Mitzi Friedland Kotler

At the end of Biology, junior year, Sherry Duerr was telling me a cute story about her puppy digging in her very Orthodox-Jewish grandmother's backyard.

Now, for those who are unfamiliar with the dietary restrictions (Kosher) of strictly observant Jews; I will briefly explain that, among other prohibitions, combining any dairy product (milk, cheese,etc.) with a meat dish (beef, poultry, lamb, veal etc.) is forbidden. There are separate sets dishes, utensils and so forth used in Kosher households one for meat and another for dairy. If, for example, one accidentally uses a meat plate for a cheese sandwich, that dish must be re-Koshered. Formerly, that was accomplished by burying the sullied dish or utensil in the ground for 30 days.

Now back to my story. Apparently, Sherry's puppy dug up several plates etc. from Grandma's back yard, which explained to the family why she was buying so many new sets of dishes. She would forget which dishes were for which purpose and bury them "just in case," forgetting, unfortunately, where they were buried.

At this point in the tale, after we explained the Kosher laws, our teacher, Mr. Dorgan, was confused and incredulous. "If you don't mix milk and meat, then how do you eat a cheeseburger?" he asked. Being something of a smart-mouth, rather than answer with the obvious "You don't," I retorted; "You must bury yourself in the backyard overnight!" We all laughed and that was that.

A few days later, I arrived a little late for class and entered brushing dirt and leaves off my clothes. Sherry jumped up to assist me. "What on earth is going on," Mr. Dorgan demanded? My reply; "I accidentally had a cheeseburger for dinner."