#1,059: The Stove Pipe Mocks the Yarmulke - A Parable With a Punch

(Introductory note: My maternal grandfather, James J. Kagan [1891-1974] was a unique and accomplished man. After working as an executive for Sears Roebuck for nearly 20 years, he decided to become a doctor. He managed to graduate and go into practice just before his 51st birthday. I inherited a couple of precious heirlooms from him: a nickname (“Grandpa Doc”) and a vast storehouse of stories. Anyone who ever knew him or spent even a bit of time with him, heard the famous introductory phrase “That reminds me of a story.” And so, this week, a brief parable from a vast treasure chest . . . )

The elegant stovepipe mocked the little skullcap (yarmulke). “Poor, little, insignificant skullcap,” he spoke. “You are only worn by pious Jews and rabbis. You are always an object of ridicule and it is hardly appropriate to wear you in the street. Look at me! I am proudly worn by aristocrats, and the wealthy exhibit me at their most elaborate affairs. See how inconspicuous you are alongside me!”

“Yes, that is quite true,” the yarmulke agreed. “I cannot deny the fact that you receive great honor and adorn luxurious banquets and parties. But do remember, dear stovepipe, that you are empty from top to bottom, whereas I am filled throughout with head and brains!”

Moral: Elegance is not always a sign of intelligence!

Thanks Grandpa Doc . . . this too reminds me of a story . . .

One of the members of the French Rothschild family - Baron Jakob Mayer - spent a weekend on a small farm in the French countryside. When the owner gave him his bill, he was startled to see the amount he was charged.

“What!” Baron Rothschild explained in surprise; “Four francs for an egg? Have you such a scarcity of eggs?”

Not of eggs, the owner replied, “but we certainly have a scarcity of Rothschilds!”

Sometimes a good brief, punchy story takes away the pangs of politics better than a glass of wine.

Kurt Franklin Stone