15.25 Individual Reactions to Eddie's Marriage

Slim Novel 15 - http://adventuresofkimi.blogspot.com - See Homepage

25. What Each Person Thought

Eddie first told his mentor.
   Professor Edwardes responds: "Edward, you must read War and Peace and Prince Andrei's complaint on marriage?" he pauses to think. "But Andrei never met, Nina. You are making a good choice, my boy.  We only have one life for the wife and Nina is rare and perfect, I applaud you for grabbing her off the shelf before she flies off."

Eddie's mother exclaims "A shiksa!" after Eddie shows Nina's photo. Then after thinking a minute, "But at least not a shvartza!" His father sitting by on the sofa at home says "Good looking!  And smart too, from the eyes."

When Eddie tells Dr Stan and Brenda at their flat, sitting across from them, and shows off the photo, Brenda almost shouts with a laugh, "Jeeper's, those eyes!  Wow!  Don't let her go Eddie." And Stan who has psychoanalyzed Nina says "A brilliant wife type, you will never regret proposing in place of propositioning."
   Joe Pro in another chair there exclaims "I wanna paint her. What eyes!"
   Sister Barbara also present says "She looks the trrue faith, begorrah." And actually Nina was born and baptized Roman Catholic.

It is decided they will marry in a home ceremony hosted by Eddie's parents after the June graduation from medical school.

Graduation
June 4, 1960 is Sunday and Graduation Day for the 2nd graduating class of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Eddie's father & mother and Nina stand proudly with Eddie, who is in black gown and square cap. Nina is in a white lace-hem dress with wide brim straw hat, his mother in a black dress and father in a conservative brown suit. The four stand by the outdoors rows of bleacher seats where the friends, fiancees and family will view the graduates standing in 4 long rows for the ceremony granting of the M.D. degree. Eddie is happy to see Nina and his parents get along well. He thinks, what he always thinks on first seeing her, She is so neat.
   Other parents and graduates mill around. No food or drink is being served ahead of the ceremony. Danny and his parents approach. It is Eddie's first meeting. Danny's dad is a hotshot stockbroker with long black mustache and $200 suit; his mother, an aging Greta Garbo. They exchange niceties and are interrupted by the announcement to go to seats. Eddie and Danny as usual in alphabetic order Steinowitz and Stern stand next to each other in mid back row.

Minutes later the graduates are assembled and guests seated in the stands. Between the two by a microphone at table are the Dean of the University and the President of Yeshiva in black gowns and yarmelka caps.  Also the invited special guest for the ceremony, the Nobel Prize winning Linus Pauling, his bald pate not covered. As Pauling gets up to speak, Danny out of side of mouth says, "He looks like a schizophrenic" and Eddie thinks Danny as usual, always a wise guy.

After the speech, degrees are handed out one at a time, each student striding to receive the scroll degree from the dean and to get hand shakes from the president and from Linus Pauling.  Thus Eddie becomes an M.D.  For next, click 15.(26-29) A Wedding in June