These characters are members of the Finch family in The Hot War.
Aaron Finch
See: Aaron Finch
Leon Finch
See: Leon Finch
Marvin Finch
See: Marvin Finch
Mendel Finch
Mendel Finch (b. 1863) changed his name from Fink when he migrated from Romania to the United States in the late 19th century. During the early 20th century, he raised chickens.[1] In the 1910s, he ran a moving and hauling business in Portland, Oregon. He decided that automobiles were just a fad, while horses and wagons would stay around forever. Not surprisingly, he went broke in 1919. He avoided honest work ever after, and even when he was 88 years old, wouldn't admit that he'd made a mistake with his business. His sons Aaron and Marvin exhibited the same determination to be always right.[2]
Olivia Finch
See: Olivia Finch
Ruth Finch
See: Ruth Finch
Sam Finch
(F)
Sam Finch was a son of Mendel Finch, and an older brother to Aaron and Marvin Finch. Sam married when Marvin was 13 or 14. Marvin, always determined to get people's goat, attended the wedding in blackface. Sam's wife never forgave him for that.[3]
Sarah Finch
See: Sarah Finch
Howard Bauman
(Bombs Away, F, A)
Howard Bauman was a minor American film actor. Prior to the outbreak of World War III, Bauman, a leftist with communist sympathies, was called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee.[4] Unlike his wife, Roxane, Howard was not very confrontational on political matters.[5]
Roxane Bauman
(BA, F, A)
Roxane Bauman was the first cousin of Ruth Finch. She'd introduced Ruth to her future husband, Aaron, in the years between World War II and World War III.[6] She and her husband, Howard Bauman, a less-than-successful movie actor, were far left in their politics, even supporting the Soviet Union during World War III. In May 1951, at a small gathering, Roxane asked Aaron Finch how it felt to be a hero to the "plutocrats"; Finch had, by luck, caught a Soviet flyer who dropped an atomic bomb on downtown Los Angeles on March 2.[7] When Finch retorted that he could have easily done worse things to the flyer, and pointed out that the Baumans rather narrowly avoided dying in the bombings, Bauman again pushed back, arguing that the U.S. had used the atomic bomb first. When Finch pointed out that North Korea had invaded South Korea, Roxane responded that South Korea was a puppet regime full of former Japanese collaborators. At this point, Ruth stepped in and brought the argument to a halt.[8]
Still, Roxane couldn't quite set aside her politics whenever the family gathered. In July 1951, for example, she expressed disgust when she saw Aaron had framed a letter from President Harry Truman congratulating Aaron for catching the Soviet pilot. Ruth shut the argument down.[9]
Despite these disagreements, Roxane and Howard still attended Aaron's 50th birthday party. Everyone present was a Democrat, although each favored a different candidate in the newly wide-open field. Roxane and Howard liked Hubert Humphrey the best. All also agreed that they did not like Joseph McCarthy.[10]
References
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