The Birth of Judyism

I was born in the local Food Basket, probably somewhere back in the produce department.

It always amused me to say this when, at the beginning of the school term, children were pressed to share their basic information in a get-acquainted sort of activity. It was true enough, although at the time of my birth, the building was still the small Osteopathic Hospital in our small town. Then I liked to follow it up with another tidbit: I was born at 9:00 o'clock in the morning, but I didn't breathe until noon. Also true. Taken prematurely by C-section from a mother with the dangerous and dramatic symptoms of eclampsia, I refused to breathe on my own for three hours, till the doctor cried, "Oh, if I only had a resuscitator!" My father the mayor immediately called the Fire Chief, and mine became the first tiny life saved with the new resuscitator just acquired by the city's Fire Department. Even so, it was a chore to keep me alive, as I also refused to eat. I only wanted to sleep, and had to be forced to stay awake and swallow every tiny drop of my formula.

So there are three things you can learn about me from my birth and childhood: I'm stubborn, I have a habit of using "shock" statements to get attention, and I might be a little brain damaged. Feel free to point out any or all of these possible flaws when coming here to study Judyism.