When I first began my career as a Jewish Communal Worker, I had the pleasure of working with some very smart, informative and funny people. One woman, Rachel, had one of the most hysterical senses of humor and often time would introduce to me, some Yiddish expressions, even I had never heard of. Often times when the week was winding down and in the Jewish Communal, that meant Friday night, the one night of the week a worker most likely would NOT be asked to work, Rachel and I would gather in my office, around the bewitching hour of 5:00 (enough time to be home before Shabbat, yet finish up some last minute details), and we would either joyously celebrate our upcoming weekend plans OR, if nothing was really exciting, Rachel would say “Bupkis, I got Bupkis.” We would lament our lonely weekend plans sympathize for a few moments then hug each other good night and exit the building. “I got Bupkis, as far as Rachel and I were concerned, meant, NOTHING, NOTHING at all. But I stand corrected for all of those years thinking the wrong concept, when in turn it seems the Yiddish translation of Bupkis often means small round fecal pellets, referring to the shape of goat droppings. A colorful usage, though a more emphatic expression (in Yiddish more so than in English) is "bupkis mit kaduchas” translating roughly to "shivering shit balls”. Who knew!
I finished watching an attempt by some sane Senators trying understand exactly what happened between the guy in the Oval Office and James Comey. I watched as the Dems seemed intent on discovering some kind of truth, while at the same time, the GOP pretended that Trump, being some kind of amateur should perhaps be slapped on the wrist, but more so, should be understood to be the inept fool he always has been. I listened as John McCain seemingly had a mild stroke, thinking that Hillary was on trial and watched as Marco Rubio dressed himself in a slick oily looking suit some newly purchased tie and hardly moving his lips said, nothing of any substance. I watched, waited and broke my rule (Since the Russians hacked the election I refuse to listen to any talking heads..talk) and observed the GOP thinking by supporting Trumps lies they were doing the patriotic thing, and how frustrated the Dems were because the entire idea of checks and balances no longer exists.
I was not going to blog about this fiasco, trying my hardest to realize we may never find that knight in shining armor to save the day, and in NOT doing so we remain fucked. And then my mind wandered to happier times (perhaps my way to handle the stress of this country) and I remember my friend Rachel telling that she had Bupkis going on. I then hurriedly looked up the meaning of bupkis discovering that in deed the real definition suited this day in the Senate more profoundly and efficiently. Today, I learned that Trump and the GOP are BUPKIS!
