Saturday, November 5, 2011

"Rabbi Ashby"

In Oak Park this month there is a celebration of all things Maurice Sendak. I've been hearing about this for a while, since my friend Michael, of Mama Loshen, has been bragging about the event for nearly a year.  Michael insisted that his brother-in-law, Syd, is a world renowned storyteller, and not to be missed.  So, on Thursday night, the three girls and our friend Julia went to Unity Temple to see Syd's performance.
Syd Lieberman
Ashby, as "Rabbi Ashby".  Needless to say, she was a hit.
In preparing this blog post, I learned that Syd has generously posted stories for our listening pleasure! I just got through Shmulky and My Mother's Love Life.  I'm hooked. What a restful Saturday afternoon I've discovered for myself.  Syd's stories of old Chicago are fabulous, and remind me of all the wonderful stories that Nan and Tom have told.  It's all there: gambling, dance halls, gangsters, carnival rides, baseball, softball, south side, north side, schools, trees, and road trips to Indiana.

3 comments:

  1. Karen: What a wonderful time we had this past Thursday evening listening to Syd Lieberman tell his wonderful stories at the Unity Temple. The high point for me, I must admit, was "Rabbi Ashby's" performance. Nu?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, there's nothing to make a mom proud like an Ashby up there on stage. But I truly enjoyed Syd's stories about his gambling father and sixteen inch baseball. Two things that I had never, in all my life, encountered, until I hooked up with Peter, my Chicago man. The idea that a day at the tracks was perfectly wonderful, and that a sixteen inch ball could suffice for softball, well, that was part of my education about this crazy city, love it or leave it.

    ReplyDelete