The American Dream

Los Angeles, California

In the summer of 1949, Ben took a four-day greyhound bus ride from New York to Los Angeles (Lesser, 188). His life in Los Angeles began with a rocky start. He was living in a dollar-a-night hotel on Skid Row (Lesser, 189). Unable to find work, he had to trade his possessions for money in order to eat. Ben felt he had hit rock bottom. As it turns out, this would be the lowest point of Ben’s life in America. From here on, Ben made an unbelievable amount of accomplishments within his time in Los Angeles.

Ben met the love of his life, Jean Singer, and they were married on June, 17 1950 (Lesser, 205). Within two years, they were expecting their first child together. Jean gave birth to their first daughter, Sherry, whom they named after Ben’s mother (lesser, 220). Five years later, they welcomed their second daughter, Gail (Lesser, 231). Ben attended Roosevelt High night-school while preparing for his citizenship test (Lesser, 227). He passed the test on his second try and officially became a U.S. citizen in 1953 (Lesser, 229).

Ben initially had a career as a UPS truck driver. He worked at UPS for 25 years while also pursuing a career in Real Estate (Lesser, 223). In 1966 he received his salesman license and four years later he received his broker’s license (Lesser, 236). In 1978, he established his own real estate company called “Ben Lesser & Associates” with two flourishing offices (Lesser, 254). Ben's success in the industry made him a very prominent name within Los Angeles. He was even elected as president of the West Side Real Estate Broker Association (Lesser, 255).

By becoming a husband, a father, a U.S. citizen, and a successful businessman, Ben had achieved his American Dream.

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