About the Author
Bela Wolf was interviewed by Stu Taylor last May 5, 2010 on his WBIX 1060 AM
Radio Show called “Stu Taylor on Business”.
I was born in NYC. I have 2 sisters, I'm a middle child but my sisters say I would never allow myself to be ignored. This tells you a lot about me from the start.
Soon after, my father's work took us to South America. We moved first to Chile, 10,000 ft up in the Andes mountains , then later Peru and Venezuela up until the age of five. Later I grew up and was educated in New York City after my parents' divorce.
During the 80s/early 90s, I played saxophone in NYC rock and roll clubs like CBGB, The China Club, Limelight, Palladium and many others. I modeled during the day for several well-known designers.
I majored in foreign languages and physical sciences in college. I can get by conversationally in 5 or 6 languages, I'm a polyglot and need to be in-country or speaking every day for about 6 weeks or so to feel more fluent. I've been sent to (as a flight attendant) Kuwait, Greece, some Spanish countries, France and Germanybecause of my language skills. My last language learned, of course, is Russian, which considering what I went through I'm amazed I've retained a much as I have.
I enjoy flying and have been a student helicopter pilot for several yrs. As a helicopter pilot, its the feeling of controlling an unstable machine that gives me a thrill. As a student I quickly learned how to get control of the hover which made flying for me much more exciting and gave me the feeling of major accomplishment. Most pilots will tell you controlling a helicopter is much more challenging than flying fixed wing aircraft. As an airline employee I flew (as a flight attendant, not pilot) our military into Kuwaiit, Somalia, and other places of interest. After being based in Paris for two yrs I came back to NY. I have extensive knowledge of many global communities and can conform easily into many cultures, as I am aware not only of several cultural practices but also global attitudes towards Americans.
Speaking the languages of the countries I've been to has always been a major plus and has helped me to get around uncomfortable areas more comfortably. I can be accepted more readily by those suspicious or wary of Americans. This attribute, I believe, was what made my adoption efforts in northern Siberia ultimately successful. The instability of my flying career made made it impossible for me to get married and have a family. I then decided it was time to come back home to New York.
I changed course again in my professional life and became a stockbroker, two years later I was named VP of a small firm. Soon after, I got married and had a baby.
My greatest accomplishment, I will always say, is my children. My goal going forward is to support and help them succeed in their interests and goals, whatever they may be.
I started writing SHE WAS LEFT ALONE two days after coming home from Russia. It was clear, as one can tell by the way I wrote the story,( it still comes through after the editing), that it was mostly cathartic for me even though I could never write about so much of what I went through over there. There were too many traumatic incidences I did not want to think about, much less relive on paper. I initially intended the book to be a tribute to my daughter's strength, cleverness and fearlessness throughout the whole process. She did what was so hard for me to keep doing and she was terminally ill - and only 6 yrs old . She put me to shame physically and emotionally. My son had to give up his mother for weeks as I couldn't call home to even talk to him. That is a "Sophie's Choice" no mother should have to make. Billy didn't come to me easily, as my publisher wrote in too much detail , so leaving him to go and get her was a terrible choice to have to make, especially when I saw what we were facing in those tiny towns of northern Siberia. It was always an intimidating and threatening environment I faced there. As our lives have evolved, my children have saved each other in so many ways. My children, when first they came to be siblings, played together so nicely all the time. It was such a pleasure to watch them together. My son learned a lot of Russian while Karine was still learning English. For months I had to speak Russian all day to avoid Karine's frustration and displacement. She has since forgotten all her Russian while I cannot forget so much of what I said while fighting over there. When Karine started speaking English after a few months here she'd give me dirty looks if I spoke to her in Russian. She wanted to assimilate here and she wanted to do it fast while putting her horrible past behind her.
I am already working on my 2nd book, which for a complete 180, will be a comedy about my experiences while working for an unusual airline, no longer in business. I do excell in accomplishing my goals, whatever they may be, as I am driven to succeed in many areas. I am a highly motivated person by nature and do not give up easily, if at all.
