I have many memories of my Grandfather Gerry Parzen that it is impossible to write an individual story of each. I hoped this would serve as a running list that could be updated by all the people whose lives he touched.
1) (Told by my Aunt) When my aunt turned 10, she wanted to go to the Fox theater in Atlanta to see "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Apparently, many other people had the same idea. A line from the front of the Fox twisted its way around Peachtree for as far as the eye could see. My Grandfather was escorting my Aunt and a pack of her 9 and 10 year old friends to the show. No tickets had been purchased. My Grandfather marched the confused pack of girls to the ticket counter (and front of the line). He asked for his reserved seats (which of course he did not have). When he was told there were no seats in his name, he started screaming in broken english (despite speaking very good english) at the ticket salesman. He threw up his arms and his face turned into a beet. The frightened and frustrated ticket salesman threw the tickets at my grandfather who then took the girls inside for the show.
2) When I was a child in Atlanta my Grandfather would "hire" me to work at the apartment complexes he owned off of Buford highway. I was 8 years old and the most useless worker on the planet, but he always paid me for my hard work (watching Jimmy mow the grass, sweeping some leaves, etc.)
3) Gerry would take us out for breakfast on the weekends with my mother and grandmother at a Deli in Atlanta. He always had a five or ten dollar bill for me and my brothers which he would give us slyly as to not raise any suspicion. We were 8 or 9 at the time and would invest the money in baseball cards. I must have bought 10,000 cards with the money my grandfather gave to me as a child. To this day, my baseball card collection (shared with my two brothers) is my most prized material possession.
4) I learned about the Holocaust in Sunday school at Temple Sinai in Atlanta. I knew my Grandfather Gerry had been a prisoner in the war, but he would never speak of that time in his life. He had a number on his forearm that he almost always kept covered even in the summer heat of Atlanta.
5) My father and Grandfather never got along too well when I was growing up. I remember my father always cursing about Gerry for this and that. I was always confused as a young child as to why my father never joined us on visits to see Gerry and Rose. At the time, I really didn't know any better, but as I grew older (and my grandfather had died) I began to resent the fact that my father's anger with Gerry affected my relationship with Gerry. I regret not being able to share more time with my Grandfather while he was alive, because it wasn't until I outgrew my adolescence that I realized what an amazing man he was.
6) My Grandfather had nothing after the war and came to America with his new bride. He ended up in Atlanta and became a successful business man that owned a number of apartment complexes in both Atlanta and Miami. When he died, he left my grandmother a very wealthy lady who would never have to worry about money as long as she lived.
7) He bought a lower penthouse condo in Hollywood, FL and we would go and visit in December. He would take us to the pool and down to the beach during the day so we could gather sea shells or swim. He took us out for dinner in the evenings. Our favorite restaurant was The Rascal House which was a diner that served huge portions of excellent food (it is still off A1A if you are in the area). I always had the eclairs for dessert, but I would also have a couple of bites of his Napolean desserts. I always loved our visits down to Florida to see my grandparents.
8) Eventually, he moved to Scottsdale, AZ because his "asthma" had gotten really bad. I was only able to visit him there once before he died. I spent the days lounging by his little pool and going out to dinner at nights. My grandfather had diabetes and a chronic cough, and I knew his general health had declined. I had no idea it would be the last time I would spend any quality time with him.