Paw Prints TidBits
August 
2007
Paw Prints TidBits for August
It's summer where we live and that means blockbuster movies and actors in the news. This issue of Paw Prints TidBits focuses on a famous actor—from a different era: Joseph Jefferson. The Jeff Awards given annually to acknowledge excellence in theatre in the Chicago area are named for him. And as you head out for your summer vacation, keep in mind that you can't always believe that sign that says "English Spoken Here" (see this month's sidebar).
The Paw Prints homepage this month features an anecdote about Ulysses S. Grant as we continue our remembrance of the U.S. Civil War. If you haven't visited the redesigned Paw Prints homepage, do it today! All our regular sections are still available...we simply put a new coat of paint on the front door.
If you have any comments or suggestions, don't hesitate to contact us.
Anecdote of the Month
Joseph Jefferson (1829–1905)
A n e c d o t e . . .
(Jefferson once told this story to a friend:)
" 'I was coming down the elevator of the Stock Exchange building, and at one of the intermediate floors a man whose face I knew as well as I know yours got in. He greeted me very warmly at once, said it was a number of years since we had met, and was very gracious and friendly, but I couldn't place him for the life of me. I asked him as a sort of feeler how he happened to be in New York, and he answered, with a touch of surprise, that he had lived there for several years. Finally, I told him in an apologetic way that I couldn't recall his name. He looked at me for a moment and then he said very quietly that his name was U.S. Grant.'
'What did you do, Joe?' his friend asked.
'Do?' he replied, with a charactertistic smile. 'Why, I got out at the next floor for fear I'd ask him if he had ever been in the war.' "
B i o g r a p h i c a l . N o t e . . .
Jefferson was a well-known U.S. actor. So successfullly did he create the role of Rip Van Winkle
M o r e . I n f o r m a t i o n . . .
Read an excerpt from Jefferson's autobiography detailing how he came to play the part of Rip Van Winkle.
Archives
English spoken here
Mis-translations
In a Bucharest hotel lobby:
"The lift is being fixed for the next day. During that time
we regret that you will be unbearable."
In a Paris hotel elevator:
"Please leave your values at the front desk."
In a hotel in Athens:
"Visitors are expected to complain at the office between the
hours of 9 and 11 A.M. daily."
In a Yugoslavian hotel:
"The flattening of underwear with pleasure is the job of the
chambermaid."
In a Japanese hotel:
"You are invited to take advantage of the chambermaid."
In the lobby of a Moscow hotel across from a Russian Orthodox
monastery:
"You are welcome to visit the cemetery where famous Russian
and Soviet composers, artists, and writers are buried daily
except Thursday."
On the menu of a Swiss restaurant:
"Our wines leave you nothing to hope for."
