Out of Work Scientist Comes Up With Job by Putting a Mind to It
What do you do when you have a doctorate in reproductive endocrinology and suddenly you’re unemployed?
You go on the road as an Albert Einstein impersonator, of course.
That’s what Arden Bercovitz of Scripps Ranch decided to do three years ago. A cutback at the San Diego Zoo had just cost him his job as a research scientist.
He’d been dabbling with Einstein for years as an intellectual lark. He decided to turn pro.
To tool up, he took classes in German, acting and makeup. He listened to tapes of Einstein’s voice.
He drew the line at dyeing his (dark) hair or growing a cookie-duster; the white mop and mustache you see are store-bought.
Now he makes his living doing Einstein for schools, trade shows and management meetings. He’ll keynote, do an awards presentation, or just generally provide some of the great man’s wit and wisdom.
He also has tapes: “Einstein’s Approach to Better Thinking,” and “Parent & Child Night With Einstein.”
He lays out Einstein’s philosophy, viz: “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.”
And, “I urge a willingness to reserve a place in rational science for rational wonder.” And, “Have the courage to take your own thoughts seriously, for they shape you.”
For kids, Bercovitz, 47, stresses Einstein’s idiosyncratic go-it-alone side, with the message that being yourself is OK even if others don’t understand.
He tells kids that Einstein did not talk until he was 3 years old and then only to say that his soup was too hot. Asked by his mother why he hadn’t spoken earlier, the boy genius replied:
“Because up until now everything has been fine.”
Bercovitz finds that even people (like most of us) who know nothing of Einstein beyond the frizzy-haired image are still drawn to the character.
“People are hungry for good examples,” he says. “There are so many bad examples.
“When I talk about Einstein being misunderstood, about his childhood, about him certainly not being born with a silver spoon in his mouth--these are things people can understand.”
Next They’ll Offer Liquor for Votes
Come and get it.
* Will Vote for Food?
The Corvette Diner in Hillcrest, Galaxy Grill in Horton Plaza, and T-Bird Diner in Escondido are offering a free burger, fries and Coke on Tuesday to anyone with an official “I Voted” sticker.
Voters/eaters can choose between the Slick Willie burger (cheeseburger sure to please everyone), the Read My Lips burger (no broccoli), and Ross’s No Bull burger (meatless).
* North County bumper sticker: “Saddam Still Has His Job, Do You Still Have Yours?”
* Charles Ross, chairman of the city’s Ethics Advisory Board, says both mayoral candidates failed to comply fully with contribution disclosure laws: often omitting addresses, occupations and employers of contributors.
He promises an ethics reform proposal in the spring to tighten things up.
* How important is the Perot factor?
Assemblyman Mike Gotch (D-San Diego) is trumpeting his endorsement from the local chapter of Perot’s United We Stand America in his last-minute television commercials.
* Country singer Dwight Yoakam was the headliner at a Rancho Santa Fe fund-raiser for Rep. Randy (Duke) Cunningham (R-Chula Vista).
* David Beiler, editor of the Washington-based Campaign magazine, and Ann Shanahan Walsh, the magazine’s West Coast bureau chief, are doing a case study of the San Diego mayor’s race.
* Charity begins at home.
Tom Connolly, Democratic candidate in the 77th Assembly District, calls himself a children’s advocate.
Maybe that explains the listing on his campaign expenses: $228 for baby-sitting.
* Bruce Herschensohn talks today to the City Club of San Diego. His opponent Barbara Boxer was invited but declined.
Herschensohn forces wanted an empty chair with a big picture of Boxer, but the City Club nixed the idea.
Can It Land at Lindbergh Field?
A (right) wing and a prayer.
Disheveled fellow bawling out a high-noon message at Horton Plaza: “Watch out, San Diego is trying to fly!”
