Over the recent Memorial Day weekend I learned that the American Girl Doll Company, in it’s infinite wisdom, was coming out with it’s first ‘Jewish American’ doll. I learned this from numerous emails and phone messages – we were out of town – that clogged both machines because the doll had my personal, individual, given by my real parents, name – Rebecca Rubin. She grew up in NYC’s Lower East Side – ditto – and has a relative in the film industry. If there were any more coincidences I would be looking for transmitters in the walls. Recently viewed the movie ‘The Conversation’ with Gene Hackman and forgot how good it is.
But the thing about my 18″ high twin is, how did they pick the name? Rebecca Rubin, while delightfully alliterative, is not, and has never been, the most popular Jewish American woman’s name. Being born in 1918 does make the Lower East Side a natural choice, ditto for Russian origin, but why my name? Apparently there’s another of us who is on the FBI list for arson. Sigh, maybe just being ordinary isn’t so bad!
