A black hearse was followed by a second black hearse about 50 feet behind the first one. Behind the second hearse was a solitary Italian man walking a dog on a leash. Behind him, a short distance back, were about 200 men walking in single file.
The Jewish man raised his eyebrows. He’d never seen anything like it – two hearses and hundreds of men walking in line – and after a while his curiosity got the better of him.
He respectfully approached the Italian man walking the dog and said, “I am so sorry for your loss, and this may be a bad time to disturb you, but I’ve never seen an Italian funeral like this. Whose funeral is it?”
“My wife’s.”
”I see, my condolences. What happened to her?”
“She yelled at me, and suddenly my dog attacked and killed her.”
He inquired further, “Ah
And who is in the second hearse?”
“My mother-in-law. She came to help my wife and the dog turned on her and killed her also.”
It was a very poignant and touching moment of Jewish and Italian brotherhood.
Silence passed between the two men.
The Jewish man then asked, “Can I borrow the dog?”
The Italian man replied, “Get in line.”