Tarheeled

Guess it was only a matter of time. The LSU Tigers had been writing a College World Series script that kept them winning at the last possible moment, but on Friday night the North Carolina Tarheels took the opportunity to do a ninth inning rewrite as they defeated the boys from Baton Rouge with a grand slam on their way to a 7-3 win at Rosenblatt Stadium. "I guess we ran out of miracles," Tiger Coach Paul Mainieri was quoted at game's end. That win sent the Bayou Bengals packing and kept North Carolina's hopes alive as they continue play in the CWS for yet another game. The grand slam by Tim Federowicz was the first one registered in Omaha, Nebraska since 2001. The game, which was rain delayed twice over as many days, didn't start out well for LSU with the Tar Heels getting two runs and loading up the bases with only one out before the game was stopped due to rain. On Friday play got underway for a short time with LSU pitching through the first inning before it was stopped again due to lightning in the third inning when the score was North Carolina 2, LSU 1. A second rain delay ensued shortly with a torrential downpour extending the game for nearly an hour and a half until play could be resumed. Federowicz had been 1-11 at bat prior to the grand slam. North Carolina Coach Mike Fox later told reporters that he thought he was due to break out of his hitting slump. Meanwhile, a brilliant pitching effort in the seventh and eight innings by LSU reliever Louis Coleman (8-1) was for nought as he registered the loss against Alex White (12-3). While the loss sends LSU fans into an emotional tailspin, there were several high notes. First, sophomore Blake Dean was deemed the hitter of the year with his incredible .346 on the year. Also, honors for freshmen DJ LeMahieu and Matt Clark at the SEC Tournament bode well for the future of LSU baseball. Last of all, but certainly not least, the Mainieri's coaching was good enough to earn him top honors at the SEC tournament and he seems poised to repeat his effort this year in years to come. It was the 14th visit to the CWS for LSU, but the first time in eight years that they registered at least one win. That also says something for this bucky little team.
Moving on to politics...who is ready to cast their ballots today? Our latest polls dare to ask the question about which ticket you are ready to see elected to the White House. Check it out at right. Demos should vote for their choice, while Republicans should vote for their party.

Summer Sensations

Well, it's finally happened. The earth has passed through space and crossed the apparant path of the sun. In so doing we have crossed the imaginary point in space known as the summer solstice, thus signalling that the beginning of the hottest season of the year (for those us blessed to live in the Northern Hemisphere) is officially here. As any school child can tell you, summer is the best season. It's the season of extended recess and recreation. For those who can still slalom, it is a time for waterskiing. For those of who can't slalom, it's an opportunity to witness those who can. And for those who enjoy the outdoors, it a verdant time to commune with nature. Ah, summer. So many songs have been written about this wonderful time of year. From the insipid ("Summertime, Summertime" by the Jamies) to the introspective ("Summertime" by George and Ira Gershwin). When I was a youth, I eagerly looked forward to summer. It was my vacation away from my parents and a time for me to have real fun. Not that summer day camp wasn't okay. I enjoyed my time at the JCC, but then, fortuitously, I was asked to leave. It wasn't that I was a bad kid or one inclined to mischief. It's just that I always seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. When a catastrophe happened (and it frequently did), I usually wasn't far away and so took the blame for what I would consider minor infractions. The last straw was an apparent impromptu strip show, where several young toughs decided to teach me a lesson and threw me unclothed outside of the men's locker room to the disgust and dismay of the swimmers in the pool and on the deck a floor below. So, it was off to summer camp for me, a blissful place nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina -- Camp Blue Star. I took to Blue Star as a pig takes to...uh, it is a Jewish camp, so let me rephrase that. I took to Blue Star like a rebbe takes to a yeshiva. I was in my element and I was able to experience the wonders of nature close up and personal. Nice. For seven years I went to Blue Star as a camper and each summer I spent eight glorious weeks in a cabin and enjoying the program they had set up there. We swam in an outdoor lake, not a pool. It took getting used to, but for me, water is water. I had no problem adapting. And as to campcraft, I was a regular wizard. I was the youngest Junior Instructor for campcraft that the camp had seen at that time. It is little wonder that Scouting seems to still be such a draw to me. Blue Star had some great programs including putting on theatrical productions of a very high caliber. I became a fixture there and several of the counselor fought over who got stuck with me. (Trust em, though, there were worse.) One of my former camp counselors, Macy Hart, left Blue Star around 1969 and became the first director of Camp Henry S. Jacobs in Utica, Mississippi. That's important to know because my son attended Jacobs 25 years later for several years. So, he got to know Macy well too. Another counselor, Jerry Himmelstein, became the Anti-Defamation League director in New Orleans, but he and his wife Linda left after Hurricane Katrina to live in New England, last I heard. The summer offered times for me to get to know the girls that attended the camp and I am thankful for those experiences too. I still have several friends I remember from Blue Star and a few from the New Orleans JCC Day Camp. My son treasures his past summers at Henry S. Jacobs and now his girlfriend is working for the summer at...you guessed...the JCC Summer Day Camp. Small world, but isn't summer great?

Mazel tov, Cindy

Today is a very important day in Cleveland. No, it has nothing to do with Juneteenth, although I am sure there are a number of people celebrating that holiday there. Instead, I am referring to today's private gathering at Cleveland Jewish News senior staff reporter Arlene Fine's home, where she held a surprise party for staffers and former staffers to honor Cynthia Dettelbach. The Brooklyn-born longtime editor of the CJN celebrates 30 years at the helm of the editorial department of the award winning publication. Dr. Dettelbach (she received her doctorate in English when she was 37) is affectionately known as "Cindy" by veteran staffers. She is the heart and the soul of the newspaper and still personally inspects every item that is inserted into the weekly Jewish paper and its custom publications like j-Style. In acknowledgment of her many years of service to the regional journalistic community at large, the Cleveland Press Club enrolled her as a member of their Hall of Fame Award in 2006. An award winning columnist for many decades, she admits that she has struggled with personal issues that might have defeated lesser-endowed individuals and discouraged even the bravest among us. Yet, throughout her career she has met all the challenges head on and persevered. Her writing is sterling and her expectations of her staff are very high. She keeps the bar very high for her stable of writers and associate editors because she knows of what they are capable. She is quick to send a hastily constructed article back to its author with a blunt reproval, demanding an immediate rewrite. She is tough, but she is not unfair. She is capable of understanding why something she has slashed from an article needs to be inserted. But pray you have done your homework. If not, she will shoot you down like a frog's tongue can pick off an airborne fly. I can honestly say that whenever an article was handed back to me it was improved immeasurably, the mark of an excellent editor. When I became a refugee in Cleveland right after Hurricane Katrina passed and the levees breached in New Orleans, it was Cindy who insisted that I consider coming on board as a staff reporter for the paper. She fought hard to get me and it was her keen interest in having me join her staff that helped shape my decision to accept my position there. A tireless fighter for the underdog, she can be a major benefactor to one looking for relief or redress. You really do want someone like Cindy in your corner. You positively don't want to be opposed to her unless you want to wage the fight of your life. While I don't agree with all of her political stances, I respect her positions. Through all of her 30 years as the editor-in-chief of the CJN, Cindy has done so with characteristic style and grace. After I left the paper to return to my home in New Orleans in April of 2007, I continued to maintain contact with her through e-mail and via phone calls and I hope to do so for as many of the next 30 years that she will have me. Mazel tov, Cindy! Today's get together was a well-deserved honor. Apparently, some of her "Cindy-isms," a special kind of Cindy-speak, were lovingly brought forth. It was all part of a special recognition from a staff that truly loves her. Just don't forget there's someone else who feels the same way, despite the fact he lives way down yonder in New Orleans!

A lot in two days

Israel Scouts performing for the New Orleans JCC Day Camps

A lot of things have happened in the last two days. Locally, the Israeli Scouts (Tzofim) have come down to the uptown Jewish Community Center for a stellar performance in front of several hundred Day Camp kids. It was an amazing thing to see the Caravan Golan in performance and to see how the children reacted to the ten singing and dancing 17 year-olds. Along with 20 others in two other caravans, they had been selected from among 1400 hopefuls. After practicing for five months of weekends in their native Israel, they began a tour a few weeks ago that will take them from the East Coast through the South and Southwest and on to the West Coast. The five boys and five girls will begin their years of military service to the country following their return to Israel at summer's end. The caravan is led by two 25-year-old veterans of the Tzofim, one man and one woman and I was pleased to meet with them briefly after the show and let them know how great they were. Many of the songs were sung in Hebrew, but it didn't matter. The youngsters in the audience were having a hard time keeping still and not dancing and gyrating to the music with the very friendly and energetic troupe of Israelis.

Later on Tuesday night, the Florence Melton Mini-School, an adult Jewish education course graduated its latest class in ceremonies at the Metairie J.C.C. It was especially interesting for me to see this class graduate because the ceremonies mark the mid-point for me as a first-year student and give me some insight into what my graduation will be like next year. All of the students spoke glowingly of the rabbi instructors, two of whom are now leaving for other posts or pulpits with spouses.

On the national front: Cyd Cherise, the dancing partner of Fred Astaire and others passed away from heart failure at the age of 87 in Hollywood and Tim Russert was eulogized and later buried in private services in Washington, D.C. Life goes on, but not with the same sweetness as it had when they were still among us.

The Tzofim Are Coming!

In the United States there are two Scouting organizations recognized by the World Organization of the Scouting Movement (WOSM), the Boy Scouts of America and the Girl Scouts of the USA. In Israel there are six associations that are part of its Scouting organization. Most Scouting organizations have boys and girls within their ranks. Israel is no exception here. As a matter of fact, segregation by sex as in the United States is quite rare. In Israel the Hebrew word for "scouts" is tzofim. Among the six Scouting associations, the Hebrew Scouts Association is by far and away the largest at 60,000. The Arab School Scouts Association has some 13,000 members, while the last four groups of Arab and Druze Scouts number a few thousand each. Each year three or four caravans of Israeli (Hebrew) Scouts travel to the United States and entertain crowds in key cities. A very intense competition is held to determine the forty Tzofim who possess the best voices, the most energy and best smiles to act as ambassadors to israel. Several dozen other Tzofim who are lucky get to travel to the U.S. to be located at a number of summer sleep away campus run by various organizations, the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) being the chief sponsor. Also, the Friends of the Israel Scouts help raise money to finance the caravans that criss-cross the country performing songs and dancing their way into the hearts of attendees. In some cities the Tzofim perform private concerts for summer day camps, which is great for the kids, but doesn't allow for outsiders to see the show. Last year the Tzofim performed at the uptown J.C.C. for the first time in over a crowd in front of a crowd of over 200. This year, however, the J.C.C.'s summer camp is sponsoring the caravan and they are holding a private show just for day camp attendees. But I will be there and I will get pictures (I hope) of their performance. I am excited...can you tell? These young men and ladies are an inspiration and they beam with confidence about the future of the state of Israel. They are Israel's greatest secret weapon. Interestingly, most of them will enter military service and fulfill a commitment of two or three years right after the summer. So, this free trip from Israel to the U.S. is a great opportunity for them, but an even better opportunity for those of us lucky enough to be in the audience.

Father's Day

As I sit writing this fine stormy morning with lightning flashing and thunder sounding about me, I am at peace. Today is Father's Day and it is a day from which I derive great solace because being a father has been a full-time occupation for me since my son was born in 1986, but much more urgently applied since my wife passed away in 1995. It is a mantle I wear with honor and, while we don't discuss it much between ourselves, it is my most treasured job. Now that my son has passed from teenager to college student and about to undertake his senior year at my alma mater, I must admit that I am a lot less the center of his attention. Many of the things that interested me when he was a mere tyke still do. These include Scouting, music, theatre, animation and action films, Judaism, and an appreciation for the fairer sex. I hope that many of my values have been instilled in him, but as he is now 22, most of that instruction has either taken or not. I have to stand back and revel in the wonders that he still has to unveil in life. A father can relive his life vicariously through his child, but the journey is like that of a car where you are a mere passenger and no longer in control of the vehicle. As any father, I wish the best for my child and pray that he will live a long and outstanding life. The saddest thing for me is to read or hear about a parent having to bury his child. In his books "Big Russ and Me" and "The Wisdom of Our Fathers," the late Tim Russert made a case for the tireless parent who gives his all in order to provide for his family. Bill Cosby talked at length about what we do in "Fatherhood." To be a father is easy. To be a good father is difficult. Sometimes the lessons we need to teach are painful to both parent and child. Yet, it is a wise parent who knows what has to be done in order to teach and secure his child's way in the world through these lessons. My joy is to see young fathers experiencing the trying relationship for themselves. Eventually it kicks in. This is a limited run. The time a parent spends with a child is well spent, but it is far too short before they no longer have the desire to be with a parent, choosing instead to be with their own peer group in social outings. But isn't that what we most want? To make them upstanding and independent creatures so that they won't have to rely on us for everything? Like it or not, we won't always be able to be there for them, nor they for their children. It is the great continuum as we move on and they take our place. To be a father is to know both joy and pain. It is a road that we fathers happily tread and one, we hope, our sons will embark upon too. My father, both my grandfathers and my maternal great-grandfather have passed on. One day I, too, shall be gone, but the promise that one or more will carry on in my stead gives me pause and lifts me up today and through all of my Fathers Days to come.

Tim Russert

My apologies to the daily readers of the Kosher Computing blog, but I have been busy at Boy Scout camp for the past few days. I heard the news about Tim Russert, the NBC political correspondent, who unexpectedly passed away yesterday at the age of 58, over one of the parent's radios as they were taking their Scout home early. I was devastated. Russert was one of my most admired TV personalities and I believe he was light years ahead of most commentators. He had an unbelievably easy grasp on one of the most difficult beats to cover: Washington politics. He was an amiable and likeable fellow and I am pleased to report that I was privileged to see and hear him speak at a fundraiser for Cuyahoga Community College (commonly referrred to as "Tri-C") among my first duties as a staff reporter for the Cleveland Jewish News. Russert was a student at Jesuit school John Carroll University, the university that gave my township of University Heights its name. He picked up his law degree at Cleveland State University. So, it was only natural for a Clevleand area university to invite a former Clevelander to talk on the importance of education in that city. Russert reeled off joke after joke in warming up the crowd and he had an easy going manner with the audience. What was most apparent was his deep attachment to his father, whom he wrote so eloquently about in "Big Russ and Me" and his commitment to his Catholic religion. He loved sports almost as much as he loved politics. But it was in politics, as host of NBC's long-running "Meet the Press," where Russert really excelled. Even the Smithsonian decided that his famous slate with the words "Florida. Florida. Florida" from 2000 needed to be enshrined within its hallowed halls. His interviews of famous politicos were as incisive and hard-hitting as anyone could deliver. He could hit a subject with a question head-on and then, when least expected, come back with a follow up that would yield jucier material. When Senators, Representatives and Cabinet members sat before him and the cameras, they had to prepare well in advance and even then many were shaking in their boots knowing a Tim Russert interview was undeniably tough. What a loss for NBC. What a pity for broadcasting. The nation has lost one of its favorite sons and a figure who will be sorely missed when this historic November presidential race is finally played out.