Charlene Von Sayer

Yes, my name is Charlene Von Saer, and I was born in the UK and currently live in Connecticut in the US.

My family came over to the US on the QE2.

My sister, my parents, and two dogs, and the car, all on the QE2.

I know my parents were happy and ready to start life in the U.S.

And we have been in Greenwich, Connecticut, since 1975.

So when we joined the skating club, it was kind of a big deal for everyone to see my mom skate around.

And then, you know, my sister and I took lessons there, and I continued because I liked it.

Apparently, my first language was German.

But when my sister and I entered school in the U.S., we didn't understand anything because we were speaking German.

And my mom said, no more German in the house, only English.

I loved my grandmother, Daisy, very much.

My sister and I visited her in the summers often.

Her mother was a very famous soprano in Vienna.

And Daisy grew up in Vienna amongst a very affluent inner circle.

People like

Freud, Klimt.

Klimt, in fact, drew a portrait of her and I think she learned her first, you know, brushstroke from him.

Yeah, they were socializing among a very elite class.

She was extremely generous, gracious, nurturing, loving, warm and cozy.

You know, she was that sort of warm and fuzzy grandmother, but a little bit fancier.