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A review by wanderingmole
Nobody Will Tell You This But Me: A True (as Told to Me) Story by Bess Kalb
5.0
A great read. A funny and tender impression/ retelling of a life in a chain of wild and resilient lives.
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“Bessie, if you try on a dress and you don't immediately want to parade outside the dressing room and show it off to everyone in the store, take it off and forget it ever existed.”
“Bessie, if you ever finally find a lipstick that actually, certifiably looks good on you, buy twenty of them. If it gets discontinued-and it always does-you'll never forgive yourself. Ever. Don't say I didn't warn you.”
‘There's only one other building that makes him more proud: his tree house. It was 1965 and the whole country was panicked about the possibility of a nuclear missile. Our neighbor in Ardsley dug an enormous hole in his backyard and poured in a concrete shell. He brought in pallets of canned soup and an oxygen tank and sleeping bags. A fallout shelter. It fright: ened me. I asked your grandfather, "Hank, should we build a bunker?" He said, “I’ll do you one better." That weekend, he brought in lumber and a cherry picker, and he built an enormous tree house in the elm tree right on our property line with the doomsday neighbor. When it was done on Sunday night, he brought me up the ladder. There was a table and chairs, a white tablecloth, and a bottle of champagne and two crystal glasses. "Bobby, when the bomb hits, here's where I want to be. Up in the sky with you”’
“No matter what happens, keep walking. My zayde always said that if the earth is cracking behind you right up to your heels, you put one foot in front of the other. You keep going. Nothing's as important as moving forward.”
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“Bessie, if you try on a dress and you don't immediately want to parade outside the dressing room and show it off to everyone in the store, take it off and forget it ever existed.”
“Bessie, if you ever finally find a lipstick that actually, certifiably looks good on you, buy twenty of them. If it gets discontinued-and it always does-you'll never forgive yourself. Ever. Don't say I didn't warn you.”
‘There's only one other building that makes him more proud: his tree house. It was 1965 and the whole country was panicked about the possibility of a nuclear missile. Our neighbor in Ardsley dug an enormous hole in his backyard and poured in a concrete shell. He brought in pallets of canned soup and an oxygen tank and sleeping bags. A fallout shelter. It fright: ened me. I asked your grandfather, "Hank, should we build a bunker?" He said, “I’ll do you one better." That weekend, he brought in lumber and a cherry picker, and he built an enormous tree house in the elm tree right on our property line with the doomsday neighbor. When it was done on Sunday night, he brought me up the ladder. There was a table and chairs, a white tablecloth, and a bottle of champagne and two crystal glasses. "Bobby, when the bomb hits, here's where I want to be. Up in the sky with you”’
“No matter what happens, keep walking. My zayde always said that if the earth is cracking behind you right up to your heels, you put one foot in front of the other. You keep going. Nothing's as important as moving forward.”