The Soup Kitchen Nazi

The early years of the TV show were the early years of my time in bible college. We were all training to be ministers, and every year there was at least one trip to the Big Apple for what we called an “inner city missions trip.” We all had idealized dreams of trips like these, but the NYC one seemed like the ultimate evangelistic pilgrimage. The pièce de résistance of life-changing experiences. Somehow we just knew we would come back more spiritual than we were at the present. Giving homeless people sandwiches, serving at a soup kitchen, and doing pantomimes of Jesus on the cross on busy city sidewalks was often described as “real ministry” (Sorry camp directors, church janitors, and Christian day care workers. You’re close, but…). Needless to say, I was dying to go. And in May of 1992 it finally happened.

We were staying at a place called NYSUM, or New York School of Urban Ministry. I believe it was on the third day that we went to a soup kitchen that served daily from the basement of a church in what was, at least then, a rough part of the city.

We arrived, entered the building, and waited for this soup kitchen Nazi to arrive. We had all heard of him. Other students would tell stories of a gruff character, who had no filter, seemed angry all the time, and yet was lovable. His reputation preceded him. So did his voice: we heard it booming down a hallway before he’d emerged into the large gym-like dining hall. We had already met a woman who worked in the kitchen–another figure whom fellow students talked about admiringly–and he had come after she irreverently yelled for him.

I have to admit, I wasn’t sold on this man at first. Yes, he did fit a kind of TV sitcom caricature of a loud mouth New York City everyday man who had a devil-may-care attitude and called people out on their stupidity. For me, it seemed a tad put on. Like he was turning up the volume for our sake. Oh, and his name was Curly. Bald as a cue ball. Get it?? (You’d think that joke rested with the Three Stooges, but it has gotten staggering mileage for at least 100 years.)

He was blunt, crusty, and bossy. “What are you doing standing up? Geez, sit down! Over there!” And when we didn’t move fast enough, “Sit down! C’mon, what are you waiting for?!” Each took a chair around a table that was in the middle of the hall. He took a seat at the head, clad in his stained white t-shirt like Mel would have worn on TV’s . He went on ranting about what he would and wouldn’t put up with, how we were to treat the people coming to get a meal, and I think there may have been a few swear words thrown in there. We weren’t allowed to reach over anyone’s food. We were to bring the food to them, they didn’t stand in line. And I was one of the servers. We were all scared silly that we’d make a mistake and he’d see it. I think he even told a story of humiliating some poor girl who once did. Insinuating the she, and we, were soft and spoiled.

At one point, we could hear the woman in the kitchen chatting with the other workers and laughing. He yelled out to someone, “Shut that door! I don’t wanna hear her mouth!”

My perspective changed when he started talking about the drug addicts, criminals, and homeless people who would come there for a meal. At one point he mentioned how he could see how prostitutes would hang their heads and think they weren’t worth anything, and he broke out in tears. It wasn’t the kind of crying like a tear rolling down the cheek, or the quivering voice of someone who “promised themselves they wouldn’t cry.” No, he was sobbing uncontrollably. Downright ugly crying into some paper napkins with his shoulders bopping up and down.

I had seen what I thought was a bit of a show. And hey, maybe he did lean into a kind of character, but there was no question in my mind at that point: This man is 100% real. Either that or he’s better than any actor that stage or screen has ever seen.

It seems like I never learn. I meet someone and I have a perception of who they are, or better yet, how I know who they are. I’ll admit, I visit the library or a book store and literally judge books by their cover. It’s so easy to do. And sadly, way too easy to do with our fellow humans. I think of Curly often. Those 10 minutes with him changed me. It is my hope that the memory continues to.

Congratulations . This is your week.

Best Actress:

Julia Roberts as Vivian Ward in

Best Actor: Weird Al Yankovic as George Newman in

Best Quote: Margo: “And why is the carpet all wet, ?” Todd: “I don’t Margo!” – Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Nicholas Guest as Todd and Margo in

Annnnnd a little Seinfeld trivia for you:

Frank Sinatra died the night of the finale, May 14, 1998. The ambulance that rushed him to the hospital made it in record time because of the unusually low traffic that night. Virtually everyone was home watching the finale.