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When a Jewish paperboy played Santa — and the journalist who never forgot him

JL;DR SUMMARY Robin Washington recounts a touching childhood memory from 1967 when he, then a 10-year-old Jewish paperboy, encountered reporter Leonard Fisher on a cold Chicago night. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

1967Jewish IdentityChicagoHanukkahInterfaith FamilyJournalismNostalgiaHuman InterestRobin WashingtonLeonard Fisher

Places mentioned

Chicago, Illinois, United States
"On a blizzardy Chicago night in December 1967, a reporter named Leonard Fisher happened upon a 10-year-old boy dragging a newspaper sack and buying an item at a Magnificent Mile gift shop."
New York, United States
"While searching online, I came across my name in The East Hampton Star, a community paper near Fishers Long Island home."
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
"By then, I too had become a journalist, and Fishers son, Ari, found my byline in The Boston Globe."

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Cairo Item ID 71049
Cairo Source ID 35
Retrieved 2025-12-23 05:30:53 UTC
Curated 2025-12-23 08:31:41 UTC