That's Life 11-14-08

Issue of Nov. 14, 2008 / 17 Cheshvan 5769

Dear That’s Life,

In the spirit of the recent elections, my two older sons, students at HALB, learned all about the candidates at school.

Chaim, my second grader, was completing a homework assignment, which required him to fill in the blanks and answer questions about the election.

The last question was: “Would you like to be President of the United States?” to which Chaim had responded, “No.” When I asked him why not, he replied, in a very matter-of-fact tone, “because I don’t want to be so busy.”

I smiled and told him that I agreed.

On Wednesday, the morning after the election, I informed Shragi, my four-year-old, that Barack Obama had won the race and would be our next president. “OK,” he said, and continued eating his breakfast, clearly more interested in his cereal than in what I was saying.

Later, as we were packing up his knapsack, I gave him several pennies to bring to school for tzedaka. Usually he takes them, counts them and puts them in his bag without a second thought. That day, however, Shragi looked closely at the coins and asked, “Mommy, is Obama on my penny?”

Chevi Medetsky

Dear That’s Life,

My daughter was on the Long Island Rail Road one morning, quickly finishing davening before her stop arrived, when she overheard a conversation between the conductor and a passenger. The young woman had just boarded the train but could not find her ticket or her money. The conductor insisted that she get off the train at the next stop, go to an ATM and then get on the next train. That suggestion made the passenger very upset and she explained that she would be very late for work. The conductor didn’t care.

As the train was pulling into the next station, which was my daughter’s stop, she offered the young woman her 10-trip ticket so that she could stay on the train. The woman felt very uncomfortable taking it, but my daughter insisted. She told the woman to simply mail it back and provided her fellow passenger with her mailing address.

When she relayed the story to me, she said she was sure she would never get the ticket back again. I told her that if that was the case, she had done a good deed, even if it had been a little costly.

Two days later, an envelope arrived at our home with the ticket, $6 for the fare and a lovely note of thanks from the woman. That should restore our faith in people!

Adina Misher

Dear That’s Life,

Over the summer, during the gas pump crunch, I wrote an article about ways to save money –– to mixed reviews. Some thought the ideas were good, some readers weren’t willing to give up their lattes and I guess some people did not believe I practiced what I preached.

That’s what I assume the woman on line behind me at one of the local kosher supermarkets was thinking when I took out my wad of coupons and handed them to the cashier.

“Oh –– so you really do use coupons,” said the woman I had never seen before, referring to one of my suggestions in the article.

“Yes, I do,” I replied, wondering how she knew who I was and, more importantly, why she felt the need to comment.

It’s not so much that I’m cheap, although that is part of it. Using coupons is about getting something you were going to buy anyway, but buying it for less and at the manufacturer’s expense. And if you think finding $5 in your coat packet is a big thrill, as I do, imagine my excitement at the supermarket when I saved $27.76. (That’s an all-time high‚ for me, by the way.)

Quickly adding up the dollar amounts on the screen, between the in-store promotions and the manufacturer’s coupons I had brought with me, a big smile appeared across my face when I realized how much I had saved.

“Wow!” I exclaimed. “I saved over $27! That’s a new record for me!”

While I was completely excited and very proud, the cashier did not share in my enthusiasm, nor was she proud of me. In fact, she simply stared at me, semi-befuddled.

Staring right at me, the young teenage cashier asked me, “You don’t get out very much, do you?”

MLW

P.S. Big bonus –– I received my coupon for a free turkey with this shopping order. Happy days are here again!

How to be part of the fun:

If something happened to you “that could only happen around here,” you’ve got to share! Was it funny? Outrageous? Hopefully, it wasn’t too painful. No matter what, if you type it up and sent it to

Submissions should include your name, your town, and your daytime and evening phone numbers. Sorry, but anonymous submissions cannot be considered. All decisions by the editors are final and all submissions become the property of The Jewish Star.

In case you were wondering, Burgers Bar is under the supervision of the Vaad Hakashrus of the Five Towns and Far Rockaway, and plays music you can find on MLW’s iPod.