Heard a great concert last night: Lost Tribes of Vaudeville, songs of the black and Yiddish theaters, presented by the New York Festival of Song. Five fabulous singers (three black, two white), two dozen or so terrific songs -- moving, or funny, or sweet. For a brief moment, a sense of meeting across a great divide. Just for a moment. I'm way too cynical -- another word for disappointed -- at this moment in time and in my life to believe that throwing one stranded starfish back in the ocean makes any kind of difference to anyone or anything except that particular starfish. I don't think there's much that will bring Black America and Jewish America together, not in my lifetime, though when I was younger it looked like that could happen. But it was great to see it happen among the five singers and four musicians on stage, and feel it flowing over the audience, for a couple of hours last night.