FIRST PERSON
older siblings cared for us younger ones as Mom hurried to the hospital.
Dad survived, but a massive head injury rendered him, at 46, physically unable to work again.
The setback occurred in 1957, when, especially compared with today’s standards, state and federal workerprotection laws were in their infancy.
Not for two years would my dad be granted lifelong compensation for his injuries.
Realizing much sooner that any money Dad received wouldn’t support their young family, Mom had begun working on a strategy.
She lacked a formal education but possessed a keen business acumen — one developed at an early age after being forced to quit school to take a job to support her mother, sister and brother.
Her dad had died soon after welcoming his family on Ellis Island from Italy; at 16, Mom dutifully went to work in a laundromat near their rented apartment on the west side of Buffalo, New York.
This time around, though, the challenge was even greater: We invite readers of all ages to submit a personal essay of musings or refl ections for First Person. The guidelines:
A range of styles and subjects ( but no political/ opinion pieces) is encouraged, with a preference for content of a topical nature.
Your writing must be original and previously unpublished. It can be funny or serious, local or global, but it must be your own.
A submission should run no longer than 18 column inches (about 700 words).
No pay is provided. No publication guarantee is granted.
Mom took a full-time job in a nearby family grocery. Not wanting to be away from her children so much, however, she soon negotiated a business transaction: She swapped our family home for the commercial building that housed the grocery and five residential apartment units.
Her master plan was for our family to live in the lower-level unit behind the grocery, with the four other units rented by others. The business income would pay the seller-financed note and supplement dad’s compensation money. And so it went. Mom operated the
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Though modest, the income generated from our apartment building allowed her to pay the bills and provide for a comfortable life for her family.
More important, Mom was able to “work from home.”
Even though our family never dined out or took vacations, we were happy and never felt deprived.
Our summers included picnics in the park, where mom often served us warm plates of pasta with homemade bread.
Questioned years later about her remarkable resilience and problem-solving skills, she would simply say, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
She obviously spoke from experience.