Page 275 - The Legacy of Abraham Rothstein - text

Reminiscences

could have everything he left behind. I have no idea what happened
to any of those things. My friend was young, and probably sold
anything of value. Abe had told my mother that he didn’t me to have
a lot of stuff, and that’s the main reason I didn’t get anything. But I
fussed and fussed, and finally he let me keep one coconut head, just
“as an example.” He didn’t think they were that important. I took
what I considered to be the best one. I think at some point his source
of coconuts with large husks dried up, and he couldn’t get any more
to work on.
I’d stop by his place on Orange Street to see him, and see Ben,
too. I’d take him shopping, and sometimes he’d make me dinner—
boiled potatoes. During the day he acted as Ben’s manager of the
apartments, and he would also be carving and writing letters. He
would have me photograph his carvings; in fact, ever since we lived
on 48th Street he would bring them over for me to photograph.
When the Moon went out, he bought a 1947 Oldsmobile; I don’t
know how old it was at that time. When I came out of the army, he
taught me how to drive and helped me buy a car—I think I paid forty
or fifty dollars for it, a 1941 Buick Dynaflow. After that car threw a
rod, I needed to get out to Barham Boulevard on a job, and I asked
him if I could use his car—I could drive it because I had learned to
drive on it. His car threw a rod on the freeway. I didn’t know it at the
time, but he hadn’t changed the oil in seven years. He had been
driving it only short distances at low speeds, and that old paraffin-
based oil gummed up on the freeway. But he could lift the battery out
of that car; he was strong, even just a few years before he died. He
had big, strong hands; I’ve noticed that about a lot of little guys who
are strong.
I think his kidneys did him in. I have the last picture of him; I
took it over at my mother’s house on Ridgeley. He used to drink
lemonade with sugar, which I’ve read is hard on the kidneys. He
spent a lot of time out in the sun, and didn’t drink enough water.

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