lazeldes@wlcrjs.UUCP (Leah A Zeldes) (02/12/85)
>If only I could remember that really great joke about the Jewish man named >Sean Ferguson. (Could someone please repeat it?) [Rich Rosen] I know an old man, very frum [orthodox], who speaks only Yiddish. His name is Sean Ferguson. I asked him, "How does a Jew get a name like 'Sean Ferguson'?" He told me, "When I came here, from the Old Country, I had a letter from my cousin, he said, 'Everybody in America has a new name, an American name. When you come on Ellis Island, you should give them an American name too.' My cousin's name, it was Joe Green. So, I made up a new name, Harry Green, very American, and I practiced saying it all the way on the boat coming over. 'Harry Green, Harry Green, Harry Green.' "Then the boat got to New York and I saw the Statue of Liberty and the tall buildings and I stood in a long, long line. All the time, I'm saying to myself, 'Harry Green, Harry Green, Harry Green,' over and over so I don't forget. Finally, I came up to the front of the line and a big man demanded, 'What's your name?' "And all of a sudden, I drew a blank! I couldn't remember the name. And the man says, again, 'What's your name?' I was so flustered, I said, 'Shine fergessen' ['I forget']" This joke is better in Yiddish. -- Leah A Zeldes ...ihnp4!wlcrjs!lazeldes