"She hadn’t seen an orange in years"

June 14, 2012 8:55 PM

Our Man in Great Neck: 'In June 1982, my grandparents, Murray and Helene Cohen, traveled to the Soviet Union as part of a secret mission headed by the Great Neck chapter of the long island Committee for Soviet Jewry in order to pass information and contraband goods to Jews attempting to leave Russia.'
posted by the man of twists and turns (1 comment total)

It took me a while to get through the article and I am still not sure I followed everything, but having spent a lot of time on the north shore of Long Island, often in Great Neck, I can only imagine these two "spies". It is an easy comparison to my grandfather who used to live near there and who loved to in his words, "stir the pot and see what was on the bottom". These folks on their secret missions were just trying to help their fellow man in any way they could.

I wish I had taken the time to interview my grandparents like this person did. First person history is real important to understanding what is written in history books. I love reading these sorts of accounts.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 12:44 PM on June 15, 2012 [1 favorite]