Moishe Plotnik's Laundry

Moishe Plotnik's Laundry

 

 

 

 

.....Moishe Plotnik's Laundry              .  . Walking through San Francisco's Chinatown, a tourist from the Midwest was fascinated with all  the Chinese restaurants, shops, signs and banners.  He turned a corner and saw a building with  the sign "Moishe Plotnik's  Chinese Laundry."  "Moishe  Plotnik?" he wondered. "How  does that fit in Chinatown?" .  So he walked into the shop and saw a fairly standard looking Chinese laundry.  He could see that the proprietors were clearly aware of the uniqueness of the name as there were baseball hats, T-Shirts and coffee mugs emblazoned with the logo "Moishe Plotnik's Chinese Laundry."There was also a fair selection of Chinatown souvenirs, indicating that the name alone had brought many tourists into the shop.  The tourist selected a coffee cup as a conversation piece to take back to his office. Behind the counter was a smiling old Chinese gentleman who thanked him for his purchase in English, thickly accented with Chinese.  The tourist asked, "Can you tell me how this place got a name like "Moishe Plotnik's Chinese Laundry?"    The old man answered, 'Ah..Evleebody ask me dat.  It name of owner.' Looking around, the tourist asked,  'Is he here now?' 'It me, Me him!' replied the old man. 'Really?  You're Chinese.  How did  you ever get a Jewish name like  Moishe Plotnik?' .  . It simple' said the old man.  'Many, many year ago I come to  thes country.  I standing in  line at 'Documentation Center  of Immiglation.'Man in front of me was Jewish  man from Poland.' 'Lady at counter look at him  and say to him, 'What your name?' He say to her, 'Moishe Plotnik.' . Then she look at me and say,  'What your name?'       I say, 'Sam Ting.'