Gifts from America: And Other Stories

By Hector Timourian

In Gifts From America, humorous vignettes of family members who are new to the United States are remembered. Many times, a simple narrative takes a life of its own, and as the story is retold it grows and changes. Simple events take new meaning as they are weaved into stories showing how memory and imagination reveal the nature of the people involved. Although these stories relate happenings about Armenian people who migrated to America, their humor, love, and compassion reveal the universal unanimity of our human nature.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Sep 24, 2003
• ISBN: 9781465332011

Hector Timourian

Hector Timourian was born in Mexico City and grew up having to learn and adapt to the different Mexican and Armenian languages and cultures. At the age of 14 he came to the United States and adapted to the American culture. He is a retired biomedical scientist and educator. He now lives in Northern California with his wife, artist and art teacher Dorothy Loizeaux.

Book preview

Copyright © 2003 by Hector Timourian.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any

form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording,

or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing

from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

20891

Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

PROLOGUE

UNCLE SARKIS AND AUNT HILDA’S COURTSHIP

GIFTS FROM AMERICA

RUBBING SHOULDERS WITH AN ANGEL

THEIR FIRST THANKSGIVING

PEDRA’S BAPTISM

AUNT HILDA’S SOUP

LADY LUCHIA

WATCHING TELEVISION

AMPLE SUGAR AND CREAM

DRIVING

BRAKE DRIVING

GLOBAL ARMENIANS

DINNER WITH UNCLE SARKIS AND AUNT HILDA

THE WEDDING OF PEDRA AND RICARDO

DON’T MESS WITH AUNT HILDA

DRINKING TURKISH COFFEE

VAPORS FROM A SOLID CURE

AUNT HILDA’S PRESENTS

THE VILLAGE OF NEZ

A NOTE ABOUT THE ARMENIANS IN TURKEY

To my mother

who first sparked my imagination

and introduced me to the art of storytelling

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I want to thank Nancy O’Connell and David Wright, instructors in whose writing classes these stories developed and took shape. These stories began as assignments in their writing classes. Their encouragement and support was essential as Uncle Sarkis and Aunt Hilda came to life. I am also grateful to the many students and friends whose insight helped me write. Special thanks to Camille Minichino, fellow scientist and writer, she always prodded me to expand beyond technical and scientific writing.

Many thanks also to my family members who read or listened to parts of these stories and who, after recognizing themselves, did not discourage the liberties I took.

With great pride I thank my wife, Dorothy who has always believed in me and has supported me in my many endeavors.

PROLOGUE

I grew up hearing family stories, and always wanted to write them so others could enjoy the gifts of life, humor, compassion and love that were part of my youth.

Uncle Sarkis and Aunt Hilda existed in my imagination long before I became aware of them. As my mother’s distant relatives, they typify Armenian families who left Turkey after the First World War in order to escape massacres and persecution. By the time I was born, their escape had been successful and they’d started a new life. Their experiences—although unique—have a commonality with those shared by many people who’ve emigrated to America in search of a new life.

When I was young and first heard these tales, I believed they happened exactly as reported. But as the same events were narrated by other family members—by my grandmother, uncles and aunts—I became aware of differences. Each version had its own twist, with some details left out and others embellished or exaggerated. And the more I heard any one account, the more difficult it became to know who had been involved and even to know how much of the story was true.

When I first noticed the different versions of a narrative, I believed they represented interpretations by different observers. But as I heard accounts of events where I had been present, I became aware that, while each anecdote reflected a kernel of truth, the storyteller would change it by enriching and exaggerating it. Each narrator created his or her own unfolding story line, sometimes making the original event almost unrecognizable

I discovered the power of storytelling. Small and insignificant events became engaging and remarkable once they were given words. Simple narratives grew and changed; they took on a life of their own. I felt the power—by watching the faces of people who were compelled to listen—as I chose words that made an impact.

In writing these stories, I am reporting more than just events. What happened and how the stories got started are important, but by revealing the emotions shared by those present, I want to show the fascinating nature of the people involved.

To tell my stories, I’ve created the characters of Uncle Sarkis and Aunt Hilda—two good Armenian names—and have made them the central characters of many narratives I’ve heard from my mother and her family. Other stories reflect my experiences as I grew up in this family. Uncle Sarkis and Aunt Hilda are representative of many middle class Armenians who left Turkey for a better life and the opportunity to pursue new dreams.

Their lives span from the early nineteen-twenties to the present. As remarkable as it may seem, I portray them in their late thirties and have them age very little during this period of time. Even more remarkable, in telling the stories as an observer, I’ve remained a child, never older than a pre-teenager. And this, of course, is on purpose. By looking at the world through a child’s eye, I have found the fountain of youth.

Through my senses, I became aware of the world around me. Through my family’s stories, I became aware of a world beyond my senses.

UNCLE SARKIS AND AUNT HILDA’S COURTSHIP

Uncle Sarkis and Aunt Hilda were born in Turkey of Armenian descent at the beginning of the Twentieth Century. At this time most marriages were arranged by the parents. Aunt Hilda’s marriage to Uncle Sarkis was no exception, but it was different in one respect: Uncle Sarkis was not the first choice of Hilda’s parents. Actually they had arranged for her to marry someone else, and how she happened to marry Uncle Sarkis instead of that someone else is a very interesting story. I never found out the name of the other man—let’s just call him Frank.

Hilda’s mother became very excited one day when her husband told her, At the tobacco shop, I had coffee with the rich rug merchant, you know, the one who has a very handsome son.

Was he interested in Hilda? Did you tell him that she would make a wonderful wife for his son?

Hilda was a very beautiful young woman, and her father and mother, had wanted her to marry into a rich family. Hilda’s parents