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It is one of the best gifts my mother has ever given me. She spent the winter piecing it together and now I hold in my hands a bound and translated copy of the letters her own mother wrote to her from a Salzburg refugee settlement in the late 1940′s. From Hungarian to English, these letters unfold the tale of a family coping in a postwar world and they were sent on their way across the Atlantic sealed with love and hope for an eldest daughter’s success. Woven in among the family news were requests for my mother to send back goods that were otherwise impossible to obtain in the difficult living conditions amid Europe’s rubble.

It is about a half inch thick sheaf of bound pages and quite possibly, one of the best gifts my mother could ever give me. Translated from Hungarian to English, it is a collection of her own mother’s letters written to her and mailed from a refugee settlement in Salzburg in the late 1940′s. They are stories of family life under difficult circumstances, infused with hope and longing for an eldest daughter who had found a new life across the Atlantic. And intertwined with love and familial accounts, there were continual requests for basic goods that were unattainable in the ruins of Europe.

It is one of the best gifts my mother has ever given me. She spent the winter piecing it together and now I hold in my hands a bound and translated copy of the letters her own mother wrote to her from a Salzburg refugee settlement in the late 1940′s. From Hungarian to English, these letters unfold the tale of a family coping in a postwar world and they were sent on their way across the Atlantic sealed with love and hope for an eldest daughter’s success. Woven in among the family news were requests for my mother to send back goods that were otherwise impossible to obtain in the difficult living conditions amid Europe’s rubble.

Among the timeless teachings in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, he stated that a city set on a hill cannot be hidden. A culture’s guiding principles are readily open to view, with some facets more easily interpreted than others. In a modern time twist on these words, images come to mind of the mini cities that have sprung up on the growing refuse heaps in places like Calcutta and Mexico City. Wealthier citizens have the option of living in walled compounds or districts that shut out this view. But the truth of it is that if most major cities did a little digging, it would not be long before garbage from the past would be unearthed.

If your garage is like ours, it’s overstuffed with things that could be put to better use elsewhere; decent coffee tables and recliners, toaster ovens, birdhouses and even (yikes!) a couple of packs partially used adult diapers. Memorial Day is a traditional time for garage sales all across the United States and it fits perfectly with the idea of Spring Cleaning, too. I myself am a little reluctant to put the adult diapers out in our front yard, but Memorial Day is also the perfect time to call a local charity; a donation of adult diapers can be a good boost to both giver and receiver.