The book on Jewish Comedy by Columbia professor Jeremy Dauber is not an easy read. He finds seven “strands.” The first one says it’s a response to persecution and anti-Semitism. But he includes a very interesting joke in his introduction, which is new to me. He says it may be the second-greatest ever Jewish joke, but he concedes it splits 50-50 between those who find it terrible and those who find it hilarious. You can decide where you fall. Here it is:
Two old men settle onto a park bench in Tel Aviv; after a moment, they recognize each other as long-lost friends. “Reuven!” says the first, “Reuven, how are you? It’s been decades! Since we were young men from the same small town! How are you? How are your parents?”
“Oh,” said the second man. “Oh, they died decades ago. We’re old men now, Shimon.”
“Yes, well, of course,” Reuven replies. To be expected, I suppose. My condolences. But your siblings–I loved spending time with them. How are they?”
“Oh,” said Shimon. “Oh, you haven’t heard. My brother died ten years ago. Cancer.”
“I’m very sorry,” Reuven said. “That’s terrible news. But what about your sister? She was so lovely.”
“Oh,” Shimon said. “We really haven’t been in touch, have we? She died fifteen years ago. A stroke.”
“Ahh. . .” Reuven replies, casting about. “Well how is that beautiful wife of yours! I haven’t seen her since she was a young mother. . . “
“Oh,” Shimon said. “You didn’t hear. She died five years ago. Bus bombing.”
Reuven is now completely discombobulated. “Your kids!” he finally gets out. “How are your kids?”
“You’ll laugh,” Shimon said. “But they’re dead too.”
So where do you come out? Terrible, or hilarious? For the record, Owl Chatter comes down on the hilarious side, but we’re not proud of it.
It’s similar, but much darker, than a joke I heard years ago about a man who goes to the undertaker to order a casket. The undertaker says, “Who died?” The man says, “My wife. She died two days ago.” The undertaker says, “Your wife? When did you get married?” The man says “Just last August.” And the undertaker says, “Wow! Mazel Tov!!”
You may be wondering what Dauber thinks is the greatest Jewish joke, if the one above is the “second greatest.” I am too, but he’s making us wait.
Today is the birthday of the poet Robert Frost, born in 1874. He was the inspiration for Frosty the Snowman. [No he wasn’t.] He is associated with New England, but was actually born in San Francisco. His mom and he moved to Lawrence MA after his dad died when Robert was eleven.
The first poem of his that was accepted for publication was “My Butterfly: An Elegy,” and it appeared in the NY Independent when he was 20 years old. He was paid $15 for it (about $400 today). Frost was so excited to be a published poet that he proposed to his high school sweetheart. She said yes! They had six children, but four died before Frost did, and his wife, Elinor, died young too, at age 43, from heart failure. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature 31 times. Here are Elinor and Robert:
And here’s a postage stamp issued in his honor.
Sticking with the literary, on this day 103 years ago F. Scott Fitzgerald published his first novel, This Side of Paradise. It’s a love story inspired by his romance with Zelda. Unfortunately, the summer before the book came out she broke up with him. His plan to win her back was to publish a book that was a big hit. It worked! They got married a month after it came out. Here’s a nice shot of the lovebirds.
I was happy to learn that the radiated tortoise gets its name from the design on its shell that radiates out from the center, not from getting radiated like with radiation. They can be up to 16 inches long, weigh around 35 pounds, and often live for over 150 years. Pickles is the oldest animal at the Houston Zoo. He’s 90, and he and Mrs. Pickles, who is 53, recently had three babies: Dill, Gherkin and Jalapeño. The couple have been together since her arrival at the zoo in 1996. They are an endangered species so this is wonderful news. Here are three little tykes:
At 40D in today’s puzzle, the city at the foot of the Adirondacks was UTICA, NY. A little digging revealed that Annette Funicello is from Utica as well as the fictional character, Alice Kramden’s Uncle Leo. Here’s a sweet shot of Alice and Ralph, which I don’t recognize from any of the episodes. They look like a real and affectionate couple.
Thanks for stopping by! See you tomorrow.
The Wellington Files 