I cried as the Ukrainian orchestra played on in determination - just like Grandma Susie would have done

I rarely find myself weeping uncontrollably at 3pm on a weekday afternoon.

Hearing the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra took Joe Goldblatt right back into his family story - and stirred a renewed pride and determination. PIC: Contributed.

However, with all the sadness and troubles we have recently experienced as a global family, I suppose everyone has a trigger that releases their emotions. My trigger was my connection with and memory of my beloved grandmother.

As I watched the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra perform their national anthem on the BBC, I saw audience members and musicians with tears upon their cheeks. Soon, my memories turned to my Ukrainian grandmother and I too was soon weeping with sadness, regret and pride as I remembered that this had once been her ancestral home.

My sadness was the obvious result of what is happening now in Ukraine and the fragility of the world in general. My regret was not having had the opportunity to ask my grandmother about her experiences in Odessa, Russia (now Ukraine) and, as I dried my tears, I found pride in the confidence which these battered citizens of Ukraine raised their bows and played on, just as my own grandmother had persevered for 87 years.

The Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra played in Edinburgh last summer and celebrated the twinning between the Capital and Kyiv. PIC: EIF/Ryan Buchanan.

Grandma Goldblatt, who we also called Grandma Susie, was born Shifra Spector Goldblatt, in 1878 in what is now Kyiv, Ukraine and she soon married my grandfather, Henry D Goldblatt (Harry). She died in 1966 when I was 14 years old. My father collected me from school one afternoon and told me that she had died. It was the only time I ever saw him also weep uncontrollably.

After emigrating to America, Grandma Susie gave birth to eight children, one daughter and seven sons. To support their growing family, Harry and Susie moved to a small town in Texas where oil had been discovered. As a merchant and trader, Grandpa Harry drove a horse and wagon through the oil fields to sell essential supplies such as flour, sugar, pots and pans and other staples. Because of the sudden increase in population there was not enough housing for all families, so grandma and grandpa and their eight children slept in a tent for a year until accommodation became available. I never once heard my grandmother or her son - my father - complain.

Ukraine was missing the opportunity to ask her about her life before she came to America.

Grandma and grandpa lived with us throughout my entire childhood and she and I were especially close. We even shared a bedroom for the final three years of her life. We would often stay up late and into the wee hours of the morning playing the card game Canasta and because of her strong Yiddish accent, she often pronounced the name of the game as “nasty”.

Because of the extreme poverty Grandma Susie experienced throughout much of her young life, she was very careful with preserving her food. She always sipped her tea through a sugar cube placed under her upper lip. When she finished her tea she would remove the cube and place it in her saucer to be used for the next cup of tea.

One evening, my sister, father and I joined Grandma Susie for a fish supper in a favourite local restaurant. At the end of the meal, papa excused himself and went to the toilet. Grandma then quickly and secretly wrapped the left over fish in a napkin and hid it in her bosom.

As papa made his way back to the table she placed her index finger in front of her lips as if to say to my sister and I “this is our secret.” During the car ride home papa began to smell fish and asked us about this foul odour. Grandma simply shifted her eyes from side to side to silence us once again.

Therefore, due to my closeness to this remarkable woman, I believe I have a good idea of what grandma might tell me today if I asked her about Ukraine, past and present, so I struck up an imaginary conversation with her to find out.

Joe: Grandma Susie, what was life like for you in Odessa?

Susie: Life? You call that a life? We had very little. We were forced to leave by the Russians during the pogroms and we lost everything else.

Joe: Then it must have been a relief when you sailed to America and married Grandpa Harry?

Susie: It was indeed a relief and also a struggle. We did not speak English, we had a few relatives in Indiana who helped us, but it was very hard.

Joe: How did you manage to get along with others?

Susie: Unlike Odessa, the local people in America could be trusted and they even helped us from time to time. I was busy raising eight children so even if it had been difficult, I was focused on my home.

Joe: How do you feel about what is happening today?

Susie: The world has always had tyrants and this is the most recent one. I hope and pray this time that people all over the world will stand up and speak out without delay and say ‘enough!’

Although Grandma Susie is no longer sitting beside me in person, hearing the national anthem of Ukraine brought her strong personality and sweet spirit back to life for me for a brief, shining moment. Now, I must retain this memory of her indomitable spirit in order for me to grow stronger, as exemplified by the musicians upon the concert stage. Grandma Susie would expect no less.

In recent weeks, my wife and I have become friends with a young family of displaced persons from Ukraine who are staying on the cruise ship Victoria in Leith. They too are from Kyiv.

When we recently celebrated our friendship with ice cream and coffee I could feel grandma’s spirit sitting with us at the small table. I sensed her smiling at our new friendship and saying “you must help them find their way home”.

-Professor Joe Goldblatt is Emeritus Professor of Planned Events at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, Scotland. This article is an excerpt from his memoir entitled “The True Joy of Life”. To obtain a copy visit www.joegoldblatt.scot