Bird watching

Louisiana has been called the Sportsman's Paradise because of the veritable wealth of wetlands, forests and other natural resources it enjoys. As a result, there are fishermen, hunters and nature lovers who find themselves a picturesque corner of the Louisiana outdoors and have at it. There are numerous commercial fishermen who ply their trade in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, which is where the plentiful supply of shrimp, crabs and oysters are found. Not that anyone here who keeps kosher would have any of those. Yeah...right. But unlike those hunters with the high powered rifles and state of the art scopes or those Ted Nugent types who arm themselves with powerful bows and specially tipped arrows, I am incapable of harming a fellow creature. Not that there's anything wrong with hunting, mind you. When it comes to my idea of getting attuned with nature, I try to find myself a lovely place where I can view nature at hand, on the wing as it were. I have taken up the hobby of bird watching, which some consider boring. I find it exciting and I attempt to view my high-flying friends in all of their beauty in their native haunts. To this end I have been hanging out watching, waiting and enjoying these lovely works of nature, while enjoying a festive repast or a delightful libation. I do have to endure some high noise levels in this particular environ, but it is all part of the hobby. Meanwhile, for those of you who eschew hunting, please feel free to join me where viewing these incredible winged wonders goes on into the wee hours of the morning. I've got to tell you it really has made me appreciate all of the special wonders of nature and I hope to view much more in the days, weeks, months and years to come. So in case I've piqued your interest, here's where you can find me:

Tubbs Jones passes, a second lightning Bolt and Jewish bloggers

I learned right away of the importance of Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones when I was living in Cleveland. A tireless fighter for her constituents, she was a true pioneer as both an African-American and a woman. Tubbs Jones was the first African-American woman to serve as a judge, a Cuyahoga County prosecutor of note and a five-term U.S. Representative elected to serve Ohio's 11th District since 1998. She was in fact the first African-American woman to represent Ohio in Congress.The tributes to Tubbs Jones have been pouring in from a poignant remembrance by Plain Dealer columnist Connie Schultz to a number of state and national figures since she passed away yesterday evening. Her passing, attributed to a brain aneurysm, has been termed "an incalculable loss" by fellow Clevelander and former mayor Dennis Kucinich. Tubbs Jones spoke before both the 2000 and 2004 Democratic National Conventions and was a co-chairman of the 2004 platform committee. Despite being quite close with Senator Barack Obama, she was Hillary Clinton's biggest advocate in Ohio. Tubbs Jones chaired the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (commonly referred to as theEthics Committee) and, as a member of the Ways and Means Committee, actively campaigned against the Iraqi war, tax cuts and changes in Social Security proposed by the Bush administration. Tubbs Jones won re-election in 2006 by over 83% of the electorate and was running unopposed. She was predeceased by her husband of 27 years, Mervyn Leroy Jones, Sr., and is survived by her son, Mervyn Leroy Jones II.
Lightning strikes again: Usaim Bolt was even more impressive than in his 100-meter dash when he rewrote the world record book again by besting Michael Johnson's gold shoe 200-meter race mark in 0:19:30. Frankly, I think he may be able to shave another one or two one-hundredths of a second off that mark. He is incredible and just another one of the reasons that I will miss the expanded Olympic coverage from NBC and affiliated stations that is fast winding down.
Meanwhile, the U.S. women's softball team, fresh from two hard-fought wins against Japan, lost the gold medal game against them today in what could be the last Olympic softball game. Softball, a women-only sport (men compete in baseball) made its Olympic debut in 1996 in Atlanta. It was voted off the 2012 Olympics program slated for London by a vote of the International Olympics Committee (IOC) in 2005 that was reaffirmed in 2006. Another vote to consider reinstituting the sport on the Olympics program is slated for next year. If it does not win approval from the IOC, softball will probably not return again.
Yesterday's first ever International Jewish Bloggers Convention streamed over the Internet live from Jerusalem had its problems with dropouts, picture loss and loss of audio. Nevertheless, I was captivated by the strength of the program, which included an opening address by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before a packed house of Jewish bloggers. The bloggers were all committed to promoting the concept of blogging and their blogs in particular. All in all it was very satisfying and allowed me to put a face on some of the major players in Jewish blogging in both Israel and North America. Kudos to Nefesh B'Nefesh for putting it on. Next year in Jerusalem? Who knows?

The Dream of Aliyah

By coincidence, today the First International Jewish Bloggers Convention is being held. A sold-out convention of Jewish bloggers is being held in Jerusalem in just a few hours, sponsored by Nefesh B'Nefesh, the group founded by Rabbi Yehoshua Fass and Tony Gelbart in 2002 to encourage Jewish emigration to Israel. The act of making "aliyah" is the Hebrew term that literally means "rising up" or "ascent." In many Jewish communities, the fervent hope of living in a Jewish state where one can practice his or her religion unfettered is the ultimate aspiration. Someone who makes aliyah is considered an oleh (male) or olah (female). The plural is olim. The dream of aliyah was just realized yesterday by 240 North American olim along with 50 others from the United Kingdom who, with the help of Nefesh B'Nefesh, permanently relocated to Israel and thereby strengthened the Jewish state. I am proud to state that I know of four of them, but I will get to their story in just a bit. As usual, many of my stories have something to do with my experiences associated with Hurricane Katrina. This one is no different. It all started with Cleveland Jewish Federation worker Robin Sirkin. It was she who spearheaded the Federation's outreach to Katrina victims, who were in Cleveland at the time of the disaster or who had evacuated there. Being a stranded vacationer, I was helped immeasurably by Sirkin, who provided me with much-needed financial assistance through the Red Cross and the Federation and helped guide me throughout the vetting process for additional help from the city and the state of Ohio. Were it not for Robin Sirkin and others like her, I would not have stayed in Cleveland. As it turns out, she was also able to connect me with a generous donation from Bellefaire JCB, a picturesque campus located in the shadow of John Carroll University off Fairmount Boulevard there. Bellefaire offered me a dormitory style one-bedroom efficiency where I could live while working in Cleveland. Soon after moving there I began my job as the web producer, IT adviser and staff reporter of the Cleveland Jewish News, a job which I loved and kept for 18 months. When I moved into the room Bellefaire JCB had provided me, I found it filled with $1500 worth of goods including a new bedspread and two sets of dishes in case I wanted to keep kosher. On top of the bed were a detailed map and a lovely note from David and Jill Gleicher, welcoming me to Cleveland and inviting me to attend nearby worship services at Green Road Synagogue. The note written on a piece of cardboard also invited me to join them for Shabbat dinner at their home, about three blocks away. It was an extremely generous donation of time and energy on their part, making sure all the furniture, cooking ware, towels and other appurtenances were in place before I arrived. I was astonished at how well I had been received. As it turns out, with the Gleichers' help, I did begin to keep kosher. A link to that CJN story is found here. Over the course of the next year and a half, I had many Shabbats to share with Jill and David and their family and well as with Robin and John Sirkin's loveable brood. Their homes were always open and standing invitations to join them were always extended. Jill, a retired dermatologist, and David, an attorney who had retired to become an author, were a very unusual couple. She had given up her practice in Buffalo after becoming disabled and moved to Cleveland with her children. David, who attended Yeshiva University and was a graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, had practiced law for a number of years and had raised a family there. David had also been lucky a few years back as a $32,000 winner on "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?" and a $25,000 winner on a game show run by The History Channel. Both David and Jill found themselves divorced and looking a few years back. They were lucky enough to find each other and were married in 2004. David moved to Cleveland around that time, but it wasn't long before he and Jill decided to make the emotional and religious leap of moving to the Promised Land. Knowing they were going to be making aliyah, I also had David begin to write a blog for the Cleveland Jewish News about some of his experiences prior to beginning the laborious effort to move the family there. Although the blog was short-lived, it was full of a number of well-written pieces and I enjoyed reading them even after I had made my return to New Orleans. You can read all 18 of his pieces by going to this link. I talked to them at length on several occasions and made sure that I was in Cleveland last November especially to say goodbye to them in case I wasn't able to see them again before their journey. As it turns out, I didn't make it back in time, so I was glad I made that trip. Over the course of the last two months they packed and sent off all of their worldly possessions. About a week ago they closed on the sale of their lovely Beachwood home and yesterday they were on the El Al plane that landed in Israel. People from all over the world can see them arriving on the 35th Nefesh B'Nefesh flight on their Internet site here. Jill and David along with two of their sons will be living in an apartment in Jerusalem, a home they found and purchased in a lengthy and complicated procedure two years ago. It was a pleasure to see them arrive, although the video was not very steady and blurry. I hope one day to visit them and see for myself the new life they have carved out for themselves in the heart of the Jewish homeland. So this Passover, when I utter that famous phrase, I will be thinking of the Gleichers when I say "Next year in Jerusalem!"

Geeks vs. Nerds vs. Me

These days it has become fashionable for computer technicians and networking consultants to call themselves geeks or nerds or something else as equally insipid. I shudder to think about calling myself by either designation. If being a geek or a nerd builds confidence in a client, then they should by all means run, not walk to seek them out. On the other hand, I like to consider myself a professional business consultant who does not need to come up with some kitschy phrase to identify myself. I know what I am doing and I do it. In popular parlance I am one of those that do, not one of those who can’t. I have built my reputation on personal relationships with clients. It is a level of service that they appreciate and respect - one that a geek or nerd knows woefully little. Right after Hurricane Katrina had hit New Orleans and I was literally stuck in Cleveland, I did fill out an application to join one of these outfits. The limited number of hours involved weekend work and the pay scale was hardly worth the 20-30 minute drive I would have to make daily. When I scoffed at the salary, I was told that a higher paying job might be available through a downtown office, but my calls were not returned forthwith and I was soon offered the job I most relished at the Cleveland Jewish News where I was able to work as an IT advisor and a staff reporter. Again, I believe there was a divine spark there -- some omnipresent force at play -- which prevented my being labeled a geek or a nerd while allowing me to write for a living. Can I get a Hallelujah? Back in the days when I ran my family record store, people would invariably ask me about how I felt when Tower Records, Virgin Records or Warehouse Records had opened up megastores or multiple locations around town. My answer was that we offered a level of service and knowledge that few could return in kind. To this day I see former customers who still bemoan the loss of our store. Yet not one of them confides in me how they wish any of the other music stores would return. The truth is they have all shuttered their stores or else gone bankrupt. They were all victims of the paradigm shift associated with record distribution in which the Internet now plays a critical role or the effects of rebounding from Hurricane Katrina were too severe. Nearly 12 years ago my mother and I closed our record store, keeping it open for select customers for several years thereafter until the building was leased. That gave me the time needed to reinvent myself as a computer technician and a networking specialist. During those days, when the record industry suffered its greatest losses, Netware was still considered the most prevalent computer networking option for business. In less than a decade Microsoft networks have become the preferred standard for business. Change is inevitable and not being able to transform one's self or deal with it head on will always slow you down or stop you dead in your tracks. I will be keeping up to date and trying to stay ahead of the curve because in reality, dear friends, it is vital in my business. Besides, it is the only assurance that I will never become a geek or a nerd.

Mean old Mr. Bostick

My sister and I were talking yesterday and I was reminded about my ninth grade teacher at Eleanor McMain Junior High School. His name was Allen Bostick, Sr. and he taught science. I informed my sister that I had read in the newspaper that he had died a month ago at the age of 79. Because of the way schools were created in Orleans Parish back then, elementary schools ran from kindergarten through sixth grade and junior high schools ran from seventh through ninth grade, which included the first year of high school. High schools held tenth through twelfth grades. Bostick was my nemesis during my initial year of high school at McMain, but not because I gave him sufficient reason to dislike me. Because I excelled at science, I easily answered most questions correctly in class. When his teacher's handbook that held all of the answers to the science experiments and questions was stolen, he unfairly blamed me as the culprit because my answers were almost always correct. He continually looked to put me down in front of my classmates, but he never scared me. I will admit that I was cocky, so the two of us frequently hit head on in an explosive manner such as when magnesium reacts to water. One day I was caught by the school principal with illegally getting out of class to bring a project to Bostick's class, which I had mistakenly left behind at my house. After I was caught, mean old Mr. Bostick used his power to lord over me and changed my previously high mark (everything to that date was in the 90s) to a 39 out of 100 from a 93 for his 5th period class. I was devastated, but the biggest effect was on my not being able to enter Benjamin Franklin High School in the fall, where I had been tentatively accepted based on my I.Q. and successful taking of the entrance exam. Because the low mark by Bostick cost me acceptance to Franklin, I entered Alcee Fortier Sr. High School the next year. Everything happens for a purpose. I know that my sister still holds mean old Mr. Bostick as responsible for keeping me out of Franklin and, possibly, out of some potential colleges as a result of his grading me in that way. Yet, had it not been for my having been at Fortier, I might never have seen my Great-uncle Joseph on a daily basis. Uncle Joe retired from teaching after that year, but contracted pancreatic cancer in just a few months and was gone within a year. Also, had I been at Franklin, I might never have learned touch typing (as I did at Fortier), which gave me a huge leg up when I finally went to college and has helped me immeasurably in my writing ever since. And what about my association with the Phortier Pholk Phest, the singing group that was formed to help foster better race relations and for youth to help understand one another better? My election as senior class vice-president and my work as executive editor of the Silver and Blue newspaper might never have been repeated at Franklin. Also, there were those driving runs during driver's education classes where I was able to order out lunch with my instructor at Bill Long's Bakery (the very best roast beef sandwiches you can imagine on fresh french bread baguettes) or at Domilise's. Ah, that was heaven! There were those lunch runs with four girls that I made that made me pretty popular too. On reflection, I got to know my future wife Sally at Fortier and we know well where that led. Fatherhood led to my association with Scouting and my work in audio-visual aids at Fortier eventually led me to work in radio and television production. So, I guess I should be grateful for much of the high school experience I enjoyed at Fortier and not harbor ill will against mean old Mr. Bostick. My sister still feels like he was wrong and I guess I can't argue with that, but I believe it all happened for a purpose unknown to me. Besides, it was all great fun!

The Amazing Mr. Phelps and the Lightning Bolt

Michael Phelps after winning the 4 x 100 meter relay (Getty Images)

There is no doubt now that Michael Phelps is the greatest Olympian of all time. His quest for eight gold medals at one Olympics and his total of 16 medals, 14 of them gold, has put him squarely in a class by himself. I cheered him on race by race as he broke one record after another until, with the help of his teammates, he secured his goal late tonight. It took 36 years for Mark Spitz's single Olympics record to fall and I believe that this new level of achievement will never again be surpassed in my lifetime. There are just too many variables at play and too many obstacles in the way for this feat to be repeated. As more than one person has pointed out, Spitz won his seven medals in 1972 by his command of just two specific swimming strokes, namely the butterfly and the freestyle. To Phelps' credit he accomplished his five individual gold medals and three relays by his additional mastery of the breaststroke and backstroke and managed to break seven world records in doing so. Let's not forget that his goggles filled with water when he swam the 200 meter butterfly event, essentially blinded, but he still managed to not only win, but to establish a new world record in the process. That shows his ability to take lemons and make lemonade. There were plenty of close calls that would have upended Phelps' quest for eight gold medals in 17 swims, but with strength, stamina and a bit of luck, he followed success with more success. While Phelps can rest now and enjoy the remainder of the Olympics, one can only question what the next Olympiad in London will bode for Phelps, whose Olympic legacy will inspire legions of kids in the same way that Spitz inspired Phelps. Only I don't see anyone ever coming close to what Phelps did. As the most decorated Olympian ever, Phelps will continue to rewrite the record books with each succeeding medal performance. I am in absolute awe and I defy anyone to argue against his greatness.
As great as Phelps has been in the water, Usain Bolt from Jamaica has been on the track. He firmly established himself as the fastest man in the world with an unbelievable performance in the 100-meter dash in just 9.69 seconds, beating his own previous world record of 9.72 seconds. More records are sure to fall with Bolt eyeing Michael Johnson's 19.32 seconds 200-meter mark. Keep an eye out for this lightning fast Bolt.

A Child Spy

Hmmm...did anyone get as much a chuckle as I did when it was revealed yesterday that among many others none other than the late Julia Child, the "French Chef" from PBS had signed up to be a spy during World War II? And not just any spy. She was doing her spying for the Office of Strategic Services, the precursor of the Central Intelligence Agency! I can understand director John Ford wanting to be a spy. After all, he wore that eye patch. Larry Tisch, who later went on to run CBS was another interesting recruit, but I could understand his being interested in communications and possibly cyber cracking. But Julia McWilliams, the latter-day high pitched, high cholesterol purveyor of pastries and pate? I just don't quite understand her wanting t be a spy. But I can imagine a scenario during the war, while she was living in England working for the Allies, developing of all things, shark repellent. It probably would go something like this:

(Julia walks into the kitchen and picks up a phone. She looks suspiciously left and right and then dials six digits on the phone, which clicks as it spins.)
Julia: (Speaking low in a monotone) Hello. The paprika is very spicy in my paprikash. (Listens) Yes, it's me. Can we talk?
Julia: (Listens) Right. I'm alone. Just my bouillabaisse and me. Hah! Hah! Hah! (Laughs heartily and then snorts)
Julia: Sorry. I can't help making a little joke. You know, a little kitchen humor...a little pastiche among the pastries, n'est pas?
Julia: (Listening) Oh...sorry. (Her mood becomes serious and she starts to speak in a hushed tone) General, I've just finished baking the plans of the munitions plant inside this lovely Beef Wellington. I just thought that was so appropriate, don't you? I would strongly suggest a St. Emilion or perhaps a St. Estephe, if you must. And a little blanched asparagus with some Sauce Béarnaise would be nice too. (Listening)
Julia: Oh, well, I just thought since I had gone to that much trouble that you would at least want to-- Oh...never mind, then.
Julia: (Gets sullen, but then perks up) I should tell you I am working up something else for next week. It's a list of suspected collaborators. I think I'll have it placed inside a deep, dark chocolate mousse. It should be something you'll simply treasure!
Julia: (Beaming) Well, be talking to you soon, general. Have a lovely day, or as they say in France, BOMB APPETIT! Hah! Hah! Hah! (Fade to black)