As I intimated earlier, my father was probably doing cartwheels, watchmaking style, when that invitation arrived. However, he took a circuitous path to France. Perhaps anticipating difficulties in crossing the border, because he did not have an actual job yet, and most likely not having enough money to show self-support, he first went to Belgium for a temporary visit. That was a strategic move because it wasn’t clear if France would have let him in, directly from Poland. I assume that coming from Belgium would have sent a better signal to the border authorities than from Poland.

I have no information about what happened immediately after he entered France. He must have found some lodging, and soon started working for Monsieur Eichenbaum. Not very long after, he had accumulated enough money to be able to send for his fiancée, Sonia, and they were married in 1927 in Mr. Eichenbaum’s home in Vincennes, a borough just to the east of the Paris city line and contiguous with it.

They found an apartment in Vincennes, probably because that was where Monsieur Eichenbaum’s workshop was, and it would have been less expensive than in Paris proper. Perhaps they also loved the proximity to the Bois de Vincennes a beautifully wooded park of 843 acres, with biking/hiking trails & lakes, plus a botanical garden & zoo. Perhaps they were already thinking about how their children would love it there.

Sure enough, my sister Alice was born in January 1928 and my brother, Simon (pronounced Seemon) followed soon thereafter, specifically December 25, 1929. I sometimes chuckle about my brother’s birthday being on December 25, the putative birthday of Jesus. But then again, there are probably thousands of people of all religions born on that day.

I came along about seven years later, born in a hospital in the 14th arrondissement. My brother tells me that my siblings played with me like a real live doll.