My mother’s first name was Selma, so whenever I see ads for the current movie called Selma, I think it’s about her.
In the days following 9/11, there was video footage of Palestinian crowds raucously celebrating the terrorist attacks on the twin towers. This footage was broadcast everywhere, around the clock. In this clip you can see a woman wearing a scarf and large-framed eyeglasses – Tootsie glasses. My mother was convinced that this woman looked exactly like her, and that people would think she’d somehow joined Al Qaeda. She was right, at least about the resemblance – if that Palestinian woman had been carrying a PBS totebag and wearing Mexican jewelry, they could’ve been sisters.
Here’s a photo of my Mom and me.
My mother died a few years back, and when annoying phone solicitors, raising money for not-the-most-worthy causes, still call and ask to speak to Mrs. Rudnick, I take a secret pleasure in announcing, “Mrs. Rudnick passed away”, because it always makes the solicitors feel guilty and apologize.
A journalist once asked my mother, “So where do you think your son gets his creative spark from?” She replied, “I’m not sure, but he reads a lot of magazines.” I can’t say she was wrong.
