Drawing to an inside straight: the legacy of an absent father

193 Pages·2006·1.23 MB·English

by  Jodi Varon

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
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to an nside traight
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     
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to an nside traight
t l
he egacy of
a f
an bsent ather
J o d i Va r o n
University ofMissouri Press Columbia and London
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Copyright © 2006 by
The Curators ofthe University ofMissouri
University ofMissouri Press,Columbia,Missouri 65201
Printed and bound in the United States ofAmerica
All rights reserved
5 4 3 2 1 10 09 08 07 06
Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Varon,Jodi,1953–
Drawing to an inside straight :the legacy ofan absent father / Jodi Varon.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
Summary:“Varon interweaves recollections ofgrowing up in Vietnam-era
Denver with stories ofher gambler father,son ofSephardic Jewish immi-
grants,and offers an introduction to Sephardic culture contrasted with
Ashkenazic culture,examines the forging ofidentity within the potentially
destructive American “melting pot,”and challenges stereotypes ofthe
American West”--Provided by publisher.
ISBN-13:978-0-8262-1646-5 (pbk.:alk.paper)
1. Varon,Jodi,1953– —Family.2. Varon,Jodi,1953– —Childhood and
youth.3. Jews—Colorado—Denver—Social life and customs.4. Sephardim—
Colorado—Social life and customs.5. Ashkenazim—Colorado—Social life
and customs. I.Title.
F785.J5V37 2006
978.8'83004924—dc22 2005036573
This paper meets the requirements ofthe
American National Standard for Permanence ofPaper
for Printed Library Materials,Z39.48,1984.
Designer:Jennifer Cropp
Typesetter:foleydesign
Printer and binder:Thomson-Shore,Inc.
Typeface:Minion
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For my family and for Tina
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Contents
Chapter One Bennie—Benji—Benjamin 1
Chapter Two The Tongue’s Delight 16
Chapter Three When Quizzac Was Cherry 28
Chapter Four Rubes in New York 35
Chapter Five In the Vale 47
Chapter Six The Second Ace 63
Chapter Seven Levitation 71
Chapter Eight Paellaand Yellow Cabs 86
Chapter Nine Ben–Anna Split 91
Chapter Ten Spinoza’s Trade 106
Chapter Eleven I’d Give My Life for a Drink of Raki 119
Chapter Twelve Doppelgangers,Daughters 133
Chapter Thirteen In Amsterdam 137
Chapter Fourteen Along the Route of the Caliphate 146
Chapter Fifteen The Man in the Porkpie Hat 155
Note on Sources 173
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Acknowledgments
Grateful acknowledgment is made to the editors ofthe Western Human-
ities Review, New Millennium Writing, and New Letters, in which parts
ofthis book first appeared,sometimes in different form.I’d also like to
thank Literary Arts of Oregon for the William Stafford Fellowship in
Nonfiction,New Millennium Writingfor its first-place award in nonfic-
tion,Eastern Oregon University for support through its Faculty Scholars
Program, and the Fishtrap Foundation for its awards through the
Imnaha Writer’s Fellowship Program,all ofwhich provided support and
allowed me to complete this work.
Special thanks go to my extended family,especially Beatrice Brodsky
(BB), and to my husband, David Axelrod, and sons, Joshua and Ezra
Axelrod.Deepest gratitude goes to the family of Tina Weeding and to
my mentors and friends,especially George Venn,Thomas Madden,Susan
Crowl,Daniel Keyes,Gladys Swan,William Kittridge,Henry Harrington,
Earl Ganz,Robert Stubblefield,Ben Mitchell,and Eden Kruger.