Tonight I

hosted Professor Ted Merwin (Dickinson College) at Risley for a talk on the history of the Jewish Delicatessen. First of all, let me say that it never ceases to amaze me just how specific research in academia can be. Like honestly this is a cool topic but I just can't imagine being so focused on something so very specialized! Second of all, I will say that this was a very charming talk, about something I never knew would be interesting, and has a lot to do not only with Jewish culture but also pop culture. We listened to music clips, watched bits of Annie Hall and When Harry Met Sally, and talked about New York City through the ages.
Although I was born in upstate NY in 1990, I still feel a sense of nostalgia inside me for interwar New York City, and I feel a connection to the Jews of NYC. I don't eat meat, I don't spend money at restaurants, I don't speak yiddish, I don't live in New York City, I don't want to do any of those things...and yet, there it is. The feeling that in a past life, I did all of those things, and I was a middle aged Jewish man, and I hung out at a deli with all my middle aged Jewish men friends.
So it goes.