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My mother, Ida Sara Salk, was a very sweet and strong woman, both in heart and mind.

Whenever my dad would go out the front door, she would rush to him and always say in Yiddish, "Gay mit the rechte foos" (Go out with the right foot). To this day, when I leave a door or approach a door, I always do it with my right foot. I can't recall my mother ever being superstitious, but this act was something she firmly believed in.

We lived in Chicago in Jewish middle-class neighborhood when I was young, but when my dad was at work — he was manager and buyer of the yardage department at a large department store — he was engulfed in a non-Jewish world. I think my mother felt that he was able to overcome all obstacles and this symbol (putting the right foot first) would keep him safe.

The Bible says: "For He knoweth the way that I take. When He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot hath held fast to His step. His way have I kept and turned not aside."