Two elderly men are strolling along St. Catharine St. in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They turn into the doors of Ben's and take the same two stools at the counter they've been sitting at every day for the last who knows how many years. They each wear suits that were in style fifty years ago with pork-pie hats of the same era perched on their heads.

After placing their orders, coffee for one, seltzer for the other, two smoked meats on rye, one with and the other without mustard, they get down to the serious work of talking. After the usual exchange of medical information ("the doctor says my blood pressure is through the roof again and wants that I should change what I eat"), people who have died ("Pftt... just like that his heart stopped, no warning, nothing") the subject of grandchildren sits down to stay for a while.

"So what's this I hear about your girl's boy, Joshua, the Socalled musician type with his funny ideas about music, he's put out another record of loud noise to make our heads hurt?"

"I have two words for you: Theodore Bikel."

"Theodore Bikel... Theodore Bikel the singer?"

"No, Theodore Bikel the baker. Of course Theodore Bikel the singer, what other Theodore Bikel is there?"

"Okay, okay, don't get so excited, your blood pressure remember – you look a little puce- what about Theodore Bikel, not the baker, but the singer?"

"He's on Joshua's new album."

"What's Theodore Bikel doing on an album like that?"

"Singing, what else would Theodore Bikel be doing on a record, fitting people for suits"?

"But I thought Joshua did that knock-knock music that those young meshugena's play so loud in their cars. What's Theodore Bikel doing on that type of record?"

"It's rap music, don't you know from nothing anymore? Anyway my Joshua doesn't play that type of rap music, there aren't big booms or noisy bangs on one of his records, he has real people singing, real people like Theodore Bikel. And you know, you know what Theodore Bikel is singing on little grandson's record?"

"How should I know, but I'm sure you're going to tell me, so get on with it already – the suspense is killing me..."

"'If I Were A Rich Man'."

"If what were you a rich man, and what's that got to do with what Theodore Bikel was doing on this so-called record?"

"What, did you think God said trains instead of brains and went off looking for the line for the plane? That's the song he sings, 'If I Were A Rich Man', on the record. Of course you have to know the song, because all he sings is the 'La de da de da' bit."