Lest It Be Forgotten After I Am Gone: The Arrival of Manhood - 1
In this section of Raymon Benedyk's entertaining life story, which here spans the years 1946 to 1956, he says his farewells to family and friends and sails off to New York.
The war was over and I was now once more in a steady routine of working for my father, with a little social life, and nothing more. At 20 years of age I was feeling somewhat constrained, and I wanted to see what was around the corner, so to speak. When, early in 1947, we learned that a brother of my father who lived in New York, who had not seen the rest of his European family for about 40 years was going to visit London, I decided that this would be a good opportunity for me to arrange to travel the world myself via America with the help of this uncle, and eventually to Australia and South Africa before coming home. I did not care if it took years. I was in no hurry. I would begin to make my plans and quietly prepare.
In the meantime my life carried on. I had a group of male and female friends who lived on the other side of London, whom I saw most week-ends and, more often than not, staying with them overnight, mostly playing cards and, if the need arose, getting some sleep by dozing off in an armchair. Petrol was still rationed and travel by car was not easy, so an overnight stay saved a little of it. We went out as a group and there was not much in the way of pairing up, or so it seemed to me. I was introduced to the theatre, concerts, ballet and opera and I was fascinated by it. I have ever since been grateful for this form of education which I did not realise I had been missing.
In the Spring of 1947 the American uncle arrived with his wife, and there was much jollification in the family with my father and mother, and with my father's two brothers who had lived in England since before the First World War and their families, who also had not seen this brother for some 40 years. This was my first real encounter with an American, the land of the cowboy, the skyscraper and Hollywood. When I told him that I wanted to go to America and required him to sponsor me, an American legal requirement at the time to ensure that I would not become dependent on the state, he readily agreed to take on that liability. And so I began to prepare. I booked my passage on an ex-troop ship costing just £28, arranged the £100 maximum currency transfer out of the country permitted at the time and, on 20th September 1947, I left England after saying my farewells to all my family and friends.
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To read earlier episodes of Raymon's story please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/lest_it_be_forgotten_after_i_am_gone/
