“It’s A Small World After All” by Mort Laitner 

I love singing the song.

I love the Fantasyland boat ride.

I  love the singing animatronic children dressed in costumes from around the world.

I remember first taking the ride at the 1964 New York World’s Fair UNICEF pavilion—sponsored by Pepsi.

The Magic Kingdom’s theme song makes me happy.

So when I read  page two of Western Guilford Middle Schools Newsletter (Greensboro, North Carolina December 2017—Home of the Tigers), I naturally started singing the Sherman Brothers song:

 its a small world after all
its a small world after all
its a small world after all
its a small, small world

its a world of laughter and a world of tears
its a world of hopes and a world of fears
there’s so much that we share
that is time we’re aware
its a small world after all

its a small world after all
its a small world after all
its a small world after all
its a small, small world

there is just one moon
and one golden sun
and a smile means friendship to everyone
though the mountains divide
and the oceans are wide

its a small world after all
its a small world after all
its a small world after all
its a small, small world

I bet I got you singing.

I bet I got you thinking–laughter and tears—hopes and fears—yin and yang.

Well, here is the WGMS article that got me singing:

Take the Challenge and Warm Up to a Good Book

WGMS would like to encourage students to continue reading during the winter break. The challenge is to read 30 minutes a day for at least 15 days during winter break. More information on our Holiday Reading Challenge will be posted to our Facebook, Twitter, and School Website closer to the break!

The long winter break this year provides an excellent opportunity curl up with a mug of hot chocolate (see recipe below) and a good book. The classics are always a good option but we have listed some newer holiday-themed books below:

Christmas in Camelot – Mary Pope Osborne

A Charlie Brown Christmas – Charles Shulz

The Christmas Wish – Lori Evert

Goosebumps Most Wanted Special Edition #2: The 12 Scream of Christmas – R.L. Stine

A Boy Called Christmas – Phillis Reynolds Naylor

The Carpenter’s Gift: A Christmas Tale about the Rockefeller Center Tree – David Rubel

The Christmas Magic – Lauren Thompson

Seven Days Before Christmas – Wade Elgin

Latkes and Applesauce: A Hanukah Story – Manushkin

Hanukah – Grace Jones

The Hanukah Bunny – Mort Laitner

Were kids in Greensboro warming up with my “Good Book?”

Were kids in Greensboro reading my book with a mug of hot chocolate?

Here was my Hanukkah gift delivered in the month of May all the way from North Carolina,.

Read the authors names: Charles Schulz, R.L. Stine and Mort Laitner.

Read the characters names: Charlie Brown, Goosebumps and the Hanukkah Bunny.

Well, Western Guilford Middle School by sharing you succeeded in bringing a smile, laughter and tears of joy on to my face.

And making me realize it’s a small world after all,

 

Remember you can buy all of our books, A Hebraic Obsession, The Greatest Gift and The

Hanukkah Bunny on Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

https://www.ebay.com/i/381922285001?chn=ps

For reviews visit: https://www.amazon.com/Hebraic-Obsession-Mort-Laitner/product-reviews/0996036903

The movie “The Stairs” is available  for $20.00, which includes shipping and handling through this website.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Karma” by Mort Laitner

“I believe in karma. If the good is sown, the good is collected.” Vannick Noah

Happy Endings, my Viet Nam story got me thinking about karma.

I recalled Sakyong Mipham’s quote,”Like gravity, karma is so basic we often don’t even notice it.”

So I wasn’t focusing on it when I donated a copy of “A Hebraic Obsession”  and a DVD of the movie “The Stairs” to Chabad Center of Kendall,

But after I gave my speech, I wondered if and when the cosmic forces would return my kindness for the giving of  tzedakah.

I was almost instantly rewarded when Rabbi Yossi Harlig showed me one of the photos he shot at the gates of Auschwitz. Behind the “Work Will Set You Free” gate black smoke billowed—the smoke probably caused by a forest fire. He had captured this iconic picture in a new light. He captured an image in 2018 that represented 1943. 

One word left my mouth, “WOW.”

That same night in the audience, I had the pleasure of meeting Glenn Lapides and his lovely wife. Glenn is a self-made scholar of Holocaust Studies—having visited the camps, read a multitude of Shoah literature and has discussed the war with such luminaries as Simon Wiesenthal and Elie Wiesel.

We talked and then he asked, “Mort, have you read “The Abandonment of the Jews—America and the Holocaust,1941—1945” by David Wyman?”

“No,” I replied.

A few days later, I found a package resting in front of my door. An Amazon package with its smile logo and its “Gift Inside” label.

You guessed it. A spanking new copy of “The Abandonment of the Jews.” 

Thanks Glenn. You were right, I am intrigued with the read.

To see if I had any extra good Karma left from my donation, I submitted  Happy Endings to the Miami Herald and the Sun Sentinel.

Low and behold the Herald printed the story.

As I read the story in the Herald, I thought,” Good deeds do bring future happiness and sometimes karma acts as fast as the speed of light.”

 

 

 

Updates and Future  Events

 

Shirley Jones sent me a note from the Memories of Woodridge Facebook page:

Mort, the veterinarian I see, is a survivor’s son and he finally read your book. (A Hebraic Obsession) He said  the book was “awesome” and that it brought tears to his eyes.

Thanks Shirley for the update.

On April 26, 2018, I spoke and premiered “The Stairs” in Kendall at the Hilda & Lester Greenstein Chabad Center Kendall/Pinecrest. (Serving The Community With Heart and Soul)

I was warmly greeted by Rabbi Yossi Harlig and members of his congregation.

The audience asked heart-felt questions. They bought a bunch of my books and I was featured in their Calendar & Program Guide 5778.

The South Florida Writers Association published my short story “Happy Ending” in The Author’s Voice. Thanks Editor-in-Chief Teresa Bendana.

I have finished the screenplay for my next movie, “Sitting Shiva”. (It took four drafts)Trying to decide whether to film the movie in Portland, Oregon or in Plantation, Florida.  Any Floridians interested in participating, please contact me at mortlaitner@bellsouth.net

I will speak and premier the film “The Stairs” in Boynton Beach, Florida at the Jewish Heritage Breakfast on October 21, 2018 . Hoping to see a crowd of 150 attendees. More info to follow. Why not join me for breakfast.

Remember you can buy all of my books, A Hebraic Obsession, The Greatest Gift and The

Hanukkah Bunny on Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

The movie “The Stairs” is available  for $15.00 through this website.