Matchmaker, Matchmaker

A primer on the members of my tribe, if you will. Just like anxiety, guilt and curly hair are our birthrights as Jews, so it seems is the desire mothers and fathers have to fix the youngsters up. Not just their own children, mind you, but other people's children, no matter where one of the fixees lives.

Case in point: Over Yom Kippur weekend, the big buzz in the Jacksonville community was that there was a new, Jewish doctor (SINGLE!) in town. From my mom's friend trying to set me up (despite our geographic dislocation) to my parents' friends trying to set him up with their daughter who lives in California, the yentas were peeing their pants with anticipation.

My mom immediately calls her friend to get the scoop on the new guy.

"Nancy," her friend says, "He's not even Jewish!" His last name is Silverman. Honest mistake.