11 and 0h my!

If there is another happiest place on earth (aside from Disneyworld), it's probably right here in the Crescent City. There is an ever-present smile on the faces of the children and its reflected in the happy countenances one sees on everyday people doing their regular jobs or keeping their appointments. There is a spring in everyone's step and it's all because of the unbelievable record posted by the undefeated New Orleans Saints. Yes, it's true. The birds are singing sweeter and the sun is shining more brilliantly as each day dawns. The Aints of old are such a distant memory that paper bags are only considered as worthily used at grocery stores. The jazz music in the air seems to carry a universal message for all to enjoy. It's a tune every kid knows for certain: "Oh, when the Saints go marching in..." According to the Nielsen people who are paid to know, Monday night's game on ESPN and the local station that paid to carry it might turn out to be the largest audience in cable TV history, eclipsing the record set October 5 when the Green Bay Packer took on their former quarterback Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. The ratings people suggest the national rating for the Saints game against the New England Patriots was at 14.4 in metered markets compared to the earlier game, which registered 14.2. There is no doubt that a big majority of TV sets in the area watched the sellout game at the Superdome. Estimates suggest the combined share was a much as 83.7. That means that the overwhelming percentage of homes with TV sets was tuned to either WDSU-TV the local station that carried the game or the ESPN channel. That is hard to fathom, but it may also be a local record for penetration and easily eclipsed the ratings for the past two Super Bowls, typically the single biggest and most watched game of the year. There are five remaining games and everyone has their eyes wide open, but even the most hardened of naysayers is now convinced. The Who Dat Nation has risen and their mantra is spreading northward, westward and eastward. It's a short week, but the Washington Redskins are next up and Saints fans are ready to take them on and add yet another number in the "w" column. Mmmm... Can you detect that fragrance in the air? It's the smell of victory and it smells a lot better than the freshest coffee and chicory or the crispiest and confectioner's sugar-covered beignet one can have at Cafe du Monde. It's been a long time for Saints fans who savor this day and consider the possibility of a Super Bowl date no longer a pipe dream. (Logo Copyright New Orleans Saints)

On towards December

Oh, my aching foot! The Ten Commandments Hike was a resounding success, but the six miles of walking did little to alleviate the discomfort that resulted when my plantar faciitis kicked in an hour after I stopped hiking. Oh, well, if a night or two of foot pain (make that three nights) is the price I have to pay for a successful hike, I guess I'll deal with it. We had over 200 Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Scouters, parents, siblings, other relatives and friends go with us to ten different places of worship. Among the highlights of the trek this year was the rare presentation of the St. George Award from the Episcopal Church of the USA to The Very Reverend Susan Gaumer, the rector at St. Andrew's Epsiscopal Church. St. Andrew's and Mother Gaumer were selected because of the 80th anniversary the church celebrated in its sponsorship of a Boy Scout unit, Troop 48. Two Catholic churches, Mater Dolorosa and Holy Name of Jesus were also on the hike for the first time this year in acknowledgment to the large number (60%) of the membership of the Southeast Louisiana Council. Two Jewish presentations were made. The first at the Jewish Community Center with Conservative Rabbi Ethan Linden and the second at Touro Synagogue with Rabbi Alexis Berk. The talks by all of the religious leaders were especially good this year as each expounded upon one of the Ten Commandments at each stop. One of the best talks (again) was delivered by the Rev. Carol Crawford at Rayne Memorial United Methodist Church. After the first four miles ended at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the Cub Scouts fell out and caught a streetcar (note our logo) back to the starting point. Everyone else continued on for an additional two miles to two further stops, a Lutheran Church (Zion Lutheran) and a Baptist Church (New Home Full Gospel Ministries). Many thanks to Father Jon Paul (Catholic-Jesuit Order), the Rev. Neale Miller (Presbyterian), Mike Nicholas (LDS Church), Robert Carpenter (Lutheran) and Terrence Giles (Baptist) for filling in at the last minute for other speakers. The Jewish Community Center was also the site for a hot kosher meal consisting of hot dogs, chips, fresh fruit and lemonade. Kentwood Spring Water contributed several cases of water and Orleans Parish Criminal Sheriff Marlin Gusman provided a motorcycle escort for our hikers for most of the way. Now the only question is what to do to make the 2010 hike even more memorable, since it will be in the centennial year of Scouting in the U.S. Guess it's also time to start making plans for Chanukah and Christmas season, which is fast upon us now. And, Mardi Gras is also fast approaching.

Thanksgiving Day

Let me be perfectly straightforward. We should all be thankful for every day we enjoy. Even the most hapless individual trying to eke out a living in an inhospitable world should give shouts of praise for life and all of its possibilities. As challenging as life can be, there is always a positive outcome just around the corner. Some lessons I've learned through the years are telling. Bill Gates started Microsoft during a recession. Harland Sanders started Kentucky Fried Chicken at 66 with no income aside from the $105 he received from Social Security. James Cash Penney suffered financial ruin at the onset of the Great Depression, but kept his empire alive by borrowing from his life insurance policy. There is always potential in every human being that he or she will do better tomorrow and so we should all gives thanks for the many blessings we have today. To me Thanksgiving Day is the quintessential American holiday. It speaks volumes about our dependence upon one another and that we should always put our best foot forward. The story told to grade schoolers of the first meeting of the plucky Pilgrims and the dimwitted Wampanoags who befriended them is full of untruths and misleading stereotypes. For those of us who know the true story of Squanto and the historical facts of the very first Thanksgiving, there is little doubt that the Pilgrims would likely have perished had they not had substantial help from the Native Americans living near Plymouth Rock. Nevertheless, it is easy to dismiss these spun tales as pure propaganda and understand the reasons these stories were concocted in the first place. It was to make the earliest American settlers seem somehow superior to the Native Americans and justify the horrible way the Europeans treated their friends. Those Wampanoags that survived the pestilence brought upon them in the form of the common cold or flu to which they had no immunity were almost all wiped out by wars waged upon them by their Pilgrim brothers a few years later. From such humble beginnings the holiday of Thanksgiving evolved into what is today the most American of holidays. It is a day for families to gather and to revel in the freedoms we all enjoy as American citizens. It is a spiritual holiday, but that doesn't mean it is specifically religious. It is a patriotic holiday, but it is best expressed through family. I've always loved the holiday for what it offers: the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, an opportunity to dine out or join with family at a central location and the jumping off point for the upcoming holiday season. As a kid, I loved the Macy's TV spectacular and a few years ago I even managed to go up to New York to view it up close and personal. It was so bitterly cold outside and so crowded that I abandoned my perch on Broadway and ran inside to catch the rest of the parade on the small TV screen in the cramped hotel room there. For this we paid a high premium. I thought to myself that I could have just as easily caught the parade on the small screen back home and saved a significant bill in the process. Despite my having seen many Mardi Gras parades here in New Orleans, I will admit the Macy's parade with its many colorful and gargantuan balloons is very special. There's nothing quite like watching these mammoth lighter-than-air figures floating inside massive canyons of glass and steel. The spectators are very composed and enjoy themselves with a great more comportment than we do down here. But perhaps I am jaded. These New Yorkers just don't get it. I stood on a crowded sidewalk freezing my lagniappe off and didn't catch one bead, cup, Frisbee or doubloon. Some parade! In any event I hope you all enjoy the grandest of holidays and keep the spirit of the day in your hearts.

Tokens of my affection

Last night I drove downtown to pick up 180 Regional Transit Authority (RTA) tokens. No, I'm not planning on giving up my car or becoming environmentally responsible by advocating for mass transit. Not that there's anything wrong with that, mind you. A very important part of the upcoming Ten Commandments Hike involves our use of the historic St. Charles Avenue streetcars for our return to the starting point. Streetcar fares like buses are $1.25 each. Anyone who knows the difficulties with having to pay for hundreds of people boarding one or two streetcars using cash know full well the reasons we dispense RTA tokens to our participants. The only problem is that the tokens are only sold at a handful of stores across New Orleans, none of which are particularly convenient for me. The one store that sells tokens into the evening hours is Unique General Store, a huge convenience store located near the intersection of Canal and Royal Streets. This means that it is located in the historic French Quarter, although for many New Orleanians there is the feeling that first block with its many modern edifices along Canal Street is well out of character. Suffice it to say that the block is busy. There are quite a number of people drinking beers and congregating along the sidewalks there and inside the aptly-named Unique there is a veritable United Nations of visitors and residents. In my earlier days I would have had no problem getting down with my people and acting like a very cool cucumber. But in order to find a legitimate parking spot free from the ever-vigilant meter maids, I had to enlist my mother to travel with me. She was not amused. While I went indoors to find a manager, she was exposed to a cacophony of sounds and a kaleidoscope of sights not usually heard or seen by her. After locating a manager I had to go to the rear of the store, my hand inside my jacket clutching several hundred dollars. I felt uneasy as I negotiated what seemed like a palaver between me and the natives there. "Can I please have a receipt?" I asked the manager through the windows that formed a small office. His right eyebrow rose as if to mimic a look from one of John Belushi's "Samurai" skits on Saturday Night Live. "Is a plain piece of paper okay?" he shot back. I assured him it was. He handed me 18 small bags, each containing ten tokens, and I was instructed to count them. 15, 16, 17, 18. "Yes, that's right. Thank you very much." I turned to move towards the front of the store, but the exit seemed a lot further away than it did when I had entered. There were several people congregating in the front and I had to do my best Fred Astaire impression, pivoting masterfully here and there as I found myself back on the street and turning towards my car and my mother. As I approached the vehicle, I could see her demeanor was not unlike that of a deer caught in the headlights. She was not amused. I opened the door, giving her a slight startle and began to negotiate out of the parking spot. In a few seconds we were away and much more relaxed, feeling our mission was a success. I felt very pleased with myself until this morning. That's when I heard from the Scout office that another 20 people had signed up overnight for the hike. That meant another two bags of tokens and another jaunt down to the French Quarter. How lucky can I get?

Sixth annual 10 Commandments Hike

View 10 Commandments Hike 2009 in a larger map
Map of 10 Commandments Hike
With less than a day to register online, there are still several slots available for interested parties to join with me on the sixth annual Ten Commandments Hike, sponsored by the Southeast Louisiana Council. This is an interfaith hike designed to reinforce the 12th Point of the Scout Law ("A Scout is reverent.") and to promote physical fitness. It's more than just a Boy Scout activity. It is open to the public and an unusual way to promote religious tolerance, acceptance and understanding. Quite frankly, I enjoy leading this event because it brings everyone together in a very real manner under the umbrella of Scouting. Everyone who participates gets a water bottle emblazoned with the 2009 logo, a special patch, a streetcar token, a brochure listing all the stops and is fed a delicious hot kosher lunch midway through the hike. It's even open to Girl Scouts, the only event sanctioned by the Boy Scouts of America and the Girl Scouts of the USA. So the hike is responsible for bringing all kinds of disparate groups together. Here's the link to sign up until midnight tonight.

Four rabbis and two imams

Imam Omar Suleiman addresses the dinner crowd at Casablanca Restaurant in Metairie.

The joke is supposed to start "Four rabbis and two imams walk into a restaurant," but last night it wasn't a laughing matter at all. It was, in fact, a serious effort on the part of many in the New Orleans community to foster trust and understanding between two divergent faith groups. The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, a non-profit organization founded in New York by rap mogul Russell Simmons, Rabbi Marc Schneier and the late impressario Joseph Papp, organized the day-long activity between (Orthodox Jewish) Congregation Beth Israel and the Abu Bakr Al Siddique Mosque This so-called "twining" process began two years ago with Schneier's The New York Synagogue and the Malcolm Shabazz Mosque and has since grown into 50 such pairings last year across the nation with 100 this year. Rabbi Uri Topolosky and Imam Omar Suleiman have varying opinions on a number of matters, but they did away with criticism and dissent yesterday and, along with fellow congregants, picked up paint brushes and helped rehab a home in the Upper Ninth Ward area. That work, sponsored by the Saint Bernard Project, was intended to have both groups of Jews and Muslims work together on a project of lasting significance. After they cleaned up from the back-breaking work, everyone gathered at Casablanca Restaurant in Metairie, a kosher Morrocan restaurant, to enjoy a festive meal and to enjoy fellowship with one another. Both Schneier and his "twin" partner, Imam Muhummad Shamsi Ali, were in attendance at the dinner and each had time to discuss the various forms of religious observant foods allowed or prohibited in each religion. In Jewish circles the concept is called kosher or kashrut, while for Muslims the term is called halal. Members of each group asked questions of each other's spiritual leaders in order to gain insight. Also in attendance were Beth Israel administrative director Rabbi David Posternock and Rabbi Robert Loewy, the spiritual leader of Gates of Prayer Synagogue, where Beth Israel is presently meeting. All in all it was a great first start for two religious groups who have been largely distrustful and suspicious of each other. While Imam Suleiman and Rabbi Topolosky still have a major philosophical rift on a number of other topics, rebuilding New Orleans is a primary focus for both of them. This first "twining" was tentative, but wildly satisfactory in that a mechanism has been put into place for common values and to foster future connections between the two groups. It is, perhaps, God's will that the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding will bring these two Abrahamic faith groups closer.

NBC News Correspondent Martin Fletcher books into town

Sharing a moment in time with broadcast legend Martin Fletcher at the New Orleans JCC

One of my journalistic heroes came into town last night. Martin Fletcher, the lanky NBC correspondent who has covered conflicts in the Middle East, wars in Afghanistan, scourges in Africa and a host of other unsettling news events wheeled into New Orleans as part of the Jewish Community Center's 10th annual "People of the Book" Bookfest. Fletcher, whose hard-cover edition of "Breaking News" was released last year was not able to fit New Orleans in on his vacation schedule from NBC, having to stick to major cities in the initial push for publicity in 2008. This year, however, he made two stops at the two cities where I spent a significant time in my life. Last week it was Cleveland and last night he was here. Speaking with a very proper British accent, Fletcher charmed his audience with a number of "war" stories, some of which involved him and his crews in genuine danger. His ready wit had many in attendance laughing along with him as he recounted small instances in his long career, which at the time seemed anything but funny. Following a stint as an editor at the London Times, Fletcher opted to become a television reporter. Initially he signed on as a cameraman. One of those early stories involved his work as a pool cameraman during the 1973 "Yom Kippur" war in Israel when he and his colleagues riding in an armored personnel carrier were attacked in a bombing and strafing run by an Egyptian plane. As Fletcher related, he was traveling with Horst Faas, a Pulizer Prize winning photographer who had been cited for his previous superb work under fire. Faas and others sought refuge inside the vehicle through a turret. Fletcher was unable to join them because there was no space left inside. So, being the good broadcast journalist that he was, he started shooting his film camera. Even though the vehicle was driving erratically and in a serpentine pattern, he stood firm and watched through the lens as the MiG came back for two more attempts to dispatch their vehicle. Just as Fletcher and the others feared the worst, the Egyptian pilot flew straight up, pursued by an Israeli fighter, which shot him down in a haze of black smoke a few moments later. Faas hadn't even shot a single frame of film, but Fletcher had recorded it all. Afterwards, he told Fletcher it was by far and away the most dangerous event of his life, but Fletcher being naive or, perhaps, naturally calm under pressure, caught what turned out to be one of the most incredible exchanges of fire in that conflict. It was to be an indicator of much of what he was capable of doing in the coming decades. Although he stated he lived in Paris for two years early in his career, NBC kept him on the road in Afghanistan, the Middle East and other places for all but 42 days during that time. Eventually, he married an Israeli woman he literally "picked up" on the street, came to live just north of Tel Aviv and raised his family there. To hear Fletcher tell it, his job is unlike any of his adult counterparts in Israel. When the two intifadas were ongoing and prior to the security wall going up, Fletcher would put his children on school buses every morning fearing for the lives of his sons that they would not suffer at the hands of a terrorist or suicide bomber. Then, he would travel to the West Bank and interview some of the very same people who might very well be launching such attacks. Throughout his credit and much to his credit, Fletcher managed to interview both sides of a story and come away with a fair and objective report. The result was that neither the Israelis or the Palestinians came to see his reports as particularly biased. He didn't make any friends with right-wing Israelis nor was he embraced by hardliners in the Palestine Liberation Organization. The human factor of his stories has become more important to Fletcher and to support that he played videos of some of his more recent reports. A story on a young, determined AIDS victim in Africa, whose parents were lost to the disease and who was once close to death herself was riveting. Another report showed a violin from World War II that had belonged to a young Jewish violinist forced to play for Nazi officers and their ladies at a night club. Plotting his revenge, the violinist stashed a cache of explosives over a period of a year or more and used them to kill 200 of his captors before he himself was captured and executed. His violin was restored in Israel and played by famous Israeli violinist Shlomo Mintz at Aushwitz as Fletcher recounted the compelling event. Proudly, Fletcher admits he is less interested these days in covering an event or a story, but more interested in coming to know the people involved and telling their story. All in all, "Breaking News" is a good read, but Fletcher is an effective speaker and a vaulted personality worthy of respect in the field of broadcast journalism. He is less anxious these days to cover a war or conflict as he might have done in Rwanda or Kosovo. Still, that sounds to me like the wisdom of his years finally caught up to the recklessness of his youth. Martin Fletcher is a hero for these and many other reasons. An audience member revealed how surprised she was to learn that Fletcher is the son of Holocaust survivors from Vienna and that in all of his reports across the globe from Israel and afar, she had no idea he was Jewish. That's an incredible compliment to any reporter that is seeking the truth. He is a great broadcast journalist and now he is an author of great merit. I look forward to his new book on Israel, which he says is already at his publisher's offices. Perhaps next year we in New Orleans will be lucky enough to be on the first publicity tour for that tome. If not, there's always the paperback tour in 2011.