Happy Times in Mea She'arim

Here are two episodes witnessed today in Mea She'arim that brought smiles to our faces.
1. En route to a bookstore, I peeked into a dry cleaner's. Every rack, without exception, was filled with nothing but various lengths of heavy black coats and dresses. I could almost have been looking at Marylin Manson's dressing room, or the costume department for "The Matrix".
2. In front of a tallit store was a giant inflatable Hassid draped in, what else, a tallit. Of course, one of the small children waiting outside the store was disrobing him, and we were shocked to discover that underneath his religious garb the Hassid was wearing a bright red snowsuit! It was SANTA. All this time Jewish world leaders have been bemoaning the rate of assimilation in North America, but nobody has publicized our high profile converts! Who knows - maybe this year there really will be some gelt under our Channuka bush...