2019
May FROM MY PERSPECTIVE
Yiddish is an interesting language. It sounds like
German, but is more direct and doesn’t take forever to pronounce. I
remember the 1970s sit-com, LAVERN AND SHIRLEY (1976 - 1983). The opening
song had Yiddish in it: schlemiel and schlimazel. Those words
piqued my interest and sent me on an adventure of finding out what they
meant. That is when I started seeing that Yiddish is interesting.
When I lived in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, I often heard Yiddish words in
conversations older folks were having. I'd make mental notes and go to a
dictionary later to find them and their meanings. Thus, to explain
"schlemiel" and "schlimazel" I found this: "No
discussion of schlemiel (one who is clumsy, inept; a bungler), would be
complete without mentioning schlimazel
(one prone to having bad luck). In a restaurant, a schlemiel is the waiter who
spills soup, and a schlimazel is the diner on whom it lands."
Other Yiddish words which are woven into American
conversations of some people are found at this website: http://www.dailywritingtips.com/the-yiddish-handbook-40-words-you-should-know/. I think you'll recognize a lot of them and
may have used some in your conversations.
Brenduhh was out in the yard planting seeds for
flowers. She’d been out for quite a
while. I noticed the oval seeds which
were a bit larger at the bottom than the top.
She was placing them large-side down in the dirt and standing straight
up. I asked her why she was using that
technique. She replied, “I think they’ll
grow better and taller if the seed is standing on its large end. If I put the small side down, the flower will
be little and short.” I mentioned how
hot the sun was and that maybe we needed to go in for some iced tea.
I’ve discovered some relationships have an adverse effect on
a person. They actually can cause health
problems. Thus, I’m quelling and
limiting my relationship with: pie, ice
cream, cake, cheesecake, pizza, home-made bread, cookies, pasta, and anything
else which is deliciously affecting my health.
I’m not one to walk away from relationships. I’ve been told I’m a very loyal friend;
however, these “friends” are not good for me, and I need to say, “CIAO”.
The 4 year old granddaughter of my friend Cathy P. has
little filter on whatever comes out of her mouth. She and Cathy were at a festive musical
program featuring all the grades at the school Cathy’s other granddaughter attends. “Fia” was going to perform and Abby was very
excited. The kindergarten students got
up to sing first. Abby started to get up
having Cathy to ask her where she was going.
“I’m going to go sing with them, Granny,” Abby announced. Cathy told her she couldn’t sing with the
other kids because she didn’t know the words, it was their performance, and Fia
wasn’t with them. Disgruntled, Abby
returned to her seat next to Cathy. Then
the first graders came out with Fia among them.
Abby saw her and yelled out, “Way to go, Fia!” Cathy quickly hushed her. Well, that didn’t set with Abby; she got up
and started to go get with the other children.
“Where are you going?” questioned Cathy.
“I’m going to sing with Fia, Granny.”
Cathy told her, “You can’t go sing with those kids. Please sit down.” Abby looked at her with hands on her hips and announced, “Granny, I’m
a kid. I’m going to sing with Fia! And with that, a very determined 4 year old
joined the group causing the audience to laugh and the teacher surprised and bewildered. Cathy said she’d never had that shade of red in
her face before.
I have a friend who got pretty sick with something. After staying home from work for a few days
and not getting better, he went to the doctor.
He was feeling so badly that he thought the doctor would recommend
euthanasia. The doctor said he was the
first confirmed case of Type A Influenza for the season in that doctor’s
office. My friend wanted to know where
his prize was.
Donald Trump is walking out of the White House and heading
toward his limo, when a possible assassin steps forward and aims a gun. A
secret service agent, new on the job, shouts
“Mickey Mouse!” This startles the assassin, and he is captured. Later, the
secret service agent’s supervisor takes him aside and asks, “What in the hell
made you shout Mickey Mouse?” Blushing, the agent replies, “I got nervous. I
meant to shout “Donald duck!”
Connor, age 6, was being rather
quiet---too much so according to his mom, Kelli. She, also, smelled some pleasant odor. “Connor, stay out of my essential oils!” she
called to him. He returned with, “I’m
not in your sensual oils, Mom.”
Recently I had lunch with a dear
friend. She was telling me of a neighbor
in her condo who lives right below her.
She was a bit upset because the “old, farty neighbor” (her description)
smokes in his apartment and outside under her deck, which is against the
complex’s rules. She has another “old”
neighbor who “rattles around on the other side” of her apartment turning the
music or television volume up too loud so my friend can hear it, too. My friend is the president of the complex
association and told me the rules will be enhanced and revised. I ask her what the ages these “old” people
were. She said, “Oh they’re in their
70s.” I rolled my eyes; she and I are
mid-70s.
I was talking to a friend about
certain foods. She mentioned liver and
onions, which I love and she isn’t crazy about that dish because she was forced
to eat it often when she was a child. I
told her, “There isn't much I wasn't encouraged to eat
as I grew up in a home with a mother who believed, ‘One bite is all you're
REQUIRED to eat.’ It is understandable
that something which was a constant in your early years which you found to be
less than desirable is not on your YUMMMERS list.” I'm that way with scrambled eggs or pot pies
for supper. Those are lonely meals to me because they are what we had when
Daddy was out of town or when Mother and Daddy went to conventions to entertain
Daddy's customers. I will eat home-made pot pies, but BANQUET just undoes me. I
will eat scrambled eggs for breakfast or lunch, but not supper. I’m sure as you read this entry, you started
thinking of those halcyon days of your youth and some of your favorite foods,
and maybe some of your less desirable foods.
Sometimes the food enhances the memory, and sometimes it is the memory
which enhances the food.
It is the ability to take a joke, not make one, that proves
you have a sense of humor. -Max Eastman, journalist and poet (4 Jan 1883-1969)
Aint Daisy wasn't feeling very well, so I went over to see
her bringing her a large pitcher of cool sweet tea, homemade applesauce, and
sweet bread slices I'd made that morning. She was sitting on the porch
with a light blanket around her. I greeted her, "Hi, sweetie.
Are you feeling any better? I brought you some gentle food to eat if you
feel like it." She smiled saying, "Oh just a little better, but
I'm thinking I'll be much better when I sample some of the applesauce, bread,
and sweet tea you brought. You're the first person in three days to come
see how I am." I almost cried. This dear soul has children,
relatives and friends who live close who could visit her and check on her
well-being. She saw the dismay on my face. "Now, don't you
fret any, it'll trifle with our visit. Just remember, 'The caring of
others for you is like phosphorus......only seen when things are dark.'
Can you see the stars in the daytime, chile? No, you can't, but when the
night comes they are seen in all their brilliance."
