Saturday, October 6, 2007

Out of Town is NOT Outer Space--part #4

Many years ago we invited all of our family from around the city to come to our son's upsherin--haircutting. Aside from the surprise of a few that, living in Staten Island, we didn't cut his hair until he was three, we also got the following. Only biting our lips and tongues and remembering that our parents brought us up with good manners kept us from howling with laughter.

A cousin from Brooklyn, who had never been to Staten Island before, commented: "How do you live with all these trees? And you are so far apart from your neighbors. Where are the grocery stores to walk to? Where are the other stores?" In short, what kind of a life were we living outside of Brooklyn. Of course, the fact that our Rav was wearing a kaftan and a shtraimel sort of threw them for a loop too. In Staten Island? How could this be? Then there was the uncle who asked for the caterer's phone number so he could check out the kashrus before he would eat at the simcha--after all, this was Staten Island.

A friend from Seattle, also living in New York, had a grandfather who was head of the shochtim here in New York for a while. He commented to his family that he trusted the kashrus out of town more than he trusted the kashrus in New York. His reasons? Out of town more people keep an eye on what is going on with kashrus. There are fewer merchants and more oversight. In New York the chance for slip ups is far greater. Think he was wrong? Look back just at the last few years at some of the "scandals" involving kashrus in the New York area.

For a while Staten Island did not have a girl's yeshiva so we had to bus our daughters to Brooklyn. Their classmates were invited for Shabbosim to our home. Shabbos morning one girl came out of her room looking drawn. When I asked if she was feeling okay she answered: "I couldn't sleep last night. It was just too quiet here."

Strange. Whenever I have spent Shabbos in Brooklyn I also don't sleep well--it is just too noisy.

Perception is a truly strange thing. And when it involves "out of town," no matter how near or far that out of town is, the perceptions are even stranger.

2 comments:

Scraps said...

Haha--that's right, I forgot that to many people, Staten Island is also "out of town". (Pardon me while I giggle behind my hand.) I can't imagine what would happen if they ever had to venture out of the greater NY metro area....

Anonymous said...

Argh! Trees!

Is Staten Island still out of town? I mean, it has two pretty impressive yeshivos there. There must be a New York community springing up.

Hey - maybe we think Brooklyn is the center of the world, but did you get that succa poster from Beis Medrash Gavoha showing that Lakewood is the cumulation of the purpose of the universe? The snobbery may be shifting Southwest.