My parents were obsessive about keeping our 1950s ranch house spotlessly clean, well repaired, and orderly. They seemed to be afraid of everything. But why? Sadly, we often don't figure out the reasons for our parents' craziness until they're no longer with us.

I've included a photo of the house in 1954, the year my parents' built it. Here's a picture of me giving my dad a shave and haircut (without a blade in the razor or a pair of scissors, of course).

Could the Shah of Iran have been Jewish? Maybe. What interests me even more is how family legends get started, what they mean to us, the amazing ways in which our family stories intersect with larger social movements and historical events, and how much we ever really know about our fathers.

I've included a photo of Sidney Polivy with Episode 3. Here's a photo of Sidney (on the left) and my father (on the right) in India during WWII.

Could the Shah of Iran been a hidden Jew? According to my father's old army buddy, Sidney Polivy, he was Sidney's cousin. I'm including a photo of Sidney so you can compare it to portraits of Reza Khan and his son Mohammed-Reza that you can find online. The resemblance is striking. Listen to part I of this episode and see what you think ....