Maira Kalman’s (http://www.mairakalman.com/) wonderful picture book, Hey Willy, See the Pyramids (
http://www.mairakalman.com/children/heywilly.html) includes this poignant exchange between little Alexander and his sister Lulu:
“What is nothing?” Her insightful reply: “Nothing is when you are given a very small portion of ice cream by an adult, and you look at the plate and at the adult and you ask for more and the adult says you have a huge portion and you say ‘That’s it? That’s nothing.’ “And that is nothing,” says Lulu.
My friend Sara tells the story of a school reunion she attended in Israel in the late 90s. The reunion goers were Polish Jews, who, like Sara and her family, had been expelled from Poland in the late 1960s or early 1970s in one of the last late 20th century pogroms. Sara landed in Chicago a teenager, speaking absolutely no English. But she duly enrolled in the Chicago Public Schools–Von Steuben High–learned English, graduated, eventually married an accountant, moved to the North Shore suburb of Highland Park, and raised and nurtured three beautiful, successful children. Sara developed a passion for portrait photography, and with her husband supported the arts–theater and architecture in particular. This, while also caring for an aging mother and mother-in-law. In the several years after her youngest left for college Sara built her photography avocation into a small business, and now runs a specialty portrait studio out of her condo. For most of the time since her first child was born 37 some years ago, however, Sara did not have paid work outside the home.
Sara’s Polish diaspora cohort were returning to Israel from all over the world. Her old schoolmates had taken the divergent life paths available to determined immigrants, including gaining professional degrees. Sara noticed a particular name on the list of attendees: a female schoolmate who became a doctor. The doctor was amazingly accomplished and successful , although she never married or had a family, and boasted multiple awards, fellowships, and prestigious appointments. And boast she did. As soon as Sara greeted this classmate, the woman regaled Sara with three decades’ worth of achievements in university and medical school and medical practice and research and more. Finally, the doctor exhausted her supply of fabulous successes to relate. “So, Sara,” she asked, “what have you been doing the last 30 years?” Sara took a long look at her former friend before she replied.
“Oh, nothing.”
