Rocking the Senate

Cleveland Jewish News editor-in-chief Cynthia Dettelbach and publisher Michael Bennett frame me

Last night the Senate Caucus Room, the former site of such historic hearings as those involving Watergate, Iran-Contra and the Teapot Dome scandals, was the scene of a much milder and less anxious group of journalists. It was the annual recognition dinner of the American Jewish Press Association's Rockower Awards. For the first time honorees were given their awards in advance (earlier in the morning at the Doubletree Hotel) so that the Rockower ceremonies would not seem to carry some sort of government sanction. The recipients from sixteen different categories didn't seem to matter. The setting in the Russell Senate Building in the shadow of the Capitol was so magnificent and the ability to soak up a bit of Washington's history was well worth the earlier reveal. Among the attendees were the AJPA's outgoing president, Cleveland Jewish News CEO Rob Certner and CJN editor-in-chief Cynthia Dettelbach, both of whom I had the pleasure to work for while esconsed in Cleveland from 2005 to 2007. Also joining from Cleveland were advertising director Jennifer Woomer and publisher Michael Bennett, who took over his new position following last year's AJPA conference. It was a grand opportunity for Jewish journalists to discuss industry trends, keep informed as to best practices and to honor their own. Panels of Washington area experts kept everyone up to date and, indeed the conference goes on for yet another day today before closing. The opulent setting for the Rockower recognitions was made possible due to the tireless work of AJPA executive director Toby Dershowitz and fellow Washingtonian Natasha Nadel, both of whom were assisted by a staff of young, energetic interns. My congratulations to them all. The AJPA continues to assist the business side of Jewish journalism with cutting edge technologies being explored in many brainstorming sessions as well as giving important symposiums to reporters and editors who thirst for knowledge. I am privileged to have been at both business and editorial sessions with some of the brightest and best Jewish writers, editors, publishers and advertising people in the country. I continue to praise them all for what they do to further the cause.

AJPA Conference

Every year the American Jewish Press assembles in a city of its choice in order to bestow honors on the very best among them as determined by panels of judges. My work as a Jewish journalist allows me to meet with some of the best and brightest minds in the field. This year the city of choice is the American Jewish Press Association's home field, Washington, D.C. In the heart of the nation's capital the members of the Jewish press have been meeting for several days and those being singled out for special acknowledgment will receive Rockower Awards later this morning. Tonight's dinner will be held in the esteemed halls of the Senate Caucus Room on Capitol Hill. It should be a great event. Last night AJPA members assembled at the International Spy Museum, an event hosted by Milton and Tamara Maltz, who hail from Cleveland. Even though they were not able to attend the event, the Maltzes made sure that every one in attendance had enough to eat and plenty to see. Speaking of Cleveland connections, I have been delighted to get to see many of my friends and colleagues from the Cleveland Jewish News including editor-in-chief Cynthia Dettelbach, CEO Rob Certner, and Publisher Michael Bennett. A full day of activities remain today and another half day tomorrow before it breaks.

Al Sleet, the hippy dippy weatherman, expires

George Carlin, a brilliant comedian and social commentator, has gone on to perform on that celestial stage, a place where, perhaps, he can finally say the seven words you can't say on TV. Carlin, 71, started his career as a conventional stand-up comedian of some note in the early Sixties. But it was when he started turning his act towards using social commentary and appealing to the generation influenced by drugs and the Vietnam War that Carlin's impact as a funnyman became so profound. Carlin was the first host of "Saturday Night Live" and he appeared on The Tonight Show more than 130 times. Just last week the Kennedy Center had announced that Carlin was the recipient of the Mark Twain Award for lifetime achievement as a comedian. Carlin, who admitted he had a long record of drug usage finally announced in 2004 that he was entering rehab for alcohol and the pain killer Vicodin. It may have been the last stand of one of the leading comics of the Love Generation that was born out of Haight Ashbury and Woodstock. Carlin won four Grammy Awards for several of his 23 comedy albums. Growing up with Carlin's comedy albums was a right of passage for me and others of my generation. His "Class Clown" album with its "Seven Words You Can't Say on TV" was one I recall playing over and over again. Busted for obscenity in Wisconsin when he uttered those words on stage, Carlin's routine ended up in the U.S. Supreme Court, which upheld the government's right to censor comments of that ilk. An actor in several movies including "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" and Doris Day's "Please Don't Eat the Daisies," Carlin proved to be a great presence on screen, but it was on stage in a live setting where he thrived. In recent years he began writing more books and had three successful comic commentaries make the top sellers charts. Carlin was a unique character and a bit of an irreverent rogue, but he was loved by millions and will be missed.

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.