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Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe
Syosset, New York
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In Hebrew, its title is "metim al cheem," meaning "dying on living"--a phrase of "crazy about life." In Yiddish, "aynnemen dem lestn otem" means "breathe the last breath."
What was included in "The Bucket List" and what are some suggestions for Jews wishing to prepare THEIR "Bucket List"?
1. Witness something truly majestic
(Suggestions)
Visit the National Yiddish Book Center in
Amherst, Mass. Aaron Lansky, its founder,
says "The new building, architecturally
evocative of the wooden synagogues in
Eastern Europe, is the most beautiful and
certainly the most carefully designed dwelling place that Yiddish has ever
seen."
Visit Hebrews' Heaven, or as Andrea Peyser called it, "The Jewish Promised Land." I'm referring to Barney Greengrass, the decadent mecca of Hebrew soul food. It's the place that has more lox than the Panama Canal! A 1997 Zagat survey wrote,"For Jewish food like Bubby used to make, but Bubby's linoleum decor and service were never strong points; still this venerable West Side 'Mt. Arat of smoked fish' makes the best bagels and lox' and and satisfies on 'days when matzo-ball soup is the only thing..."
Barney Greengrass just celebrated a"hundert" (100) years of continuous operation. In celebration they offered their food at 1908 prices: coffee, 15 cents; hot pastrami sandwich, 75 cents; borscht, 50 cents a bowl; a bagel, 10 cents; and a Nova lox sandwich for a piddling $1.25.
2. Help a complete stranger for a common good.
The Yiddish word for stranger is "fremder."
In 1937, "der beysbol" player, Lou Gehrig,
was asked to go to the Children's Hospital
in Chicago to visit a boy who was "krank"
with polio.
The young boy, 10 years old, had refused to try therapy to get well. Lou was his "held" (hero). Lou told Tim, "I want you to get well. Go to therapy and learn to walk again."
Tim replied, "Lou, if you will knock a home run for me today, I will learn to walk again."
All the way to the ballpark, Lou felt a deep sense of "hiskhayvis" (obligation) and even apprehension that he would not be able to deliver his promise that day.
Lou didn't hit one home run that day; he delivered two!
Two years later, when Gehrig was dying from a muscular disease, 80,000 fans and celebrities paid their respects during Lou Gehrig's Day at Yankee Stadium. Tim, by this time 12 years old, walked out of the dugout, dropped his crutches, , and with leg braces walked to home plate to hug Lou--who was no longer a stranger.
3. Laugh till I cry
Check out the Jewish "tummlers" of today
and yesterday. (A "tummler" is a Yiddish
word for "noise" or a merrymaker.")
According to Esterita "cissie" Blumberg
("Remember the Catskills"), the list of
comedians who honed their craft at Catskill
hotels included Red Buttons, Alan King,
Jackie Mason, Milton Berle, Buddy Hackett,
Billy Crystal, and Robert Klein. (Of course,
when they played those hotels, they were
far from household names.) Davey Carr,
a popular comic of the time, kind of summed it up: "Laugh," said he, "it's
good for you...and it will help me finish my
basement."
Another story: "Professor" Irwin Corey
arrived early for an evening performance
and decided, in his own capricious way, to
replace the maitre d' and seat the guests.
A particularly heavy ("zaftig") woman
arrived alone at the dining room door.
Corey greeted her, "Good evening, Madam.
How many are you?"
4. Drive a Shelby Mustang
Molly Katz ("Jewish as a Second Language")
wrote about "11 Ways Not to Start a
Conversation with a Jewish Person."
No. 5: "Where can I get a deal on a Harley?"
Today, Jews can drive a "motosikel" and join "Chai Riders," "KIng David Motorcycle Club," "Hillel's Angels," "Yidden on Wheels" (YOW), "Six Point Riders," (of S. Florida) or"The Montreal Maccabbees."
5. Kiss the most beautiful girl in the world
Again, Molly Katz, writes about caring for
the "New Jewish Body": Always warn people, "Don't kiss me--I have a cold."
This is a cardinal rule even though you and
most of the population and the entire AMA
believe that a cold is contagious mainly
during incubation You are all wrong."
"Kush" is the Yiddish word for kiss.
Read "The Kiss" by Levi Joshua Shapiro
(AKA"Lamed Shapiro). It can be found in "The
Oxford Book of Jewish Stories," Edited by
Ilan Stavans, Oxford University Press.
6. Get a tattoo
A recent (2006) study revealed that 36% of
Americans ages 18 to 29 have at least one
tattoo. Tattooing is specifically prohibited
in the bible: Leviticus 19:29. Body piercing used to be something
you only saw in
National Georgraphic. A tattoo disgraces
the memory of the Holocaust and its
survivors; it's a slap in the face to survivors.
7. Skydiving
"Es tut zikh nit azoy gut vi es redt zikh."
(Easier said than done!)
8. See the Pyramids
The Pyramids of Egypt are among the largest constructions ever built and constitute
an enduring symbol of Ancient
Egyption civilization. But how about visiting
Masada. Masada is Israel's most inspiring
historical site, the ancient hilltop fortification overlooking the Dead Sea.
9. Get back in touch with a daughter ("tokhter")
Get back in touch with your "zun" or "di
mishpokhe." Rabbi Benjamin Blech wrote,"Family is our introduction to the
world. Its members are the saints and the sinners,
the heroes and the villains, the wise and the
foolish of our early encounters." Family
relations sometimes break down, as we see
in "The Bucket List."
Read the story titled, "He Needed a Son."
(Author Unknown), from "More Stories For
The Heart":
The nurse escorted a tired, anxious young
man to the bedside of an elderly man.
"Your son is here," she whispered to the
patient. She had to repeat the words several times before the patient's
eyes
opened. He was heavily sedated because of
the pain of his heart attack and he dimly
saw the young man standing outside the
oxygen tent.
He reached out his hand and the young man tightly wrapped his fingers around it, squeezing a message of encouragement. The nurse brought a chair next to the bedside. All through the night the young man sat holding the old man's hand and offering gentle words of hope. The dying man said nothing and he held tightly to his son.
As dawn approached, the patient died. The
young man placed on the bed the lifeless
hand he had been holding, then he went to
notify the nurse. While the nurse did what
was necessary, the young man waited.
When she had finished her task, the nurse
began to offer words of sympathy to the
young man But he interrupted her.
"Who was that man?" he asked.
The startled nurse replied, "I thought he was your father."
"No, he was not my father," he answered. "I never saw him before in my life."
"Then why didn't you say something when I took you to him?" asked the nurse.
"He replied, "I also knew he needed his son, and his son just wasn't there. When I realized he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, I knew how much he needed me."
10. ? ? ?
Marjorie Wolfe says, " The only thing worse
than growing old is to be denied the
privilege."
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