Alan and Ralph Bartel.
I formally retired from my Cardiology group after 45 years of practice in July 2018. Fortunate to be able to ease into retirement by ending night and weekend call after 35 years (which is obviously quite demanding and stressful), for the last several years, my practice was limited to two days per week in the office—with no hospital or invasive Cardiology commitments.
This allowed time for family activities, continuing with my passion for music and flute playing and physical activity. Plus, I now had time to enshrine my father’s hobby and pastime of writing stories. He started writing during his retirement years at age 62, and continued writing into his 90s. I saved his carefully typewritten stories and decided to publish them in a book, to hopefully preserve them for my family. Hal Sacks, of blessed memory, who recorded his fascinating Navy experiences and writings for the Jewish News in two books, encouraged me.
Mom and Dad wrote more than 100 stories, so I needed some central theme for the book. Immigration and assimilation is such a pertinent and poignant topic; thus I chose related stories for the book. Dad had such a good way with words and a “folksy” style. Since I did not want to alter that aspect of his writing, my main job was editing his stories, including his slang and Yiddish expressions. His incredible memory for details and clear descriptions of his past environments, as well as his great sense of humor, made this a fun task. My son and two nephews were very helpful and supportive and made my work much easier. The book, Family, Faith and Love: Beyond Immigration, is available on Amazon Books. I hope you like it!!!
https://www.amazon.com/Family-Faith-Love-Beyond-Immigration/dp/1732310513
Editor’s note: A book review of Family, Faith and Love: Beyond Immigration is slated for an upcoming edition of Jewish News.