Interview a Centenarian

Wednesday morning I went to the center to meet Mr. Anfang and to my surprise it was filled with the elderly who were still living, rather than dying. Every room I looked into was filled with excitement, chatter and laughter.  Entering into the large room I asked for Mr. Anfang, I was directed to a corner table, and there sat a diminutive man with white hair and a quick smile wearing round tortoise shell glasses, waiting for his bridge game to begin.  I introduced myself and asked if I could have a few minutes of his time to interview him for my class assignment.  With great pleasure he smiled and said, “Of course but how about you meet me after my game for lunch,” turning to his friend Murphy to get the okay. Murphy agreed and Anfang turned back to me smiling and said “I usually drive myself but today I’m with him.”

As we began, he asked me what I wanted to know and I told him that I want to know Mr. Sam Anfang. “I was born December 31, 1910 in Poland [making sure I made no mistake] he spells it P.O.L.A.N.D. My dad went to the USA in 1913 for work; I remember at age of 4, when the Soviets invaded.’  He paused…closing his eyes as he recalled the event. “I could hear the bombs in the distance and the gunfire as they neared our house.  I saw my mom dig a hole in the back yard to hide the candles being of Jewish faith these were sacred.” Shaking his head, he says “you wouldn’t know about that, but that was my first introduction to the world”. Yes, Mr. Anfang I do know…the Shabbat (to remember and observe; to remember the significance of Shabbat, both as a commemoration of creation and as a commemoration of the freedom from slavery in Egypt) and your personal introduction to prejudice.  As an African American born and raised in the south, I too remember my introduction to the world. Anfang continues, “I remember them loading us into trains like cattle [there were so many people], taking us to Prague Czechoslovakia. You know a lot happened there and as good as my memory is I have no recollection of what happened, probably my minds way of dealing with it. We were there for 4 years and  we returned to Poland. All the houses in our neighborhood were boarded up or burned down, but our house was still there, being occupied by what seemed liked hundreds of people. I remember mom going into the backyard looking for the candles, yes, they were gone. My 4 sisters and I went to a school which was run by the Catholic Church. The priest called me up to the front of the class and whacked each of my hands four times – they did that to all the Jewish kids, we never went back.”

“My father was a tailor in Manhattan (Harlem) New York, in 1919 he sent for my family and me. At the age of 9, I found myself in what I now know as the principal’s office, they had no idea what to do with me, I had one day of school and didn’t speak a word of English. Well, I learned and I graduated along with my class. I loved school and wanted to continue but I had to go to work. At 13, I got a job with Harry Rothman a “jobber” one who buys goods from a manufacturer and sells to small stores across the country. Making $12.00 a week, I was very frugal with my money spending $2 a week for carfare and food and putting quite a bit of the rest in the bank. I was a pretty good salesman, at the age of 23 I had my own store on 5^th Avenue; a men’s clothing store Gentree (spelling it out for me G.E.N.T.R. double E).”

Anfang said he met his wife, Silvia, (spelling it out) in 1939 and married her six months later, they have one son. She passed away six years ago at the tender age of 85, he recalled. As a matter of fact, his mother and sisters lived until their 90’s, his dad passed away at 65. I said “means good genes huh?” he said, “might be but, I keep myself active. I play bridge four times a week and golf twice a week.” Beaming he said, “you know they put up a bronze plaque on the first tee at Sterling Farms Golf course with my name on it?”  Looking to his friend for reassurance saying “I didn’t lie about anything did I Murph?” Murphy said “not yet, just wait til he gets to his sex life.” Anfang said today he has three loves, “golf, bridge and women” two of which he engages in and one of which he talks about a lot!

As I was asking the typical questions regarding getting your first TV, car, the Depression and President Roosevelt (which he remembers all of them well) I started thinking about research that says as we get older our short term memory fades and the long term memory enhances. At that moment, Anfang said “you know I like Clinton, he was President of the world – loved by everyone everywhere and President Obama, I like him because he wants to do good by the people, he will get elected again you know and his wife, Michelle that’s one beautiful intelligent woman.” As if he could read my mind, he added some current news to prove he wasn’t stuck in the past mentally. Also, interestingly, the things that were important to Anfang he wanted to make sure I got it right so he would spell it out. Through talking with Mr, Anfang who has grab a hold of what we call the “bonus years” I now have a greater appreciation for the elderly. It's not just how long you live, but how well. And, seeing a 100-year-young man accomplish this has opened my mind. It reminds me of the story of the dash, the dash represent the time you spent living…

by Linda Ellis

I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning to the end

He noted that first came the date of her birth
And spoke the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years

For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not how much we own;
The cars, the house, the cash,
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard.
Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left,
That can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
To consider what’s true and real
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger,
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we’ve never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect,
And more often wear a smile
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy is being read
With your life’s actions to rehash
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?