Sunday Feb 17

After a rather monotonous
day spent the Evening at
home with some friends
(Bluestone, Blaustein & Julius)
at a little sociable game.

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Papa was hanging out that night with at least two important figures (Bluestone and Blaustein) from the early days of the Order Sons of Zion. I learned this when I called B'nai Zion's New York office a few months ago; I don't remember exactly how the conversation went, but I think one of the people I spoke to mentioned Bluestone and Blaustein without prompting, and the historical brochure they subsequently sent me devotes prominent space to them.

Since I'm not a practiced historian and I was just starting this project when I made that call, I didn't yet know what it was like to stumble on the the answer to a question I'd never considered, in this case "who were Bluestone and Blaustein?" At most, I'd made a mental note to ask my mother if she'd ever heard of them, but they certainly weren't on my mind or written down anywhere. So, it really rang my bell when they suddenly showed up in my research -- it was like I'd found $20 in the lint screen of the dryer or bumped into David Bowie at the deli.

I half expected the B'nai Zion people to thank me for some reason. They had, after all, devoted their lives to an organization founded by Bluestone and Blaustein. If they hadn't visited my grandfather that night, Bluestone might have gotten run over by a trolley, or Blaustein could have been falsely arrested for smuggling prohibition hooch. At the very least, my grandfather probably served them sandwiches. Doesn't B'nai Zion at least owe me lunch?

Anyhow, nowadays the buzz of sudden discovery is more familiar and routine, more along the lines of finding a parking spot in Chinatown as opposed to hitting the numbers. Still, every name on my Cry For Help list could give me that Bluestone/Blaustein feeling again, so there's nothing for me to do but chase the dragon.