a personal shout out to his family, as well!

Another push for my book and my offer.  But the paperback edition (with a few other requirements outlined here), and I will help you discern how the new tax law affects your situation.   (The new tax law affects both personal and business taxes- in a big way.  Explained in my book, of course.)