Background info for “Lost Connections,” one of the stories in The History of Soul 2065.
THE STORY IN BRIEF
Marilyn Feldman, Chana’s granddaughter, takes a virtual journey back in time to see her parents as children.
HOW IT WAS WRITTEN
I started writing “Lost Connections” when I was recovering from my father’s death in May, 2001. I wrote it very quickly while still coming to grips with the impermanence of life, and musing on how so many things can set our lives on courses that do not meet our own expectations. It was accepted and published in a wonderful specfic / literary journal called Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet from Small Beer Press in June 2002. It has been tweaked somewhat to fit into the book’s family trees and timeline.
One note of interest: The book itself was originally called “Lost Connections,” but as the manuscript progressed, a change of title seemed called for.
NOTES ON THE PEOPLE
The two families in this story — that of Chana and Abe Hirsch, and Millie and Sam Feldman — were based very loosely on the families of my mother and father. I emphasize loosely because none of what’s told here is based on real events; all the dialogue, personalities, thoughts and actions were generated completely by my imagination.
NOTES ON THE PLACE
The story takes place in Brownsville, Brooklyn, in the late 1920s. When I wrote about the Hirsch apartment, I pictured my grandparents’ apartment as I remember it from when I was a child. The Feldman apartment is completely imagined.
NOTES ON THE HISTORY
There was a huge push to organize mine workers during the 1920s by the United Mine Workers of America and the more left-wing National Miners Union, a push that resulted in a good deal of resistance (to say the least) by mine owners and operators. In Kentucky, this eventually led to violent and deadly clashes between the mine workers and company men in Harlan County, Kentucky in 1931, although there were plenty of smaller clashes in the years leading up to it, as described by Abe. (I remember sitting in my grandparents’ apartment listening to an old recording of “Which Side Are You On,” a song about the Harlan County strikes.)
Want to read The History of Soul 2065? Here are some links:
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More links, and direct purchase of ebooks, can be found at Mythic Delirium.
BrooklynWriter 
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