Posted on 10/05/2005 5:47:46 PM PDT by genefromjersey
I Hadnt Planned to Tell This Story But :
Sometimes you have to speak out and be heard even when youre a Certified Old Fogey .
Long ago , but not too far away , I lived in a little country town, in upstate New York. Most of the people who lived there were small farmers, tradesmen, mechanics, or factory workers : blue collar with pretensions , I guess youd call us.
The town was mostly what my Dad used to call Narrowback Protestants ( Youd have to show a girl your Sunday School pins before shed neck in a parked car with you ) with a scattering of Roman Catholics (regarded with deep suspicion) and one or two Jews (routinely mocked and despised.)
One of the town Jews- an old grouch named Meyer- owned a United Cigar store : candy, newspapers,cigarettes, tobacco, pipes, magazines, and sundries.
On the 4th of July if you were old enough , and hadnt been kicked out of the store too many times , you might be allowed to buy (illegal, immoral, delightful) firecrackers.
When World War II ended , one of the soldiers who came home was a fellow named Sid. Wed always heard Jews got the soft spots in the Army : places where they would never be in danger, and could probably turn a few bucks on the side ; so we didnt quite know what to make of Sid who had been a Ranger, and who had taken 6 machine gun bullets in the hedgerows of France.
Sid married Meyers very pretty daughter, and took over the store As much as Meyer would let him, anyway; and, in the fullness of time,became the man to see if you wanted to buy cigarettes ( for your Dad,of course ), condoms ( to carry in your wallet forever unused ) or those illegal, immoral ,delightful 4th of July firecrackers.
Our part-time Town Constable as narrowback as they come regarded the Cigar store as a den of iniquity , and kept a very close eye on it : the same way he kept a close eye on the girls who worked in the towns little factory. He was the foreman there and universally hated for his ability to sneak up behind workers and catch them if they paused to chat.
He sneaked up on me as I prepared to light the second firecracker from a pack I had just talked Sid into selling me . Ill take those firecrackers ,he purred. Youre in big trouble !
The Constable wasted no time in making his offer: I would not be prosecuted for possession of fireworks , but would have to identify the person who sold them to me in front of a Jury.
When you are 12 years old and trying (well:sort of) to do the right thing, a Subpoena can make you feel pretty tense.
For one thing, I liked and respected Sid and his wife. I used to hang out in the store when I could , and talk about life , and values, and the turbulent world we lived in. They never talked down to me , and I had gotten to be on a first name basis with them.
On the other hand , Dad was part of the Town Board that paid the Constables salary , and I was expected to be reasonably upright and law-abiding. I knew when summoned to testify in a case one is supposed to tell the truth , the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
I agonized for weeks over what to do in the matter of The State of New York - by Grace of God Free and Independent vs Sid : wounded war veteran , small town merchant ,and friend. Everyone I talked to had different advice even Sid , who said : Whether it helps me or harms me - do what your conscience says is right.
Suddenly it was time to appear in court. The Constable came to the house , and we began driving to the County seat.
We rode in silence for a while, and then he said : Dont be nervous. All you have to do is tell the truth. He glanced over at me. Do you think you can do that ?
Yes sir, I responded glumly.
Good !, he beamed. Ive been trying to get something on that damn kike for a long time !
Would it surprise you to learn I had a sudden loss of memory on the stand ? That Sid and his attorney sat there trying not to look surprised as the memory loss persisted ? That cross-examination by the prosecution and further direct questioning by an irate judge failed to restore my faculties ?
I hadnt planned to tell this story ever ; but today I ran across another anti-Semite on the Internet --- and I guess you could say it restored my memory !
This is really a very well written and interesting story, and a vivid snapshot of a time. I'm glad you told it.
Thanks for a great story....I can't help but think what an honorable man you are...
That's a lovely story. Thanks.
Good one, gene...
Memory loss can be such a blessing at times.
Your story made me smile.
And there is "doing the right thing".
The two are generally, but not always, 100% congruent.
Get rid of the word "purred". ("Said" would be fine.)
Then get this published. :o)
BTW, racists come in every different color & flavor, and anti-Semites are no worse than all the rest.
Thats good, as it goes.
Meanwhile, Ive run across a few Semites in my time all worthy of hefty jail times - if not outright execution.
They did things that were relatively minor semi-trumped up and it ended up unraveling their (and their associates ) greater violations.
I had similar memory lapses. Works both ways, I guess.
Huh?
I remember firecrackers and even Roman candles being legal on Long Island in the 50's and 60's
BTW... good for you!!!
Thanks for sharing your story. If you folks are stil living, give them a call and thank them for doing a fine job raising you.
Sad thing is there will always be bigots in this world, no matter how hard we try, this is something that will never be outgrown.
Are you joking? It didn't work...
I disagree; "purred" is very descriptive of how this yahoo would sound; I could almost see the Cheshire Cat grin on his stupid face.
I grew up not knowing what a bagel was ....thats how far out of the mainstream I was ...I could never understand why people hated Jewish people. I did not understand the holocaust or the hatred for any group of people...I saw it here and there but I didnt understand it ....and I still dont understand it especially now when I see those on the left who seem to hate Israel.
Oh, You got one of the best laughs out of me in a long time, and because what you say is true.
Thank you for sharing your experience, genefromjersey. Not only was it well written, it was well lived. You have reminded me that sometimes the shades of grey are just as important as the black and white that created them. Consider yourself hugged, a big grizzly bear hug. :) chena
Good story.
I think I was probably in that little
store and knew Sid. (Not really, but
there was one like it in every town in
America when I was a kid.)
LOL!! I gres up in Brooklyn in a neighborhood largely populated by Italians (my grandparents were all from Sicily) and Jews.
The best of all worlds: bagels and lasagna, and LOTS of good wine.
Thought you'd like this.
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