WEBVTT

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OK.

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One more poem about a character
and about the transition

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from countries.

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This is basically
about my grandfather,

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who came over from Russia
during the Russian Revolution.

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He got drafted in the army
and on his first leave,

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came home and slipped out of
the country under a haystack,

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I think he said.

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There's a mention of a word
you may not be familiar with.

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The word is Hasidic.

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And it's a particular
kind of Orthodox Jew.

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They live in
communities, usually.

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They tend to sing a lot,
which is strange for the--

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strange kind of thing.

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But they sing a lot, and
according to my grandfather,

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they used to drink a lot too.

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Sounds like an exciting sect.

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It's called "Our Fathers."

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"In the old country,
lacking freedom and tools,

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they were ethical and
respected the poet, the rabbi,

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and the drunken Hasidic fool.

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A sack of wheat was more
than a sack of wheat.

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Immigrants, they turned
practical as sheep

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and dreamed of a kettle of
soup and a bank account,

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a wife who spoke
a little Yiddish

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and kept the rest to herself.

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Perfectionists, eternal
worriers, and fixers,

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they bent the land to their
desires and called it our home.

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Now, in their old age,
pierced by heart attacks

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and a new calm, they slump
over their grandchildren

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and give hard advice.

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Don't worry.

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Live a long life.

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America is a better place
than most in which to die."

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