Lena Dunham Instagram – My grandfather Samuel Ira Simmons was the self-professed “funniest orthodontist who ever lived.” (Not that high a bar?) He loved prop humor, pranks and driving us all crazy by singing Old Man River and conducting the radio with a baton. When he was in his 70s and barely retired he even started going on auditions (he ended up in an MTV commercial.) And at the end of his life, with Alzheimer’s ravaging his mind and body, he still could never resist a joke- I once asked my grandma what her golf handicap was, and from his armchair he shouted “me!”
My grandma Dorothy (Dottie) and great grandma Mildred (Mimi) were elegant. I never saw them without lipstick. They loved belonging- to clubs, to bridge games, at department stores. As a kid, I resented that attitude. It felt basic, old fashioned and I saw how it constricted and hurt my mother and aunts, who raised their daughters differently.
It took me a long time to understand something so simple- that belonging is what you seek when you feel you don’t belong.
Both Sam and Dottie came from Eastern European Jewish families. Simmons is not our original last name. It’s been changed many times. They spent their lives belonging in order to avoid, belonging in order to forget. It wasn’t until my time on #FindingYourRoots that I understood their stories. They never told us- they only told us to dress and speak nicely, to make people laugh. A lot of that I hold so close, but not the part about hiding.
I wanted us at @goodthinggoingprods to make TREASURE because it made me feel them in the room again. I got to ask questions that I was too young to ask, feel feelings I’d never been allowed to feel. I love that art can bring people who are gone back to us, start conversations with people who aren’t even there. This one is for Sam, for Dorothy, for Mildred- and for my great great grandmother Regina, who got on a boat alone at fifteen- leaving behind 9 siblings she never saw again, most of whom were killed before they could leave Poland- and had a daughter who had a daughter who had a daughter whose daughter is me. I went back and visited for you. And I hope I’m using this one beautiful shot you gave me. Thank you. | Posted on 14/Jun/2024 17:56:43
