Description
Book Synopsis'Unlocking Cousin Daisy's Cabinet' is a riveting, beautifully written and highly engaging compendium of a life well-lived and told in intensely personal yet also widely accessible recollections. It details and highlights the experiences, challenges, and adventures that the author has lived and his grapples with fate and destiny using his determination and all his energies. From a working-class, immigrant neighborhood in New York to witnessing the 'Cold War' Soviet Union, this thought-provoking memoir covers many timely topics. It reveals regional life in the U.S.A., work, politics, prejudice, religion, family dynamics, education, world travel and culture. It also recounts the consequences of the untimely murder of a friend. At times provocative, frequently amusing, it is an authentic portrayal of life's experiences.
Table of ContentsIntroduction 9 Chapter 1 - Unlocking Cousin Daisy’s cabinet 11 Chapter 2 - Unprecedented times 16 Chapter 3 - The greatest show on earth 24 Chapter 4 - My mantra-motto 36 Chapter 5 - ‘The Big Apple’ to ‘The Big Easy’ 40 Chapter 6 - Mangia! Mangia! EAT! 58 Chapter 7 - That amazing ‘Ah Ha’ moment 75 Chapter 8 - Steinway 81 Chapter 9 - Being a refugee 85 Chapter 10 - The world at my doorstep 104 Chapter 11 - North/South/East/West 121 Chapter 12 - Roots 207 Chapter 13 - The dawn of Aquarius, aka The Internet 226 Chapter 14 - Not just any tomb - Lenin’s tomb 235 Chapter 15 - Summer Daze 292 Chapter 16 - Annus Horribilis… more than one 309 Chapter 17 - What I did for love 338 Chapter 18 - Ollie 345 Chapter 19 - Pig’s feet, frog legs and oysters 366 Chapter 20 - Planes, trains, and automobiles 370 Chapter 21 - A potpourri of attachments 419 Chapter 22 - Finding America 431 Chapter 23 - The Immigrant experience 436 Chapter 24 - The kids down the block 445 Chapter 25 - Being Enlightened 453 Chapter 26 - Out to sea 468 Chapter 27 - Barbara 481 Chapter 28 - My life at Tulane 491 Chapter 29 - Work! 502 Chapter 30 - Paradise found 542 Chapter 31 - Our built environment 545 Chapter 32 - Community 548 Conclusion 553 Acknowledgements 555
