What’s it like being a Jewish guy in The Villages during the Christmas season?
“Oy Vey” as Mark “The Skipper” Finkle might say.
The singer and entertainer recently performed for the “Yule Sing” and talked about ups and downs of Christmas in Florida’s friendliest hometown.
“I’m a Jewish boy and when I first moved to The Villages, I had wonderful neighbors across the street and on either side but they just didn’t quite understand,” The Skipper said.
The good neighbors were worried about The Skipper. He described the close Christmas encounter with his gentle Gentile street partners this way:
“They said, ‘Oh, we don’t want you to be alone at Christmas.’ I told them, I’m Jewish, I can be alone at Christmas. ‘No,’ they said, ‘we want you to come to our house.’ No, I told them, I can be alone, it’s not a big deal. ‘Nooo, we’ll come and sit with you.’”
Finally, they settled this Christmas tug of war when The Skipper and his neighbors reached a holiday peace accord.
“We sort of compromised,” The Skipper said. “What I did, is sing this song for them.”
The song is called “Ain’t Nobody’s Business (Hanukkah).”
Here is a video of The Skipper singing part of the song: