And this is how young and insulated we were. (LAUGHING) And we walk in, and we sit down on the forbidden couch.Īnd my mom just went, boys, this year, we're going to have Christmas. And AJ and I look at each other like, oh, no, Bubbe died again. And everything in the living room was covered with, like, a thick plastic sheet, in case, like, the real owners of the home showed up one day. So those are the only times we were allowed. The living room was for guests and tragedy. We were never allowed, as children, in the living room, never. I don't know if anyone else grew up in a home like this. My parents are sitting in the living room. And he's like, over my dead body are we having Christmas! So they compromised, and we had Christmas.ĪJ and I come downstairs one day. He's like, Cheryl, I will not have Christmas in a Jewish home! And she's like, Elazer, we're having Christmas. But Dad grew up Jewish in Boston in a time when it's actually really hard to be Jewish there, which is between the years 15.
My father grew up Jewish in Boston, like me. And this was a really good friend, and so my mom said, hey, Kelly, why don't you come to our house for Christmas? She was alone in Boston, and my mom noticed that she would get sad around the holidays. My mom had this friend named Kelly.Īnd Kelly had lost her siblings, like, in years previous, and her parents weren't in the picture. Like, once, when I was a kid, my family had Christmas. Stay with us.Īll of the best Jewish moments of my life are moments where Jewish values presented themselves in, like, unconventional places. From WBEZ Chicago, it's This American Life. We want to spend the hour with people who are trying something brand new at Christmas, because they have a shot at some deep Christmas-y feeling. Which is why this Christmas, here at our show, we thought it would be nice to spend an hour with people who are not doing what they've ever done in the past at Christmas, who are not doing the same old, same old. And there are all kinds of reasons that is a big deal for him, that we're going to get into in a minute or two.īut my point right now is, when you're trying something for the first time, you can just taste all the potential and excitement of what it could be. Mainly, he's that way because it is his first time in the chair. Not just because he wants to be a perfect Santa for these little kids.
But one thing you can say about Allen- he's not feeling numb. It's so easy to lose the magical feeling that so many people had as kids around the holiday. You know, Christmas comes around every year, always the same- with the same songs, and the same stage props, and same specials on TV.
#THIS AMERICAN LIFE ALEX JONES FULL#
He frets and drives on his way to the gig, two full Santa's costumes in the bag.
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