My mom ended up in the same seniors’ facility as her long-time friend Mr. Raymond Pierzchajlo – the man who gave us these primroses. An Auschwitz survivor, he is one of the most admirable men I know. As we sat drinking coffee in the atrium he told me of an incident that happened right after the war. He was boarding a train when he saw a woman caught between train cars. Risking his own life he pulled her out to safety. It turned out the woman was pregnant with her first child and her husband was a prominent Nazi. Out of immense gratitude the family asked Mr. Pierzchajlo to be the godfather and he consented. Every spring when these primroses bloom, so tiny and delicate, I think of the immense strength of kindness that he brought to this world.
