Camel from Kyzylkum

The first movie I watched in America was in the synagogue, and it was Fiddler on the Roof. In the Soviet Union, I had read the book by Sholem Aleichem and watched the Russian version—Tevye the Milkman—which was released in 1985, fourteen years after the original American movie. What shocked me was how different the American movie was from the Soviet one. The major distinction was in how Jewish people were portrayed in the American movie as a freedom-loving, proud, strong nation, while in the Soviet movie, I always sensed a grain of pettiness towards Jewish people. Fiddler on the Roof gave me such joy that I burst into tears.

That is when I met Marvin. Marvin was a well-dressed Jewish man in his late seventies. He was a true gentleman. I do not think he was ever married. Marvin asked me why I was crying and I tried to explain it to him. After the movie was over, he offered me a ride home.

After that evening, Marvin became like a father figure to me. He drove me around Buffalo, showed me places, and took me out to dinner. One evening he took me out for dinner, and when the waitress brought the check, Marvin discovered he had forgotten his wallet at home. However, since he was a frequent customer in that restaurant, everybody knew him by name. He just said to the waitress that he would be right back. We drove to his house to pick up his wallet and came back to pay. For me, the experience was unheard of; it amused me so much that to this day, I still remember it like it happened just yesterday. Marvin was always there for me when I needed help. He was the one who took me to the manager of the Burger King fast-food restaurant at the corner of Delaware Street, near my apartment building. He said to the manager, “This young lady needs a job.” That is how I got my first job in America—I cleared tables and washed dishes at Burger King.

One day, Marvin brought Robert to Burger King. Robert was a tall man in his forties, with sad eyes behind thick glasses. He looked like a big baby. Robert was Marvin’s neighbor who lived alone, across the street. Marvin told me that Robert was looking for someone to clean his house, and they wondered if I would be interested in doing that job. Of course, I was interested! That is how I got my second job: cleaning Robert’s house. It was an old house of a bachelor, dusty, with outdated furniture. While I was cleaning, Robert sat in a big chair and watched me. Sometimes he would go down to the basement and bring up some old dish or vase to show me—with a sadness in his voice, he explained that these items had belonged to his parents who had passed away. When I came to clean his house the second or third time, Robert asked me to marry him. His proposition frightened me, and I said “no”. I could not imagine myself living in that house with dusty old furniture, a basement full of aged articles, and a big, sad baby-man. We remained on good terms, and I kept cleaning his house for a while after that day.

Later on, when I was no longer working for him, Robert got married to a Russian woman who came for a visit from Ukraine. Her name was Nadya. One day I met Robert in the store and he told me he loved his married life. I believe that Robert and Nadya are still happily living together today in his house in Buffalo.

One day I learned that my dear friend Marvin quietly passed away during his sleep at night. It was very sad news for me—I lost someone who cared about me and made a difference in my life. Marvin will forever remain alive in my heart and memory.

I was cleaning people’s houses for quite a long time. That is how I survived the time when I was going to school, taking classes in college, and studying for two years to be an X-ray technician.