Spent all afternoon with
the boys at Jack Zichlinskys
house, the occasion was the
brief visit of Friend Wiener
————-
As I’ve mentioned before, the words “Jack Zichlinsky’s house” are comedy gold in my family, since we used to laugh about my grandmother’s tendency to blurt out “Jack Zichlinsky lived there” whenever we drove with her past his building in Sheepshead Bay.
Papa and Jack were both fraternal brothers in the Order Sons of Zion (B’nai Zion) as were many of “the boys” they hung out with. I’m not sure why Papa capitalized “Friend Wiener”; is it just a mistake or was Weiner part of some affiliate organization and therefore deserving of the title “Friend”?
Hi Matt
Use of upper-case ‘Friend’ is direct translation of Hebrew/Yiddish ‘Chaver’, which would definitely be used for someone from a fraternal or political organization.
It could also denote that ‘Friend Wiener’ was someone whose erudition was respected.
PS: Happy 40th birthday Chaverte Stephanie!!