A KRISTALLNACHT MIRACLE (1938-2017) Joanne D. Gilbert

I’ll never forget the evening of November 9, 2017, when I’d just barely managed to get to a garage sale before it closed. I needed a leaf blower that had been advertised. The sale was being held by a lovely elderly couple, Eleanor and Ben, whom I’d never met. I marveled at this beautiful husband and wife—both tall, thin, blue-eyed, and almost translucently pale. Dressed in matching khakis, with light blue cotton shirts neatly tucked in, they seemed to float around on their white deck shoes. Eleanor and Ben had just sold their home of 25 years, and were preparing to move into an assisted living facility. Eleanor confided that Ben had started developing memory issues a few years back, and she was no longer strong enough to take care of him. I could feel the vibrations of pain and almost see the…