Camel from Kyzylkum

Calumet Arts Cafe

ONE HOT SUMMER DAY, I got a call from the Jewish Center—someone wanted to interview me for a job. When asked if I was interested, I said, “Of course.” Shortly after, I got a call from a man. His name was Mark Goldman, Buffalo historian, and a local hero to some; he had been instrumental in the revitalization of the Chippewa Street area. Mark had a plan to transform Chippewa Street in downtown Buffalo from, what many people described as a red-light district, into an entertainment center of the city. He purchased the Calumet Building in 1988. By 1990, he was ready to open a restaurant in the Calumet Building, and he was hiring people.

I do not remember how I talked with him on the phone—at that point in my life I was terrified every time the phone rang and I heard something in English. I had a hard time understanding it and communicating. But when Mark Goldman called, I had no choice, and I was trying my best to communicate well. Mark invited me for an interview, but I did not yet have a car. He thought for a minute and told me he would come to my apartment to interview me.

There was no air conditioner in my apartment. Summers in Buffalo could be hot and muggy. It was one of these summer days, and the temperature in my apartment was quite uncomfortable when Mark arrived and introduced himself. He looked around to assess the situation.

He asked, “Where is your fan?”

I said, “I do not have one yet.”

He looked at me curiously and asked, “Isn’t it hot for you?”

“Yes,” I said, “but I can tolerate it.”

Then, Mark said, “I’ll be back,” and he disappeared through my door. Fifteen minutes later he came back with a huge fan he proudly hoisted in the middle of my room, and then he started his interview. He had bought the fan in the hardware store on the first floor of my apartment building. I was absolutely astounded by this act of generosity from a stranger. I used this fan for a long time, and later on, when I did not need it anymore, I still kept it and even took it with me when I moved away from Buffalo. When I got married to Sparky and moved to Virginia from my apartment in Maryland, the fan traveled with me. I kept it in the basement of Sparky’s house for many years, and only when we were remodeling the basement did Sparky suggest it was time to get rid of it. Soon after that, Sparky and I went for a visit to Buffalo, and we met Mark Goldman there. The first thing he asked me was if I still had his fan.

But back to the interview in my apartment. Mark Goldman offered me a job in his restaurant, “Calumet Arts Cafe,” waiting on tables. I was so excited. I quit my job at Burger King and started to work in the “Calumet Arts Cafe” at night after school. The restaurant with live music became a very popular place for the Buffalo elite and intellectuals. I loved my work. I learned about American life and the American people there. However, my English was still not very good, and often I did not understand what my customers were asking. One case I still remember was how a woman asked me to bring an ashtray to her table. I did not know what the word “ashtray” meant. I ran back to the kitchen and asked feverishly, “What is an ashtray?” My coworkers laughed and explained it to me.

When my cousin Marik from Moscow came to visit us in Buffalo, I asked Mark Goldman to give him any kind of job in the “Calumet Arts Cafe”. It was at the beginning of 1990s when the Soviet Union had just collapsed. In Russia, it was a time of a political crisis, serious disorder, and economic chaos. The living standards for average citizens dropped drastically, even though they never were too high before in the Soviet Union. My cousin Marik wanted to make some money during his visit to us that he could bring back to his family. He washed dishes in the “Calumet Arts Cafe” for several weeks and made some money before he went back to Moscow. Marik passed away on April 1, 2015, from a long battle with cancer; he was put to rest in Moscow.

Mark Goldman, his generosity to me and my family, and my work in his “Calumet Arts Cafe” will stay in my memory forever, as well as my gratitude to Mark for his help when I just started my new life and needed any kind of help and support.