Naftali Skrobek, my dear 90 years young, former Résistant, who grew up in the Marais when it was a shtetl hadn't answered my emails. He and Lidia, above, help me explore Paris, the hidden corners, the places from their childhoods.
Several years ago Naftali drove me here on the quai at midnight so I could murder a character properly on the embankment. Get the sounds, the smells, and the textures correct on the page. He's taken me to a hiding place around the corner from Shakespeare & Co. bookstore where he hid during Libération. Someday that place will go in a book.
Here is the photo of his father, a dissident journalist who'd escaped Poland to work and write against fascism in Paris. He was denounced and beheaded in the Natzwiler-Struthof camp in 1943 which Naftali had gone to commemerate every year until his health wouldn't permit.
I tried WhatsApp and everything to reach him worried...that something had happened to him, that he'd gotten ill. Finally my friend reached him. He and Lidia are safe but not getting enough to eat. Naftali gets meals on wheels but Lidia is from outside Paris and not registered....I want to tear my hair out....why can't someone work around the restrictions and get a 90 year old woman meals.
But they're SAFE!
Cara - Tuesday - next week it will be bsp on pub day for my new book THREE HOURS IN PARIS
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I think it's such unchartered territory for everybody. I'm sure folk are being missed because they are not online or because neighbours think that somebody else is doing it. However, I live in hope of a bigger community after this. Hope your friends keep well.
ReplyDeleteNovel mysteries as you all produce are fun. Real life mysteries such as the fate of your dear friend are horror stories. So glad that twosome is okay. Thanks for sharing ~ Jackie
ReplyDeleteCara, I am so glad they are okay. It's so important that people check on each other. Imagine this current situation without all the ways we have to be in contact with others. I would be bereft. Stay safe. Stay strong.
ReplyDeleteIn these days like none other, it's becoming more apparent each day that individuals are falling victim to far more than just the virus. So happy your friends are safe, now you stay safe! And bravo on the release of Three Hours in Paris.
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