How many stories died with our grandparents because we didn’t ask in time?

In this Bro History segment, we get personal: a 1950s interfaith marriage (Methodist → Catholic conversion), Irish/Polish/Ukrainian roots, Puerto Rican and Palestinian family lines, language barriers, Alzheimer’s, and the regrets that come with unanswered questions.

We talk about identity across faiths and borders, what we’d ask our grandparents today—from the Naqba to Cold War escapes—and why you should call yours now.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – 1950s taboo? Henry’s Catholic–Methodist grandparents & a conversion

01:05 – NYC then vs now: Irish UWS, German Upper East Side

02:00 – How they met: Army base in Lawton, OK → marriage → NYC

03:00 – “Did her parents care?” Interfaith in practice, not theory

03:50 – The regret: we waited too long to ask real questions

05:00 – Danny’s side: tracing lineage envy, Ellis Island vs no records

06:00 – Puerto Rican roots, indigenous/Afro-Caribbean threads, losing language

08:00 – Palestinian father’s side, displacement, Jordan, U.S. arrival

10:00 – Only-in-America pairing: Catholic Puerto Rican x Muslim Palestinian

11:00 – Naming, faith, and why the relationship didn’t survive

13:30 – Interfaith realities: Christian–Jewish common, Christian–Muslim rare

15:00 – Stakes of belief vs secular mixes; community & raising kids

17:00 – Growing up Catholic as a community center vs diverse church worlds

19:00 – What we’d ask: prejudice, context, and uncomfortable truths

22:00 – Henry’s European grandfather: expelled from Kyiv, smuggled out by servants

26:00 – Bike-racing champion, Poland to America pre-WWII

29:00 – Don Manolo: the Cuban refugee who slapped Castro’s brother (wild story)

31:30 – Call your grandparents. Seriously. Before memory fades.

33:00 – Boomers aren’t just “ok boomer”: moon landings, Vietnam, and real grind

📺 This is a segment from a longer Bro History recording. Full episodes drop early & ad-free on our Substack.

Links to our other stuff on the interwebs:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@BroHistory⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://brohistory.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

#339

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