Eli Evans Again

In speaking about his interviews with Jews in small towns, Evans said that he asked one man why his grandfather settled in this particular place. He said he was told that the man's grandfather was moving west, and stopped there because his horse died.

In a review yesterday in the New York Times of a new book which chronicles the life of several families affected by the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, the author was quoting as saying that one of the families he was following was living in a small town because, as the family was moving west, their horse died.

If I had only heard Evans, I would have believed him. If I had only read the Dust Bowl history, I would have believed it. But now it reminds me of the story told by a law school professor, who said: If you are listening to a clock strike the hour and it strikes 13, you not only disbelieve the 13th chime, but all that came before.

But, if you are ever asked by someone how your family got to your home town, one thing is clear. You can't beat a dead horse.