Jewish Lunacy
6000 Years of Tradition, Pride, and Stories as Told by Someone Who Missed the First 5,960 Years
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My grandfather never shook the notion that boys with long hair were trouble. One day during my college years he told me that I “looked like a Calderone.” He reminded me many times in his thick accent that he spoke five languages: “Russian, Polish, Ukrein (Ukrainian), ‘Eedish (Yiddish) and English.” To me Calderone sounded Italian. He definitely did not speak Italian. I asked him what language Calderone was. He looked at me and said, “College boy, you don’t speak English. I never went to college and I understand English. How do you go to college and only learn one language, and not even understand that one?” Finally there was a language breakthrough. My dad made some headway. “No pop, his name is Calderone. There is no such thing as a Calderone. It’s a person, not a thing. Calderone is his last name.” I asked, “Who the heck is this Calderone guy?” My father looked at me and said, “Your grandfather says you look like the drug dealer from Miami Vice.”
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About the Book
Jewish Lunacy looks back on six millennia of Jewish history, presenting it as the history of a family by telling it through the reminiscences of Eric, who calls himself the Tygrrrr Express. He grew up hearing stories of heartbreaking pain, insightful wisdom, and sidesplitting humor from Jewish relatives and the elders in Long Island, where he grew up. Drawing upon his family’s rich oral traditions, the author explores the deeply serious and humorously welcoming history of the Jewish people. Organized by topics, the book explores the lunacy of the author’s growing up and uncovers the strange elements in topics as varied as sex, sports, philosophy, politics, pacifism, conspiracy theories, and religion. If you find yourself bemoaning the bleak landscape of the day’s news and would like a refreshing approach in reading stories that take seriously the truly significant realities of life—God, family, and relationships—while finding in them reasons and occasions for laughter, then Jewish Lunacy will take you on a journey through history and entertain you with such stories. As its subtitle promises, Jewish Lunacy tells the stories that 6000 years full of tradition and pride have given as gifts to be passed on to others.
About the Author
Eric—known as the Tygrrrr Express—was born in Brooklyn and raised on Long Island. He lives in Los Angeles. Leaving a career in stocks and oil, he now writes and speaks. A proud Jew, he is descended from Holocaust survivors and enjoys politics, professional football, 1980s hard rock, and red meat.