![]() ![]() ![]() When I was growing up, all our family friends were from the same region in Ukraine, with grandparents who had fled from Stalin only to be captured by Nazis, and though we were not all related by blood, we formed a new kind of extended family in America. They cooked for me, took care of me when I was sick, played games with me, worked in the garden with me, told me stories, and sang me songs. They were sweet, playful, affectionate, nurturing, helpful, and exceedingly generous. I remember them as a source of endless love. I was born in 1975, when my grandparents were still working in the factories of Detroit. I am no expert on Ukraine, but I am an expert on my Ukrainian grandparents, Gregory and Eva Smolij, the most influential people in my life.
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