There were seven visits to the Los Angeles home of Mrs. Herzl, who loved to play the piano. She reminded me of my mother.
At the first party she told me about the Polish village she came from and how the Jews were carried away one day, but she remained hidden in a home where her parents left her.
On another visit I met her husband who was a rather eccentric character. He had many ties and caps on display but I never heard him say a word.
During each visit we had to park the car in a gravel parking lot near the Herzl home. While driving there I passed a street named Bernshtein Road. That’s my mother’s maiden name. Her parents, Shmuel and Grace, were born in Poland.
When I turned into the lot I almost hit an old classic Cadillac that was partially blocking the entrance. So I backed up and entered the lot on the side. However that side entrance was for pedestrians and I would’ve had to drive down the stairs. Suddenly Richard appeared and dragged the car through a narrow gate.
During this visit there were other guests who spoke about their villages in Poland. I don’t remember the names because they were long and unusual but one started with Piestle… and another was a seaport town in the north. Another village was in the SE corner of Poland near Ukraine. (I’ve had several dreams previously about the SE region of Poland.)
One day before arriving for another visit, I heard a melody and began to hum it. When I entered Mrs. Herzl’s, she was playing a similar melody on the piano, nostalgically sighing that she remembered this song from her childhood days hiding in Poland. I was so surprised and delighted! My friend Corry was there and we sang this song together in the key of C Minor.
On the final visit I entered what I thought was the Herzl home, yet discovered that the inside now had a black tar floor and was a football field where one player was in the midst of practice! Surprised, I ran to the next door and entered a huge football stadium with bright green turf. The game was about to start and it was so noisy inside that I quickly left. Upon entering another room, I saw Mr. Herzl who was dressed as a wolf. When I asked him why he was wearing a wolf costume, he replied that’s who he really is; the face everyone saw on him was just a mask. This made perfect sense. Then I heard that ancient Polish melody in C Minor but didn’t see Mrs. Herzl. Then I awoke, wondering what this dream could ever mean!