Stories

A silver haired 91-year-old gentleman enters the conference room at the Los Angeles Jewish Home in Reseda. He walks, bit by bit with a cane, not because of an injury, but because age is creeping up on him. He acknowledges each person, his ice blue eyes devoid of emotion. The window to his soul hides a story. “I am not a hero....

There is no way you can miss him. You hear him first. He approaches the parking lot with a growing roar coming from a  pristine 1994 Harley Davidson Low Rider. He is not simply a motorcycle driver. He is a biker. With a fresh mohawk, a sleeve of tattoos, black jeans and boots, he walks around campus with an intimidating...

The story is all too frequent. Natasha Perez, Irma and their mother Yrma wanted to leave a country filled with political unrest, hoping to find serenity, the proverbial “gold paved streets” and the freedom of living the American Dream. Like many of these stories, that path to U.S. citizenship has been filled with trials and tribulations. Yrma is half-Italian and half-Venezuelan,...

It takes a moment to adjust to Rita Nisan’s heavy accent and soft spoken voice. As an adjunct professor of photography, students quickly learn to understand her, but they don’t really know her. That’s because she comes off as being shy and isn’t likely to discuss her personal work and accomplishments. In 1993, Nisan and her husband Shamuel Italiaie fled Iran,...

  Imagine yourself at a young age, enjoying life. You hear everyday things, from the Sunday morning cartoons to the melodic tunes coming from the radio during drives with your parents. Then a strange fever makes you weak and sick. You go to the doctor to get shots, hoping for a cure. It gets even worse. Soon, all you hear is...