Howard had never heard of Yiddishe Cup. What, a Cleveland Jew who has never heard of Yiddishe Cup?\u00a0\u00a0 “But I’ll see you guys soon!” Laundry guys will say anything.<\/p>\n
Howard the <\/span>laundry guy had bona fides: 1) He had gone to my high school. 2) \u201cI got in a lot of fights with the Italians there.” 3) His father had been in Auschwitz. 4) \u201cJewish geography is my favorite subject.” All pluses.<\/p>\n I said, “I don\u2019t trust you.”<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t blame you,” he said.<\/p>\n I hope<\/em><\/strong><\/span> to trust him.<\/p>\n End.<\/p>\n Continue if you’re interested in laundry contracts\u00a0 . . . There was a classic screw-the-landlord lease (yes, there is such a thing) written by a Chicago law firm. (Always referred to as the “Chicago lease” by Cleveland landlords.)\u00a0 In clause #5 of the lease, the coin-op company had the “right of first refusal,” which meant the company could match any new bid or supplier the landlord came up with. In other words, the old laundry company could remain the landlord’s supplier for life. It was like indentured servitude. The headline for the infamous clause #5 was not “right of first refusal,” which would have been OK, but the very misleading header \u201cexclusive laundry equipment,” which made no sense.\u00a0 And in very small type too.<\/small><\/p>\n —<\/span><\/p>\n Come to Cain Park (Cleveland Heights) 7 p.m. Sun., June 28, for a free klezmer concert in the Evans Amphitheater. No tix necessary.\u00a0 It’s Yiddishe Cup plus Steven Greenman, Lori Cahan-Simon and Shawn Fink. And don’t forget Yiddishe Cup’s newest singer: Tamar Gray. Klez from Kleveland: The 37th Annual Workmen’s Circle Yiddish Concert in the Park.<\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n![\"laundry](\"http:\/\/www.yiddishecup.com\/blog\/home\/yiddis6\/public_html\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/laundry-machine-guy.jpg\")
<\/a>I<\/strong> once<\/strong> got <\/span><\/span>a check from a coin-op company in Plainview, New York; their Cleveland rep told me, \u201cWe’re a local company.\u201d\u00a0 The Plainview company was owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland. Somebody in Scotland was pocketing quarters from my buildings’ laundry rooms.<\/p>\n