An excellent choice. I added Seraphic Secret to my list of blogs to read when you first suggested it, but missed this post on LB Mayer and more importantly the absence of a birth date.

I remember my paternal grandfather’s (my Zaza) story about exiting Poland/Russia (because boundaries were constantly changing). At some point, they wanted to draft him after he applied for a visa to leave. He was promptly put in a prison and after some time escaped (too long of a story for here). I am also missing many details, but he eventually came to America via Argentina and entered on an Argentinian passport, with his new passport, new last name, new birth date, since there were limits placed onto how many Jews would be allowed into the USA from the Eastern Bloc.

My grandfather’s story is one of many … but they all have a similar tag line -

Beyond the Pale.