Winning Words 8/4/10
“It’s so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say, and say the opposite.” (Sam Levenson) Levenson was a former teacher who became a comedian and writer. A lot of his humor was based on experiences that he had while teaching in the classroom. He grew up in a large Jewish immigrant family which provided other experiences for his humor. Do you remember him? ;-) Jack

FROM MI ATTORNEY: I remember him well; he was a favorite of my parents. He was like a Jewish Bill Cosby, drawing his humor from his own experiences. FROM JACK: I liked the way he chuckled when he told his stories.

FROM SG IN TAMPA: What program was Sam Levenson on? There were years in my life that I watched very little TV. FROM JACK: Sam Levenson was a originally a Spanish teacher. He as an author, he wrote the best-seller
Sex and the Single Child (1969), In One Era And Out The Other (1973), You Can Say That Again, Sam! (1975), and Everything But Money (1966). Levenson appeared frequently in the "Borscht Belt" hotels of the Catskill Mountains. He was on TV from the mid-50s through the 70s.

FROM BBC IN ILLINOIS: I sure do….my father laughed so much when reading his books that I read them when he was finished. Thanks for a warm remembrance again today.

FROM JB IN WISCONSIN: I do remember him. I really liked his humor.

FROM RI IN BOSTON: I've been fortunate in having quite a few Jewish acquaintances and they all seem to have a great sense of humor. In fact, much of their humor revolves around their own Jewish characteristics. One Jewish humorist that I remember (in addition to Levenson) was Harry Golden, who also published a Jewish newspaper. FROM JACK: Harry Golden is a longtime favorite of mine. Here's one of his stories that first got my interest.
WHY I NEVER BAWL OUT A WAITRESS
By Harry Golden, from the book “Only in America”, copyright 1944
I have a rule against registering complaints in a restaurant; because I know that there are a least four billion suns in the Milky Way – which is only one galaxy. Many of these suns are thousands of times larger than our own, and vast millions of them have whole planetary systems, including literally billions of satellites, and all of this revolves at the rate of about a million miles an hour, like a hue oval pinwheel. Our own sun and its
planets, which includes the earth, are on the edge of this wheel. This is only our own small corner of the universe, so why do not these billions of revolving and rotating suns and planets collide? The answer is, the space is so unbelievably vast that if we reduced the suns and the planets in correct mathematical proportion with relation to the distances between them, each sun would be a speck of dust, two, three, and four thousand miles away from its nearest neighbor. And, mind you, this is only the Milky Way – our own small corner – our own galaxy. How many galaxies are there? Billions. Billions of galaxies spaced at about one million light-years apart (one light-year is about six trillion miles). Within the range of our biggest telescopes there are at least one hundred million separate galaxies such as our own Milky Way, and that is not all, by any means. The scientists have found that the further you go out into space with the telescopes the thicker the galaxies become, and there are billions of billions as yet uncovered to the scientist’s camera and the astrophysicist’s calculations.
When you think of all this, it’s silly to worry whether the waitress brought you string beans instead of limas.

FROM INDY GENIE: I noticed in the blog that you like "Lord of the Dance" We sang "Borning Cry" in church last ....that's another of my favorites and appropriate for these winning words. I just can't seem to EVER get through it without crying!.... doesn't stop me from trying ..I just take a deep breath and keep plugging along..pretty funny:) FROM JACK: I don't know if it's the words, the music, or both---but I feel the same way as you do.

I WAS THERE TO HEAR YOUR BORNING CRY by John Ylvisaker

"I was there to hear your borning cry,
I'll be there when you are old.
I rejoiced the day you were baptized,
to see your life unfold.
I was there when you were but a child,
with a faith to suit you well;
In a blaze of light you wandered off
to find where demons dwell."

"When you heard the wonder of the Word
I was there to cheer you on;
You were raised to praise the living Lord,
to whom you now belong.
If you find someone to share your time
and you join your hearts as one,
I'll be there to make your verses rhyme
from dusk 'till rising sun."
In the middle ages of your life,
not too old, no longer young,
I'll be there to guide you through the night,
complete what I've begun.
When the evening gently closes in,
and you shut your weary eyes,
I'll be there as I have always been
with just one more surprise."

"I was there to hear your borning cry,
I'll be there when you are old.
I rejoiced the day you were baptized,
to see your life unfold."

FROM MOLINER CF: "Two for the Money" w/ Ed McMahon (1957) FROM JACK: Two for the SHOW!

FROM MO IN ILLINOIS: At one time, we had all of Sam Levenson's books. Simply LOVED him. We always remembered his hilarious telling of when his poor family had company for a meal, and the motto was FHB (Family hold back.) His mother told the kids NOT to eat any chicken, as meat was scarce, so they dutifully refused the chicken, tho their mouths were salivating for a piece, and then their mother announced, "Now, all of you who refused to eat the chicken, will NOT have dessert." Ha. Back when Children were seen and not heard, and ate after the adults did... Then, he observed, when he grew up, the times had changed, and children were the focal point, and THEY were served the choice food before the adults. He was SO funny! Thanks for the reminder. and Good advice: Makes perfect sense, if you can do it. I can think of something stupid alright, but exchanging it for the wise remark is the trick!! FROM JACK: In my book I'd tell the this story. In our home the cookie jar was always kept on top of the frige. When no one was looking I would reach up and carefully remove the top. I'd take a cookie, replace the top, and no one would be the wiser. One day I
reached in for a cookie and....SNAP! My father had put a mousetrap in there. When the snap was heard, howls of laughter came from the other room.

FROM AM IN MICHIGAN: Yes. Growing up in NYC, we were well acquainted with Jewish humorists. NYC had 44% Jewish population in the forties. FROM JACK: Most of the good comedians that I remember were Jewish. The same with the song writers. Do you know why?

FROM BM IN MICHIGAN: Yes, I'm OLD enough to remember him. I liked his humor then, but I wonder if it would be too bland today.