In his new book, Schlepping and Schmoozing, (volume 1 of two) Harrison takes us by the hand, along the 5 freeway from the US-Mexico border to Old Town, discovering in each exit a trace, a story, a memory of Jewish presence in San Diego which, we must recognize, is multifaceted and as old as the city itself.
In some cases, such as when he talks about the trolley line, his memories are based on his direct participation in the development of the company to his direct knowledge of characters who forever left their mark not only in San Diego but in the entire world.
Extreme examples are those of Aaron Aaronsohn who came from Rishon L’etzion (yes, the first Israeli agricultural colony) under the auspices of Baron De Rothschild to see what was being done in California and thus came to San Ysidro where he visited the “Little Land Colony”, which although it ended up failing in California, turned out to be a good breeding ground for the concept of the kibbutz and the Israeli moshav that were inspired by the ideas of the San Ysidro agricultural colony to develop their concepts of democracy, work of the land, etc. Right there, but on the other side of the freeway, at the Las Americas outlets, Harrison introduces us to the story of Herbert and Melville (der meshuguener) Simon because of how they dressed, but together they went from being developers of shopping centers to owners of sports teams.
All this in just the first freeway exit coming from Mexico and the book covers 18 exits!!
The content, very well researched by the author, is extremely interesting and the writing makes it fun, easy to access and memorable.
From the farthest corner of the United States in the extreme southwest, personalities, stories, inventions, companies, businesses, musicians, philosophers, environmentalists and all kinds of personalities arise that you would never expect to find in a “small town” like San Diego, which, in size and wealth pales before Los Angeles and San Francisco and that, in Harrison’s hands, grows in memory and importance.
If you have to read something this summer read Donald Harrison’s Schlepping and Schmoozing Volume 1, click here.
And if you don’t have to read anything, have fun, be entertained, distract yourself from the heat and enrich yourself with data, memories and knowledge with this book that we should all read and enjoy.