I’ll bet you’ll remember the TV ad, and the man singing the song, too. Scrawny, homely, he was standing under running water, half draped by the shower curtain, warbling away in a shaky voice that evoked the late Slim Pickins.
As he sang, head tilted up, his sharp face was suffused with happiness and excitement.
Maybe he was getting ready to go out to meet a girl, or at least troll for one. Whatever his goal, he knew he was equipped for it to embarrassing perfection.
“Oh Lord, it’s hard to be humble when you’re perfect in every way!” the scrawny man burbled, terribly off key. And —shame on us — we reveled in thinking, “You poor dweeb, if you only knew!”
Well, friends, let me tell you that it is hard to be humble if you’re totally perfect, and I’m sure others besides me who are so burdened feel just that way. (I can’t say for sure since I’ve never met any others.) But that problem is shared to a degree by all Fly Creekers. There’s just so much good about us!
Of course, our hamlet is on the National Historic Register, and we have individual buildings so designated, too.
We have our own Philharmonic, nationally known through “Prairie Home Companion.”
And we have superb eateries; dozens of painters; sculptors, one of whom has done commissioned pieces worldwide; musicians; and (ahem) writers. And a Class-A fire department with ambulance service and splendid equipment.
It’s that very fire department that’s given us the latest confirmation of our rich combination of the sophisticated with the country casual. The company’s been recruiting for more volunteers and has promoted the need on their Route 28 signboard: “BE A MENSCH! JOIN UP!” Well, aren’t you bowled over? Way out here in the supposedly unlettered countryside, a Yiddish word on a signboard—a word presumably understood at once by Fly Creekers. It means a good, decent, generous-hearted man or woman, and Fly Creek is full of such people! We’re a hamlet of mensches.
All right, we have a few kvetchers (chronic whiners) and shlemiels (clumsy oafs), even a few meshugeners (real nut cases). And two, maybe three shlimazels, guys who walk around under a black cloud like Joe Btfsplk; who not only have bad luck, usually self-inflicted, but spread it around, too.
But out of the roughly 350 of us, Fly Creekers, men and women, are mensches by a huge majority. You have a piano that needs moving? A mensch will help you schlep it. A sudden glitch in your schedule and you’ve no one to watch the kids? Be sure that some generous Fly Creek buba will volunteer. She’s not going to say, “Fey!” to your request, but will jump right in. And she won’t be a yakne and stick her shnoz into your family’s business, either.
OK, we’re mostly goyim in the hamlet, but we’re anything but klutzes. We’re ready to help without getting schmaltzy about it.
And if you want to see shmoozers, check out the general store in the morning, when the crowd’s inside, drinking coffee and noshing on doughnuts. Just listen to them. Every one of those genial old geezers has his own shtick.
But it’s in times of real tsuris that the full Fly Creek character appears. Disasters don’t make us fermisht, make us babble, “Oy, gevalt!” Not so. Flooding, fallen trees, fires, car crashes will have mensches of both sexes marshaling themselves to help.
That’s because, whatever our small disputes, we’re mishpokhe. Family.
So, you strong young boychicks, you potential fire recruits, don’t just sit around on your tuches. Be a mensch. Join up!
Columns
From Fly Creek: ‘Be a Mensch!’
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Local Voices From Around the Globe: Mother's visit was a benchmark for this year
Last week, my mother made the 25-hour plane trip out to Thailand to visit her son, me, after nine months of having only choppy Skype sessions and scattered emails to give her an idea of what I look and act like since having left home last August.
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Local Voices From Around the Globe: World traveler calls Euro-Tour experience of a lifetime
While I've had a great time throughout my entire exchange, I can say hands down that the month of April brought me the best memories of my exchange if not some of the best of my entire life. What kind of wonder would bring me to say this? Simple. Euro-Tour.
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Maryland port attacked
Havre de Grace, May 3. "This morning, a little after the break of day, a British armed force, under cover of armed vessels which anchored in front of this town ... landed below a small breast work which had been roughly thrown up, and in which were one 9 and two 4 pounders, manned by 50 militia.
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Memoir reflects on 'roller-coaster life and career'
Apparently, the third time wasn't the charm. The way Reynolds described him, the third husband was worse than the first two combined and that's saying a lot. Eddie Fisher literally walked away from Reynolds and their two infant children to chase a sex goddess. At least he got his just desserts when Elizabeth Taylor tossed him aside for Richard Burton.
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Imagine what might have been ...
A while back we got a telephone call from a reader of this column wanting to know why we had not written a column in support of Otsego Manor continuing to be owned and operated by Otsego County. And even though we have followed the debate over this issue in the newspaper, we readily admitted we did not feel we knew enough about the situation to take a stand.
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Herpes virus brings harness racing to a halt
I've been going to harness horse race tracks my entire life. My family has been in the business for years.
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Time, if not traffic, moves on ...
It is with sadness we note the passing of two people who we have known since moving to Cooperstown in 1982.
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Canadian capital captured
Dear Sir, I have just returned from Fort Niagara, where I saw a Captain of the United States' navy. He is just from little York, the capital of Upper Canada, and gives the following account, which is confirmed in official dispatches from Gen. Dearborn to Gen. Lewis ...
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Local Voices From Around The Globe: Exchange is like a life in a year
All exchange students realize the credibility of this statement. Like all lives no exchange is the same, all are incredible unique exchanges. The metaphor of life, from baby to old age, extends to every part of the exchange.
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Movie depicting legendary Jackie Robinson does not disappoint
Going to the movies is not something I do often. I can count the number of times I have gone on my fingers, unless you include trips to the drive-in. And even so, it took me years before I made it to one of those -- going for the first time two summers ago.
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'Dubious' about weather, Hawkeyes 'suitable' nickname
Unfortunately, it seems to us that this spring has, thus far, been anything but spring like. In fact, we are still more than happy to stay bundled up in our polar fleece.
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'Who's on Worst?' reveals the ugly in baseball
The Baseball Hall of Fame celebrates the greatest players, managers and owners from our national pastime. Any of us who have watched Major League baseball have inevitably seen some of these immortals practicing their craft. But we have also likely witnessed a sample of their opposite brethren, players who shouldn't have been in the Major Leagues. Has there ever been a definitive source that "celebrates" the non-accomplishments of the worst that Major League baseball has to offer?
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Swallow talk and bluebird vigilance
I assume the swallows have returned to Capistrano. They have returned to Hawthorn Hill as well.
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Local Voices From Around the Globe: Life in Hungry has taken a turn for the better
I can truthfully say spring has finally arrived in Hungary. It's almost time to wear shorts and sandals, for summer will be just around the corner. This brings me great happiness and great sadness, my adventure is coming to a close. Really what a time it was, I don't think I can compare it to anything else.
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The importance of speaking up ...
Over the years we have come to understand that, in writing a weekly column, it is not possible to always please everyone. And such was the case with our column that ran at the end of March in which we wrote about our experience as in inpatient following a total hip replacement.
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Public schools created
The Common School Act of 1812 marked the start of New York's public school system. Much of the credit for this was due to the radical Otsego County politician Jedediah Peck (1747-1821). To quote the NY Education Department:
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Book takes readers on path for equal rights
One of the most troubling aspects of our history is race relations. It takes a long time to achieve true equality in a society when the heritage of one ethnic group is slavery and Jim Crow laws. Even today African Americans are more likely to be stereotyped as athletes than doctors, lawyers or entrepreneurs. The path to a "color-blind" nation is still a work in progress.
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Local Voices From Around the Globe: Experiencing India at every new turn
Come, sit down. Hold this and, wait ... ah, there you go. Obeying these commands, I found myself seated on the pavement, wearing a turban and attempting to make sounds out of a recorder-like instrument for the black cobras in the baskets not two feet away from me.
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Local Voices From Around the Globe: Will I be American or will I be Thai today?
When would someone have the ability to present themselves as a native of a country of their own choosing? When they’ve lived eight months as an exchange student, of course!
Continued ... - Second host family makes Hungary feel like home
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Local Voices From Around the Globe: Mother's visit was a benchmark for this year
