Welcome back to Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday, weekly Sunday hops where writers share 8–10 sentences from a book or WIP. The rules have now been relaxed to allow a few more sentences if merited, so long as they’re clearly indicated, to avoid the creative punctuation many of us have used to stay within the limit.
The book formerly known as The Very First released last week in e-book format. The print version, which has a different cover, will be ready for release by next Sunday.
It’s now the first Sabbath in Atlantic City for the family of Katharina Brandt, now called Katherine Small and nicknamed Sparky. At this time, August 1938, Atlantic City had a huge, vibrant Jewish community, nothing like its shrunken state today. But, as the Smalls are soon to discover, they don’t fit in with these second-generation Americans.
Though there were over a dozen synagogues in Atlantic City, there were relatively few Conservative ones. Most of the others were either Reform or Orthodox, frequently offshoots of the city’s two original synagogues representing those denominations. For their first service in Atlantic City, Mr. and Mrs. Small had chosen Beth Kehillah on 901 Pacific Avenue, a somewhat large building with several different types of bricks on the façade, stained glass windows, and two columns in front of the entryway.
“I hope no one thinks we’re rude for not coming last night,” Sparky said as the building came more sharply into view. “I don’t want anyone to think we’re the kind of people who only go to one Sabbath service instead of both.”
“We’ll go to both next week,” Mr. Small promised. “I doubt anyone will look badly upon us for wanting a quiet Friday night our first Sabbath in our new home. If America is anything like Germany and The Netherlands, you and your mother will also be among the few regular female attendees.”
Sparky held back from the large crowd milling about outside. There were a lot of young people among this crowd, all dressed like proper Americans.
The ten lines end here. A few more follow:
The adults also dressed in modern American fashions, and held themselves with such confidence. These weren’t people who needed to worry about impressing potential new friends, since they were already secure, established members of the community. They took their American status for granted.
Welcome to My Magick Theatre 
Congratulations on the ebook release! Enjoyed the snippet – I admire their attempt to become part of the new community.
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Congratulations on your release! I wonder how different they will find not only the people in this Jewish community itself, but also differences in worship in America compared with Germany and The Netherlands. I would think there would be major differences. Enjoyed the snippet!
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I like how your writing entertains and educates. things I’d never thought of, like the differences in congregations in the new world. It has never been easy for immigrants, has it? Even when they move to a place where they have perceived commonality with others.
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Sounds a bit intimidating to me. Though I guess going to a new place always is.
Congratulations on your release!
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Although you didn’t mention in this snippet how they’re dressed, I imagine that the family is distinctively different at a glance. That makes the transition even harder.
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Poor Sparky. My heart goes out to her and her family because I’m guessing their life in America won’t be as easy a transition as her parents might have thought.
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