Thread by @ProfessorPerino

Incident in a NJ Supermarket

At the supermarket today, I found a small, elderly woman standing in front of a high shelf holding @BonneMamanUS preserves. She was having trouble finding the flavor she wanted because the jars were set back on the shelf.

She couldn’t read the labels. She could barely reach them. I offered to help.

After I handed here the raspberry preserves, she thanked me, paused, and then asked, “Do you know why I buy this brand?”

I laughed and replied, “Because it tastes good?”

“Yes, it tastes good.” She paused again. “I am a Holocaust survivor.”

This was not the conversation I expected on a Sunday grocery run.

“During the war, the family that owns the company hid my family in Paris. So now I always buy it. And whenever I go to the store, my grandkids remind me, ‘Bubbe, don’t forget to buy the jelly.’”

I told her that that was the best reason I ever heard to buy any company’s product. And then we both smiled behind our masks and went our separate ways.

Thanks everyone for your comments about this story. I am glad so many people were moved by it. I certainly was. A few people have raised questions about whether it could be true. A few thoughts below.

1.This lovely woman had just shared a beautiful story with me. I was not about to cross-examine her on the details of it in the grocery aisle. She appeared utterly sincere to me.

2.When I got home, I discovered that the Bonne Maman brand was not created until 1971 but the company that created it was founded in France in the 1950s. A number of commenters have done some fact-checking and provide evidence that support the story.

3.Is any of it dispositive? No, but let me ask you this question—what possible reason would this woman have to go out of her way to lie to the perfect stranger who just retrieved a jar of preserves for her?

I neglected to thank everyone who dug up all the information that provided support for the story. My apologies. That kind of crowdsourcing is one of the very best things about Twitter. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

A final thread on #bonnemaman
I want to once again thank everyone who helped fact-check this story. The simple truth is that neither I nor anyone else will ever be able to prove (at least to the satisfaction of those who do not want to believe) that her story was true.

I can tell you though that when I was standing in that supermarket aisle I believed her. I continue to believe her. If you were standing there with me, I think you would have believed her too.

The “fact” that seems to be troubling the most people is the reference to Paris. That may be entirely my fault. Through masks, social distancing, and the noise of a crowded weekend grocery store, I may have simply misheard the location.

What I did not mis-hear, what I will never forget, is: “I am a Holocaust survivor.” That will be burned into my memory forever.
Believe what you will.