Guest Column: So the Story Goes...

Itzhak Perlman was recently in Houston doing a fundraiser for your favorite Zionist organization and mine, Hadassah. The long weekend included the Houston Hadassah Conference, of which your faithful reporter was fortunately mostly immune. It all kicked off with a reception Thursday last where the machers could see, be seen, and meet The Fiddler himself. The following is a brief tale as it was told to me by my mother, C.F.O. of Trust Fund Reporting and all-around badass.

It begins with a request from Mr. Perlman to answer questions from the audience rather than receive adulations. The first speaker took time praising him, to which he gruffly said, "question!" So, of course, my mother steps up. "Mr. Perlman, I remember when you appeared on Sesame Street and I watched with my children. They loved it and so did I." The Fiddler replied, "question!" Mother said, "My question is: what was it like working with that kind of cast and creating a show where the audience was obviously children?"

Mr. Perlman then answered, "It was a privilege to work with them and a great way to introduce young children to music. Did you know that Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch are the same person?"

The crowd was agape, aghast, and generally stunned.

I submit this to you, not to make comment on the yin-yang attributes of the actor playing both the giant yellow thing and the beloved curmudgeon, nor to hypothesize on whether it is a good thing that so many of our parents too were crushed by such a revelation. Send your therapy bills to them; they controlled the magic box.

But, when I heard this tale, I began to ponder, after the shock wore off, how fascinating it was that Mr. Perlman in that moment chose to be so pragmatic, revealing that insider information to a public who did not want to know. Intentional oblivion. Maybe it is the American versus Israeli frame of mind: we Americans have the luxury of being totally uninvolved with our government should we choose. Maybe it was that everyone needed a reminder of what innocent loves we may have forgotten, or neglected, on our paths. Maybe it disproves the theory that Hadassah members are zombies (Mr. Perlman was made an Associate Member). But it was certainly worth sharing.

At last, we finally know where his hands have been all this time...

Amelia Chandler-Lewy is a senior editor and spiritual advisor of TrustFundReporting.com. She recently joined the Facebook.