Last night at Ballyhoo lines

Exit

Night Uncle Adolph! Can I ask you something?

Shoot

How did you get to Atlanta? and don’t tell me you came on the train

Actually I drove down. Okay okay- I was selling mattresses at Macy’s Herald Square and they offered me assistant bedding buyer at their store in DC. and then the store across the street asked me to assistant manage and then that chain got taken over by dixie bedding and one day your uncle came in to check us over and he hired me to work for him. That answer your question?

Yes

Can I ask you something?

All right

Are you people really Jewish?

Fraid so. A hundred percent all the way back on both sides

fraid so?

Oh, you know what I mean

yeah, you mean you’re afraid you’re Jewish

No. Of course not. That’s just an expression

Okay. What do you mean ?

I don’t think I mean anything about it . It was just something to say. Can we please talk about something else?

sure….. nice Christmas tree

thank you!

old family tradition, is it?

I’ve had Christmas trees my whole life, if that’s what you mean

that’s what I mean

is there something wrong with that?

Hey, I’m just trying to get the lay of the land down here. You know, smoke out the local customs

Everybody I know has a Christmas tree. It doesn’t mean we’re not Jewish

Right. It just means you don’t wanna be

whether I want to be or not, I am. And there’s not much I can do about it

sure there is. For starters, you can anglicize your name

Sunny Friday, sounds like a weather report

or a striptease artist

I could call myself sunny O’houlian and every body around here would still know what I am

so what

It hurts sometimes

I know

No, I don’t think you do

what do you mean

I imagine you grew up in a Jewish Neighborhood. You were like everybody else. I grew up on Habersham Road

Only two Jewish Mailboxes and the other one is down at the tacky end of the street where it doesn’t count

You’ve been talking to la la

yep

Well, see? that’s what we all wanted. to be like everybody else

and you are

oh no, we’re not

whaddya mean?

The summer between sixth and seventh grade my best friend was Vennie Alice Size more. And one day she took me swimming at the Venetian Club Pool. Her parents were members. So we were with a whole bunch of kids from our class and the boys were splashing us and we were all shrieking- you know- and pretending we hated it. When this man in a shirt and tie came over and squatted down by the side of the pool and he said “Which one is Sunny Freitag?” And I said I was, and he said I had to get out of the water. And Vennie Alice asked why and he said Jews weren’t allowed to swim in the Venetian Pool. And all the kids got very quiet and none of them would look at me

What did you do?

I got out of the pool. and phoned daddy at his office. when he came to get me all the color was drained out of his lips- I remember that.

And Vennie Alice?

Oh, her mother called up Mama and apologized. We stayed friends, sort of. Neither of us ever mentioned it again, but it was always there. So believe me, I know I can’t hide being Jewish.

Yeah, so how come you try to camouflauge it so much?

Oh, Stop it! You think being Jewish means hyhou have to run around in one of those little skull caps and a long white beard?

Not in your case

I’m serious

Well, I guess I think being Jewish means being Jewish

I wish you could have sat in on my comparative religions class last semester

why

professor Brainard made so much sense. She believes that all faiths are basically the same with different window dressings

really?

yes, and I agree with her. I don’t think what religion a person happens to be matters all that much in the modern day world.

oh I think it matters to some pretty important people.

like who?

like Hitler.

No fair. Hitler’s an aberration. Let’s limit the discussion to human beings

tell you what, let’s drop it all together

why

because I don’t want to spend my first date with a pretty girl talking about Hitler

This isn’t a date

Not yet

what do you mean?

If I’m not mistaken, there’s a white castle right up there in Buckhead

there is

you hungry

a little

Great. Now its a date!

Joe I can’t just go to Buckhead at this hour of the night

Why not?

Mama wouldn’t know where I am

leave her a note

shes asleep

Then what’s the difference

I don’t do things like that

Like what? Eat Hamburgers?

I wouldn’t feel right, I’m sorry

okay

I know you’re probably used to girls who

who what?

take more chances

You think going out with me tomorrow night would be taking too big a gamble

no, I imagine I can handle that

White castle in buckhead?

sure, and maybe a movie first.

one qualification?

what?

not gone with the wind

agreed