Unbelievable to me,but true. Princeton Lib. Buying Ol Man On A Mountain for its collection.. As isJewish Museum of New York as is Steins, the oldest(1890) Judaica store in NY.
I am not only flattered, but shocked.
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Friday, March 28, 2014
Ol' Man On A Mountain Weekly Passage and Yiddish Word of the Week
Dear Former Students, Colleagues and New Friends,
I thought you might like to know about my new book, Ol' Man On A Mountain (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Good Reads). I've taken to sending out a passage from the book to selected persons; as well, since this is the only book about Appalachia that I know of with a Yiddish glossary, I will be sending a Yiddish word with each passage. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I loved writing it.
Please find information on my book through Facebook, blog, Amazon, Barnes and Noble :
Facebook
Blog
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Message me if you like
Passage:
He was eyeing the chains, sold up here, like everything else, off enormous rolls by the linear foot. Big chain here was Big Chain. We're not talking bicycle-lock-for-when-you-run-into-the supermarket-for-milk chain. We're not talking plastic-sleeved-cable-to-secure-your-racing-bike chain. We're talking serious linkage. Steel to secure your average work elephant's ankles. BIG! We're talking keeping T Rex at bay. We're talking Rambo. We're talking Dante in hell to secure the world's most heinous offenders.
"Noah, don't you think maybe this is a little overkill. I'm not expecting Soviet tanks."
He looked at me with those trusting eyes. "Don't know them people. Do know bad folks come up there with a chain cutter they're in for surprise at Stew an' Jan's. Nope, this is what you want."
Yiddish Word:
"Mensch."
Definition: A truly decent human being; someone who does the right thing, regardless of circumstance.
A mensch can be rich, poor, city, country. He is a real mensch.
Best,
Dr. O
I thought you might like to know about my new book, Ol' Man On A Mountain (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Good Reads). I've taken to sending out a passage from the book to selected persons; as well, since this is the only book about Appalachia that I know of with a Yiddish glossary, I will be sending a Yiddish word with each passage. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I loved writing it.
Please find information on my book through Facebook, blog, Amazon, Barnes and Noble :
Blog
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Message me if you like
Passage:
He was eyeing the chains, sold up here, like everything else, off enormous rolls by the linear foot. Big chain here was Big Chain. We're not talking bicycle-lock-for-when-you-run-into-the supermarket-for-milk chain. We're not talking plastic-sleeved-cable-to-secure-your-racing-bike chain. We're talking serious linkage. Steel to secure your average work elephant's ankles. BIG! We're talking keeping T Rex at bay. We're talking Rambo. We're talking Dante in hell to secure the world's most heinous offenders.
"Noah, don't you think maybe this is a little overkill. I'm not expecting Soviet tanks."
He looked at me with those trusting eyes. "Don't know them people. Do know bad folks come up there with a chain cutter they're in for surprise at Stew an' Jan's. Nope, this is what you want."
Yiddish Word:
"Mensch."
Definition: A truly decent human being; someone who does the right thing, regardless of circumstance.
A mensch can be rich, poor, city, country. He is a real mensch.
Best,
Dr. O
Monday, March 17, 2014
Dear Former Students, Colleagues and New Friends,
I thought you might like to know about my new book, Ol' Man On A Mountain (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Good Reads). I've taken to sending out a passage from the book to selected persons; as well, since this is the only book about Appalachia that I know of with a Yiddish glossary, I will be sending a Yiddish word with each passage. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I loved writing it. So far so good–32 5 star reviews. There's a new career in the old bird yet! I'm doing a signing at Bright Lights Books, Sat, March 22 from 1-3pm. First one they've done with a local author. Hope to see some of you.
Please find information on my book through Facebook, blog, Amazon, Barnes and Noble :
Facebook
Blog
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Message me if you like
Passage:
When we used to visit the Jewish cemetery where her 'Mann,' her beloved Reuben, my grandfather, was buried, an old Rabbi would inevitably find and approach us. The place seemed to me, a kid of 14, to be teeming with them, ancient men from the old country–dirty, a little smelly, with scraggly beards, always dressed in old shma'te-dicha suits; translation, near enough to rags to be rags. To a teenage kid, they seemed frightening, like aliens from another world.
And, of course, they were. The reality is that many were learned men in the old traditions; many had been rabbis in Poland or Germany or another European country. Fifteen years earlier their congregations had been murdered by Hitler or sent to the concentration camps all over Europe to die. Once respected rabbis, or teachers, these men, who had somehow escaped or survived the camps, found their old worlds destroyed. They were the closest thing to working Jewish beggars in America. I think that even then their eyes looked empty to me, and that's why I was scared. I wondered if this is what they did all day long, wandering around the cemetery like ghosts themselves, asking to say prayers at the graves. I never expressed my fears to my grandmother, but she must have sensed them, because as one approached. she wrapped her arm around my shoulder.
"Mrs., you want I should say a prayer for your husband?" he offered in Yiddish.
And she, as inevitably as his appearance, agreed, always agreed.
"Nu (well), so say a prayer.
Then she would give the ghost a dollar or two. Sometimes, when she'd had a really good week in the bakery, she'd hand over a five-dollar bill.
At fourteen, I was already something of a skeptic. "Bubbe, if you don't believe," and she made it clear she did not, "why give him money?"
She shrugged those little world-toughened shoulders. "So, an old rabbi also has to make a living. An old man also needs dignity. Remember, 'zein besser, nit erger."' (For him we can make it better. Let's not ever make it worse.)
My mind turned back to Lorne, who was saying, "You know Stew, in a lot of ways he's like a child. He ain't good with money. But that boy's got a real good nose for people. And he already sees you as his friend. When he calls you Ol' Man, he doesn't mean a thing by it except love."
Yiddish Word:
tsuris: Rhymes with a drawn, out your is
Definition: trouble, big trouble
"Don't tell me yours. I've got my own tsuris."
Best,
Dr. O
I thought you might like to know about my new book, Ol' Man On A Mountain (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Good Reads). I've taken to sending out a passage from the book to selected persons; as well, since this is the only book about Appalachia that I know of with a Yiddish glossary, I will be sending a Yiddish word with each passage. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I loved writing it. So far so good–32 5 star reviews. There's a new career in the old bird yet! I'm doing a signing at Bright Lights Books, Sat, March 22 from 1-3pm. First one they've done with a local author. Hope to see some of you.
Please find information on my book through Facebook, blog, Amazon, Barnes and Noble :
Blog
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Message me if you like
Passage:
When we used to visit the Jewish cemetery where her 'Mann,' her beloved Reuben, my grandfather, was buried, an old Rabbi would inevitably find and approach us. The place seemed to me, a kid of 14, to be teeming with them, ancient men from the old country–dirty, a little smelly, with scraggly beards, always dressed in old shma'te-dicha suits; translation, near enough to rags to be rags. To a teenage kid, they seemed frightening, like aliens from another world.
And, of course, they were. The reality is that many were learned men in the old traditions; many had been rabbis in Poland or Germany or another European country. Fifteen years earlier their congregations had been murdered by Hitler or sent to the concentration camps all over Europe to die. Once respected rabbis, or teachers, these men, who had somehow escaped or survived the camps, found their old worlds destroyed. They were the closest thing to working Jewish beggars in America. I think that even then their eyes looked empty to me, and that's why I was scared. I wondered if this is what they did all day long, wandering around the cemetery like ghosts themselves, asking to say prayers at the graves. I never expressed my fears to my grandmother, but she must have sensed them, because as one approached. she wrapped her arm around my shoulder.
"Mrs., you want I should say a prayer for your husband?" he offered in Yiddish.
And she, as inevitably as his appearance, agreed, always agreed.
"Nu (well), so say a prayer.
Then she would give the ghost a dollar or two. Sometimes, when she'd had a really good week in the bakery, she'd hand over a five-dollar bill.
At fourteen, I was already something of a skeptic. "Bubbe, if you don't believe," and she made it clear she did not, "why give him money?"
She shrugged those little world-toughened shoulders. "So, an old rabbi also has to make a living. An old man also needs dignity. Remember, 'zein besser, nit erger."' (For him we can make it better. Let's not ever make it worse.)
My mind turned back to Lorne, who was saying, "You know Stew, in a lot of ways he's like a child. He ain't good with money. But that boy's got a real good nose for people. And he already sees you as his friend. When he calls you Ol' Man, he doesn't mean a thing by it except love."
Yiddish Word:
tsuris: Rhymes with a drawn, out your is
Definition: trouble, big trouble
"Don't tell me yours. I've got my own tsuris."
Best,
Dr. O
Friday, March 7, 2014
Ol' Man on a Mountain Weekly Passage and Yiddish Word of the Week
Ol' Man on a Mountain
Dear Wataugans, Friends, and "Colleague Students"
It is with great pleasure to provide you with this week's passage and yiddish word of the week. I am also happy to welcome some of my former students from the Shakespeare Institute.
Weekly Passage:
"What I do know in my heart is that home for me cannot exist without the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is in my heart and in every moment of my life and the lives of my dear family. And that I must tell you in anything I say about life. I also got to tell you that Jan and Stu feel as much like family as any two people I know. And we feel so grateful to have them here."
I'd already understood that this was a unique and substantial man. Now, I was doubly impressed with him.
From the very back of the room, nearest the kitchen we heard still another voice, muffled by sobs. Melanie, Mark's wife, stood there crying, great big tears rolling down her cheeks. "I was so scared," she sobbed through a thick Georgia drawl. "I thought anybody might move up here, they could chase us off the land, tell us why they didn't want us here. Fence it in. I was just so scared. Then we met Jan and Stu and I felt...I felt..." She couldn't finish.
Yiddish Word of the Week: Neshama
Definition: the soul or spirit. Our son Joe is a Gute Neshama.
Gute means good, Neshama means soul.
Please check out my links for Ol' Man:
http://stuomans.blogspot.com
http://www.amazon.com/Ol-Man-Mountain-Stuart-Omans-ebook/dp/B00DMBO12W
I would love to hear from you all
Dr. Omans
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Ol' Man on a Mountain Weekly Passage and Yiddish Word of the Week
Dear Friends of Watauga River,
I want to share good news about Ol' Man On A Mountain. A neighbor in my town hosted a book signing party last Sunday at their home. 50 people, all of whom had an interest in the beauty of Appalachia attended. We sold 31 copies of Ol Man. Also, I did a signing at our local Farmers Market and donated all proceeds to the Winter Park Day Nursery, a marvelous school http://winterparkdaynursery.org which is predominantly for children whose family income is below national poverty line. Finally, there is a probability of Terry Teacher, critic for The Wall Street Journal, writing a review. He just did one on Nicholas Nickolby, the ongoing production of the Theater that I Founded. Wow!
Weekly Passage:
"Shelly Sue’s was located just up the mountain and in front of Sugar Creek Mountain Church, where we’d been invited to revisit immediately after we’d witnessed the river baptism. And in emergencies Shelly Sue’s was the place to get help with no questions asked. To us, used to the supermarkets and Sam’s Club of urban America and to our local super-convenient 7-11, where indifference or an obligatory smile were more the order of the day than cordiality, Shelby Sue’s was a gift in its sincere goodwill. Need to use the phone? Fine. Don’t worry yourself about it. Long distance? Don’t worry. Pay me later. Cash a check?" “So long it’s good. Heck, I know where you live.”
"At Shelly Sue’s you could find pretty much anything you needed, as long as the emphasis was need and not want. Further, if she didn’t have the item, she would get on the phone to ask another small general store a few miles up the road to ask if they did. Such courtesy to save you a trip and gasoline was just part of the right way to do business."
Yiddish Word of the Week:
"Mameloshn"rhymes with Mama caution. Literally, Mother tongue, but it is used to mean," tell the bold truth or Cut the cr...p. Or Lay it on the line.
Best wishes to all!
Sincerely,
Stu Omans
Prof. Emeritus, Univ. Of Central Florida
Ol' Man On A Mountain
I want to share good news about Ol' Man On A Mountain. A neighbor in my town hosted a book signing party last Sunday at their home. 50 people, all of whom had an interest in the beauty of Appalachia attended. We sold 31 copies of Ol Man. Also, I did a signing at our local Farmers Market and donated all proceeds to the Winter Park Day Nursery, a marvelous school http://winterparkdaynursery.org which is predominantly for children whose family income is below national poverty line. Finally, there is a probability of Terry Teacher, critic for The Wall Street Journal, writing a review. He just did one on Nicholas Nickolby, the ongoing production of the Theater that I Founded. Wow!
Weekly Passage:
"Shelly Sue’s was located just up the mountain and in front of Sugar Creek Mountain Church, where we’d been invited to revisit immediately after we’d witnessed the river baptism. And in emergencies Shelly Sue’s was the place to get help with no questions asked. To us, used to the supermarkets and Sam’s Club of urban America and to our local super-convenient 7-11, where indifference or an obligatory smile were more the order of the day than cordiality, Shelby Sue’s was a gift in its sincere goodwill. Need to use the phone? Fine. Don’t worry yourself about it. Long distance? Don’t worry. Pay me later. Cash a check?" “So long it’s good. Heck, I know where you live.”
"At Shelly Sue’s you could find pretty much anything you needed, as long as the emphasis was need and not want. Further, if she didn’t have the item, she would get on the phone to ask another small general store a few miles up the road to ask if they did. Such courtesy to save you a trip and gasoline was just part of the right way to do business."
Yiddish Word of the Week:
"Mameloshn"rhymes with Mama caution. Literally, Mother tongue, but it is used to mean," tell the bold truth or Cut the cr...p. Or Lay it on the line.
Best wishes to all!
Sincerely,
Stu Omans
Prof. Emeritus, Univ. Of Central Florida
Ol' Man On A Mountain
Monday, February 17, 2014
Weekly Passage from Ol' Man on a Mountain
There are many words in Yiddish, the universal language of exiled Jews that is now making a strong comeback among young people.
" nar,nefesh,shnook,shlemiel,shmegeggeh,shlimazel,yold( one of my mother's favorites). I once asked I.B. Singer the great Jewish writer why he thought we had so many words for fools.
" Why Dr. Omans," he replied with twinkling eyes." I'm surprised at you. Because there are so many kinds of fools running around in this world."
I realize now that when I lived and wrote Ol' Man On A Mountain, I was consciously putting myself in the role of fool. Much Jewish humor is self deprecating and the protagonist plays the role. Often, it is on purpose to learn a new way.
When my wife and I decided to buy a little farm in Appalachia we knew we would begin as misfits, fools, but insisted that all the fears we had were misguided. " Those people" we kept hearing...
But we jumped in: urban, theatrical, academic, artists... Democrats among precivil war, country, long - time Repuplican farmers!
Ol' Man is the result: what I know is a funny, honest report of our experiences, a growing multiple level love story between Baptists and Jews, conservatives and liberals, city " fools" and country wise men.
It's a salute to good willed people, regardless of background.
" nar,nefesh,shnook,shlemiel,shmegeggeh,shlimazel,yold( one of my mother's favorites). I once asked I.B. Singer the great Jewish writer why he thought we had so many words for fools.
" Why Dr. Omans," he replied with twinkling eyes." I'm surprised at you. Because there are so many kinds of fools running around in this world."
I realize now that when I lived and wrote Ol' Man On A Mountain, I was consciously putting myself in the role of fool. Much Jewish humor is self deprecating and the protagonist plays the role. Often, it is on purpose to learn a new way.
When my wife and I decided to buy a little farm in Appalachia we knew we would begin as misfits, fools, but insisted that all the fears we had were misguided. " Those people" we kept hearing...
But we jumped in: urban, theatrical, academic, artists... Democrats among precivil war, country, long - time Repuplican farmers!
Ol' Man is the result: what I know is a funny, honest report of our experiences, a growing multiple level love story between Baptists and Jews, conservatives and liberals, city " fools" and country wise men.
It's a salute to good willed people, regardless of background.
Friday, January 31, 2014
Book sale for benefit of Winter Park Day Nursery
Last weekend Ol Man On A Mountain had great fun. At Winter Park Farmers we did a book sale with proceeds to the Winter Park Day Nursery, this year celebrating its 75th year. A great place with sparkling children, wonderful teachers, and a dedicated, creative administration.
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