Scene Around

What's in a name?...

"Mort Aux Juifs" is the name of a small French village. What does it mean? Are you ready for this answer? Okay, here goes: "Death to Jews."

Are you shocked? (I was.)

This comes directly from the World Jewish Congress (WJC) Digest:

"Despite efforts by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the deputy mayor of the village of Courtemaux, Marie-Elizabeth Secretand, has defended her decision opposing a name change. 'It's absurd,' she said. 'This name has existed for ages. Of course no one means to harm the Jews.'

The locality is made up of a farm and two homes. According to Secretand, a local council took up this issue 20 years ago and declined a motion to rename the village."

(Real nice... oy vay! I hope everyone boycotts this village when visiting France.)

The article continues:

"Meanwhile, to update a story reported in our July issue of WJC Digest, residents in the northern Spanish village of Castrillo Matajudios, whose second name translates to 'kill Jews,' have voted to change their name."

(Okay, when visiting Spain, go here and spend a lot of tourist dollars!)

A true Disney princess...

Well, not really... but she could be... and she lives close enough to DisneyWorld!

SYDNEY PENA, age seven, the daughter of RON and BETH PENA, is not only beautiful, but she is very smart and has a terrific sense of humor!

For example, she recently asked her maternal grandparents, ED and GAIL MARCUS, two questions she thought up by herself.

The first question: "What is the name of the only state you can wear?'

The answer, according to Sydney? "Pantsilvania."

The second question: "What state can you drink?"

The answer, according to Sydney? "Mississippi."

(Sip, right?)

(By the way, Sydney's grandparents, Gail and Eddie, are among the most generous donators to Jewish causes... and all causes! For all the pleasure they give others, may they continue to get pleasure from their little "sweetheart," Sydney.)

Jill is "Awesome!"...

I received this email from our own JILL SHARGAA recently:

"On Aug. 29, 2014 at 11 a.m. my presentation on the overuse of the word 'awesome' was launched on the TED.com site. (You can view it here: http://tinyurl.com/pv25fza)

In just 10 days it hit the half million mark. Crazy, right?

And on Monday, Nov. 24, 2014, at 11:51 a.m. EST, we reached the 1,000,000th milestone. That's exactly 87 days after its debut.

So I'm thinkin'...this just might be 'awesome' and I wanted to share my good news with you!"

(Jill went on to wish everyone a wonderful holiday season. She is a brilliant comedian and I feel she has big things in her future!)

What our ancestors may have experienced...

I recently heard from JENNIFER LEE, Print Campaign Associate, News and Experts, here in Florida. She told me about a new book that I feel may be of interest to many of my readers, especially for its historical value. It was written by MARILYN AMSTER GOULD. The book is titled "Son of a Son: Fathers and Sons Unconditional Love and Unintentional Misunderstanding."

Marilyn grew up surrounded by storytellers and became one professionally. She received an associate of arts degree from UCLA, studied poetry at Columbia University, graduated with a bachelor's from USC and later earned an elementary and special education credential from Cal State Northridge. Her first books, 22 of them, were written for children. 'Son of a Son,' a historical novel, required 10 years of research and writing to complete.

Some of its theme: "It's about 1898 - a spring day in Presov. Meyer, 13, dances down the cobblestone street balancing a tray of his father's freshly baked strudel to be delivered to Gereaud's Restaurant after which he will secretly meet Mary Catherine in front of the Church of St. Nicholas. But as he rounds the corner he's met with groups of angry men slinging rocks at windows, smashing doors of shops, overturning carts, wagons, baby carriages, slashing at the shocked onlookers with whips, and shouting, "Kill the Jews! Kill the Jews!"

This is an organized uprising-a pogrom. Fearing the rise of anti-Semitism and rumors of compulsory conscription, Meyer is sent from the world he loves to the strange 'golden land' of America. As history unfolds in the background, from the 19th century and the Belle Époque, to the 20th century and the Age of Aquarius, Meyer journeys you through success and defeat, love and loss, and unexpected obstacles and challenges from generation to generation."

(This sounds like a MUST READ!)

Look what's coming to town...

The beautiful Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts here in Orlando will be presenting "The Book of Mormon" at the Walt Disney Theater from Dec. 26th through Jan. 4th. It is an award-winning Broadway musical.

The TV show "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone and "Avenue Q" composer Robert Lopez are the masterminds behind "The Book of Mormon," a comedy that follows two young men who travel to Uganda to convert the residents to Mormonism. What they find isn't exactly what they expected.

For further information, directions and tickets, phone 1-866-625-4586.

(I saw it and found it very funny! So go and be prepared to laugh a lot!)

A reminder...

Kenny Lee Productions presents with BJ Stephens "Holiday Cabaret With The Divas" on Sunday, December 21st at the Jewish Community Center, 851 N. Maitland Avenue, Maitland. Doors open at noon and the show begins at 1 p.m. The cost is $15, in advance; $20 at the door, which includes a dessert buffet. Phone 407-645-5933 for directions and 407-670-4418 for tickets.

(This is a highlight of the entire year... not to be missed!)

One for the road...

My friend HILDE SANDS emailed this to me. I heard it a long time ago:

A little boy got on the bus, sat next to a man reading a book, and noticed he had his collar on backwards. The little boy asked why he wore his collar backwards.

The man, who was a priest, said,  'I am a Father.'

The little boy replied, 'My daddy doesn't wear his collar like that.'

The priest looked up from his book and answered, ''I am the Father of many.'

The boy said, ''My dad has 4 boys, 4 girls and two grandchildren and he doesn't wear his collar that way!'

The priest, getting impatient, said. 'I am the Father of hundreds,' and went back to reading his book.

The little boy sat quietly thinking for a while, then leaned over and said,

"Maybe you should wear your pants on backwards instead of your collar."