Colin Powell: Yiddish

you said those 13 rules came from sayings when you were uh a young man growing up in the city my understanding is you worked in a baby furniture store and you picked up some Yiddish sayings did any of those translate you know did you get any wisdom or guidance from yeah whenever I was whenever was kind of annoyed with somebody I got G you know hit you in the side of the head of you're a blessing and depending on how you say it it's either a blessing or a slap in the side of the head I preferred it as a slap in the side of the head um but I learned a lot the biggest lesson I got from my experience in the toy store was from the Russian immigrant Jew who owned it J sixer and after I'd worked there for a few Summers and a few Christmas Seasons he he pulled me aside and he he used a a dimunitive a Yiddish dimunitive of my name he would call me kie kie knew come listen I want to talk and he said to me kie you're you're a good worker I love having in the store you're part of the family but listen you know you can't ever stay here uh you have to get your education you got a good family and you're smart go get your education make sure you move on and so I never had any intention of staying in that toy store and being a schlepper me just moving stuff around I said never had any intention intention in doing that but I was so touched that he thought enough of me to tell me that I had the potential to do other things in life and don't think that I should stay there and I'll never forget that that a guy cared enough about me to say go don't stay move on and uh I stayed in touch with that family for the next 50 years not he passed on his his his children passed on but um I stayed in touch with them till the last one left

Channel: CUNY TV

Views: 422,326

Keywords: CUNY TV, Study with the Best, Colin Powell (Author), Yiddish

Id: n-apiFO1tEQ

Length: 1min 56sec (116 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 03 2013