Solly Rabinowitz was not a particularly nice person. Wait. That’s not quite accurate. He was not a nice person … period. Full stop. Not a nice person at all. Nor was he a good person. Not at all. Solly had no redeeming qualities. At least none that were apparent. None. He refused to help his parents when they needed help. He refused to help his sister or even acknowledge her. It never actually occurred to Solly that they ever needed help. To Solly, it was always just about himself. Always.
His sister Aida refused to acknowledge that he was her brother. Rightly so. Her friends thought that he was simply a boarder who lived in her home. Why wouldn’t they? After all, that’s what she had told them. How pleased was his family when he became known as “Lucky Solly”? Extremely pleased. It meant that the Rabinowitz family name, would no longer be associated with him. While they were pleased, they were also somewhat sad. He was their son and brother and they did care for him. More than they acknowledged. Even to themselves. Whatever else might be said about Solly, and there wasn’t much, he didn’t play favourites. He also refused to help friends. It should then be of no surprise that he wound up without any.
While there is no doubt that Solly was not a good person, his story needs to be told. It needs to be told so readers can learn of the significant benefits one can derive from family and friends.
Little is known about Solly’s childhood other than it is fairly certain he had one. He attended, although very sporadically, Fairmount primary school. However from a young age he preferred to spend his days reading comic books in the storeroom at the back of his father’s “variety” store. He loved being amidst the crates of soft drinks, Peers and Kik Cola, -some full- most just empties and cartons of cigars and cigarettes. There was all kinds of stuff. Never too much as keeping a large inventory was expensive. He seldom ventured to the front of the store as that might mean that he would be asked to help out. Not something he was interested in. Ever. Solitude was Solly’s nourishment.
Solly and his family lived above the store in a cold water flat. One that was cold in winter and hot in summer, but it was home.
Solly officially dropped out of school at 17, when his father Abe died and he began to run the “variety” store. It was really a “soda” shop, but Abe had felt that “variety “ had more cachet. Not that he knew what the word meant. Solly wasted no time changing the sign above the store entrance to “ Solly’s Soda Store”.
Life now became more difficult for his mother and his sister. Very difficult. They no longer had any income as Solly felt since he was doing the work, he deserved it all. It never occurred to him to share it. After all, he was occasionally supplying food for their meals, wasn’t that enough? Family members tried to reason with him. Didn’t help. Tension in the house got so bad his mother and sister moved to his uncle’s house where they would have regular meals. This wasn’t a problem for Solly. As far as he was concerned they didn’t exist and best of all now he had the flat all to himself. How uncaring was he? When his mother, Sophie, moved out, Solly stopped leaving milk in the back lane for the feral cats that gathered there each morning. Something she had done for many years. That’s how unfeeling he was. There are other examples, but best I get on with the story. Suffice to say he neither needed nor wanted anyone in his life. He was alone and that was exactly how he wanted it. You may think that Solly was cruel and insensitive. Incapable of caring with no concern for others. Read on.
