My recent post on my friend Andy Roth apparently got a bit of a tailwind and was seen by quite a few people. (If you missed it, you can read it here.) Andy’s network of friends and fellow Holocaust survivors brought in readers from all over the globe.

To any new fans of Eleven:  Welcome!

After you read this, I hope you won’t regret your decision.

Andy recently visited a school in Beverly Hills to talk about his life story. One thing that really impressed the kids was that he could speak five languages.

This, of course, reminded Andy of a joke:

paris sidewalk cafe

Two Americans are sitting at a sidewalk cafe in Paris. A car pulls up beside them and rolls down the window so the driver can ask for directions.

“Parlez-vous francais?” says the driver. The Americans shake their heads.

“Sprechen sie Deutsch?”  They shrug.

“Parli italiano?”  Nothing.

“Hablas espanol?”  Zilch.

“Voce fala portugues?”  Blank stares.

Frustrated, the driver throws up his hands and peels away.

One American turns to the other: “You know, maybe we should try to learn a foreign language.”

“What the heck for?” the other responds. “That guy knows five, and it didn’t do him a bit of good.”

I'm pretty sure it wasn't these two. (Ernest and F. Scott in Paris.)

I’m pretty sure it wasn’t these two. (Ernest and F. Scott in Paris.)