At the toy store where I was formerly employed, the owner and about a third of the customers were of the Jewish faith. Because of this, I became very familiar with the Jewish holidays and customs. I didn't realize how true this was until the first holiday season I worked when Hanukkah started in November instead of December. I'd mention it in passing to some Jewish customers and they'd flip,"Oh, my God! It's next week?! I didn't know it was so early!"
When asked how I, a gentile, knew so much about Judaica, my stock joke became, "Because I went on 'Jew Eye For The Straight Goy'".
But Passover is my favorite because of what we sold during it. For the unfamiliar, a part of the modern custom is something called plague baskets, ten different things to signify the ten plagues that were brought upon the Egyptians by God through Moses (with some help from Aaron). A toy cow for cattle disease, little styrofoam balls for hailstones, fizzy tablets that turn water red to signify the Nile turning to blood, you get the idea.
But the awesomest item ever was something we started selling last Passover:
PLAGUE FINGER PUPPETS!
How creepy is the dead firstborn puppet?
My fellow gentiles do not get this at all. "Isn't that a little morbid?"
Well, yeah! The wrath of God cannot be Disneyed, it can only be Cecil B. DeMille'd. The name Passover itself refers to the Angel of Death "passing over" Jewish households marked with lamb's blood as it killed the firstborn!
Maybe THEY should go on "Jew Eye"!
I'm Your Pal Pete Wright. Am I being presumptuous by calling myself your pal? That's a risk I'm willing to take. I'm a singer, songwriter, storyteller, writer, and comedian, as long as financial gain isn't essential to your definition of those things.
The Nitty Gritty
But more than all of those I am an entertainer. I carry around a ukulele with me for the same reason a gangster carries a gun; better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Stage or sidewalk, Your Pal Pete shows are just where they happen.
Currently, I'm working on a musical, RagnaPOP(or she's got the bomb), set to premiere at this year's Capital Fringe Festival. I'm also working on music, comedy, and musical comedy; for kids and/or adults.
The fruit of these projects will be available on this site, so check back regularly!
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
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1 comment:
That is nuts. I had no idea such a thing existed.
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