ON A Monday morning, I am suddenly summoned to the office of the chairman of surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. I run over across a mile-long corridor and am ushered into the chairman's spacious chamber. The chairman, Robert E. Condon, MD, shakes my hand and sinks his impressive bulk into a leather chair.
"Well, Moish," he starts, "how many months we have you here in America? Six, seven? My sources and myself think that you need a little help in adjusting to this new environment, eh? You see, here, to get on better with people you need to schmooze them. I was thinking about it and . . . well, yesterday I called a big shot rabbi here in Milwaukee. I talked to him—told him to teach you how to charm and schmooze people in the US. Here, take this phone number; call him, go to see him, and report back to me. I want to see results!"