We’ve all seen the movie scenes in which first time visitors to New York City walk out the doors of Grand Central Station, onto 42nd Street, take a deep breath, turn towards Park Avenue, suitcase in tow, and begin the adventure they’ve been dreaming about for years. In that moment, we feel like we are there, with them, taking a bite out of the Big Apple.
This is not what happened to Live Longer and I when we walked out the doors of Grand Central Station. We exited to 42nd Street and were headed toward Park Avenue when we passed two Hasidic Jews standing next to a table covered with pamphlets about the Torah. One of the men ran through the crowded sidewalk toward me and asked, “Are you are Jewish?” “No,” I replied. This interaction was very upsetting to Live Longer. “Why didn’t he ask me? Does he think there is no such thing as a Jewish Asian? I’ve got a little Jew in me,” she said. “I had a little Jew in me once too,” I replied and added, “I’m pretty sure it’s my nose that made him ask.”
Live Longer stewed about this a little while longer and, as we talked it out, we decided it might help to come up with a drink specific to her ethnicity – the JewAsian Persuasion. Being that we are not experts of all spirits, we weren’t sure which alcohol to mix in the drink but we were certain it needed a few basic ingredients – mint, ginger and a fruit roll-up. Why the fruit roll-up? It was the closest thing to foreskin we could think of.