Imagine the entire world has come to a standstill. The streets are deserted; the stores are closed; it is eerily quiet in the middle of the day. Nobody is around – except for your family, who wanders the earth aimlessly, looking for signs of life. Yes, we are talking about the latest M. Night Shyamalan feature coming to a theater near you, entitled:
The Jews of Christmas Day
I must say that the whole premise is totally surreal – and I have seen this film remade just a little differently each year for the last 40 years. We don’t feel sad because we have no place to go – but we definitely feel left out of something. The energy seems to have been sucked out of the atmosphere and the sense that the whole world is still in their pajamas at 1:00 in the afternoon is palpable. Yet we Jews are up and raring to do something – with absolutely no place to go.
So we seek out “the others” (i.e. Jews, Budhists, and Hindus) at the few oases of activity on the planet. And as we pass these tethered souls during the day, we trade furtive glances, blinking in a solemn, collective recognition of the Christmas secret that is understood by “the others” but never spoken. Now and again, some parent offers a creepy little half grin because he or she knows the three magic words that always result in a happy ending to an otherwise desolate day for our people: No Lift Lines.
Some of “The Others” Brothers on Christmas Day 2008: Chase, Owen, Brandon, Noah, Jake: Apres Ski – Avant Chinese Food
