Printer Friendly

Email to A Friend

Friday April 20, 2007

Tawonga gets anonymous gift of remembrance

by stacey palevsky
staff writer

Flower stands adorn nearly every street corner in downtown San Francisco. They are simply part of the scenery.

But on April 16, a bouquet of white tulips took on greater significance.

“It’s one of those tiny but huge experiences you just want to share,” said Ken Kramarz, former director of Camp Tawonga.

Kramarz, who now conducts leadership trainings for numerous Bay Area agencies, happened to be in Tawonga’s Steuart Street offices that day when a woman walked in holding a bouquet of flowers.

“We’re looking at her, like, ‘Hello, can we help you?’” he recalled.

The woman, who refused to give her name, began to cry. Rather than explain herself, she simply gave Kramarz the flowers and left.

There was a note, which read:

“I read in the paper that today was a day of remembrance for those who suffered and died during the Holocaust. I was born in 1940, and had no direct connection of any sort with anyone involved in any way. Perhaps the horrors began to sink in here in the USA, around 1945-47, when I would have been a little girl. It continues to distress me so deeply that human beings can be that horrible. All my nightmares and fears connect directly to the Holocaust.

“So these flowers are to express grief, pain, tenderness, and humanity for all those who have suffered through such unspeakable horrors. I have tried to live my life in an opposite way, being kind and supportive and accepting to the best of my ability, looking for the spark of life and hope and beauty everywhere.

“Peace be with you.”

Signed: “A well wisher.”

The entire office was stunned, Kramarz said. “Sometimes we think we’re alone in the world, because we’re a small minority of people.

“But we’re not [alone],” he continued. “This is a nice reminder that we’re not.”

Did you find this article interesting? Subscribe to our FREE newsletter and you'll be notified each week when "J." goes online. We'll tell you about the most important stories of the week and give you a link to each one.

This page contains a BETA version of Amazon contextual links. They are marked by the dashed underline.  Your purchases support our site. At times they point to items which are not related to the actual link. Please alert us by email if you discover objectionable links.