A Jewish man was leaving a Staten Island convenience store with an espresso when he observed an unusual Italian funeral procession approaching a local cemetery.
A black hearse was followed by another black hearse about 50 feet behind the first. Behind the second hearse was a lone Italian man carrying a dog on a leash. A little way behind him, roughly 200 guys walked in a single file.

The Jewish man raised his eyebrows. He’d never seen anything like it before – two hearses and hundreds of men lined up – and his curiosity eventually got the best of him. He approached the Italian man walking the dog with respect and said, “I am so sorry for your loss, and I apologize for disturbing you at this time, but I’ve never seen an Italian funeral like this. “Whose funeral is this?”

“My wife’s.” “I see. My condolences. “Whatever happened to her?” “She yelled at me, and suddenly my dog attacked and killed her.” He probed further: “Ah. “And who is in the second hearse?” “My mother-in-law.” She arrived to aid my wife, but the dog turned on her and killed her too.” It was a very moving and heartfelt moment of Jewish and Italian unity. Silence fell between the two men. The Jewish man then said, “Can I borrow the dog?” The Italian man said, “Get in line.”