Yt's rime To Have
That Watch fixed:'

spaghetti, and all because of this ante to overwhelming approval
thing I had innocently said. My by another sweet grandmother
whole life I have found frequent is astounding.
application for the rudimentary
My boyfriend found another
Yiddish picked up from my way to describe it: Slick. That's
grandma. What could
the word he used
be a more natural or
over and over in
effective exclamation
recounting my
than Oy vayz mint?
Yiddish-dropping
Heck, my cousin
for Grandma. Ap-
once asked a baby-sit-
parently, I man-
ter to sing her the spe-
aged to impress
cial song Gram
the whole family
always used to sing us
in that conversa-
to sleep, called Shay-
tion, but for vari-
na Mayrza Mayclalah.
ous reasons. My
Thereafter, my
boyfriend, his par-
aunt and uncle left
ents and sister
sitters a vocabulary
ranked me up
ALLISO N KAPLAN
list of unusual words SPECIAL TO T
HE JEWISH NEWS there with James
and phrases likely to
Carville for my
arise, as well as a dis-
keen strategic
claimer that some songs sung in move to win over the bubbie. The
the house were not for general re- grandma, meanwhile, thought
lease.
me firmly rooted and genuine.
So to think one of Grandma's
T like her view best. Plus, it's
sayings is responsible for push- true — I am a dream of a Jewish
ing me over the edge from toler- girlfriend.

Mostly, the whole exchange
has really served as an enlight-
ening experience for me. I nev-
er realized just how much
"Jewish talk" I've absorbed over
the years. Maybe I can't rattle off
a whole story in Yiddish (a
mighty convenient scheme, es-
pecially around unsuspecting
young grandchildren), or even
speak a full sentence.
But I know more than I think.
And what I know is as much a
part of my cultural upbringing as
was Hebrew school.
Now that I've bonded with his
grandmother, culturally and Yid-
dishly, my boyfriend thinks that
in the event of us breaking up,
she would keep me. I'm not so
sure.
But I do know that now when
we visit, the standard grandma
care package includes not only
the strudel my boyfriend loves
(and I'm not so crazy about), but
something chocolate, earmarked
just for me. What mazel!

S

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`No More A Wandering Jew'

enior year in high school—
I couldn't wait to get out of
here. West Bloomfield got
old and it was time to move
on. First stop: college. Destina-
tion: Madison, Wis. Great time.
Big fun. Graduation. Second ven-
ture: The Big Apple. Cool jobs.
Energy rush. Third move: Chica-
go. True bliss—tons to do, college
pals, love interest. Next junket:
Atlanta—fabulous climate,
friendly folks, solid career.
Four cities and 10 years later,
I am now back in Michigan. But
I've returned with more knowl-
edge, a stronger sense of self and
the world around me and an un-
touchable appreciation for this
area I proudly call home.
Home is where I have family
and friends who love me uncon-
ditionally. The streets are more
than a means of getting around:
They are paths that connect the
world in which I grew up. They
house my old elementary school,
middle school, high school and
synagogue. They link together
the stage where I danced ballet,
the football fields I played soccer
on and the gymnasium where I
performed pompon routines.
They lead to the mini-mountains
where I met my Saturday ski
club, the restaurants my grand-
parents and I dined at on Sun-
days, and the parking lots my
friends and I hung out in.
Once I decided to move back,
my company said, "O.K, so Geor-
gia is not your thing—let us put
you in our Boston or San Fran-
cisco bureau." But I said no.

When the big hand is on the two and
the little hand is out of commission,
bring it to us. We'll set it right.
We know it's not just another watch.
Maybe it was a gift. Maybe you bought
it as a reward to yourself. Maybe it's a
family heirloom. In any case, our
European trained craftsmen will take
good care of it, and have it keeping
time in no time at all.
We're old hands at repairing fine
timepieces. Trust us to give you the right
time of day!

the feeling of being
alone in a metropolis
on Yom Kippur. You
can't fly home because
the holiday falls
smack in the middle
of the week and the
thought of sitting
amongst strangers at
a lackluster student-
hall service when all
you yearn for is Rab-
bi Groner's sermon is
truly depressing.
Maybe you are think-
ing, "But wait, Jews
reach out to Jews.
You must have been
invited to a dinner
somewhere." Maybe I
was, but it was some-
where else. Not with
my family where Dad
stumbles to read the
Hebrew prayers,
Grandma kvetches
that there is too much
JULIE WEINGARDEN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
food, and my cousin
has the entire kiddy
Relocating wasn't about some table (yes, that's right—a band of
sort of burnout on Southern liv- twentysomething professionals
ing. It was a weariness of the that have yet to make it to the
Wandering Jew syndrome.
main dining room) howling at her
Although I had exciting jobs, jokes.
it was still easy to feel alone. Let's
I've also learned there's noth-
face it: Whether you reside in Los ing like old friends — pals that
Angeles or Manhattan, Block- remember braces, feathered hair
buster flicks look the same from and Flashdance-style sweat-
a 27-inch TV set, no matter how shirts. And when bosom buddies
you slice it. And take-out Chinese experience major life events, you
foods tastes the same whether want to be there for them, rather
you live in Central Park or on the than hear the highlights via the
Gold Coast.
telephone.
I can't even begin to explain
WANDERING JEW page 54

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