The final blog of 2008

So far so good. This first year I have blogged about 267 times, meaning that with about 98 exceptions, I have had a daily discourse on the Internet. There were several times due to travel or other considerations (like a busy holiday season), where I was unable to get my blog submitted on time. For those times, I do apologize. So what have I learned thus far in my entry into the blogosphere (now almost a full year since my first tenuous steps)? I have learned that the connections between far-flung people can be quite strong through the blogging process. I have learned that more people are reading these entries than I would have believed initially. I have also learned that it is important to me to write intelligently and with purpose, because no one wants to read a trite, insincere blog. I have attempted to write in an ethical manner, but not necessarily in an objective way. The blogging process screams for subjectivity in much the same manner that a newspaper columnist cannot be impartial and stay valid for his readership. It is, after all, pretty much about crediblity. Can you truly believe the words I am writing? Do I make a compelling case for what I am advocating? If you disagree, can you see my point or would you think it necessary to respond to me via a comment? I have had an incredible number of good friends I have made through this first year, and I resolve to continue to do more of the same in 2009. I hope that I will be a source for information and, perhaps occasionally, for inspiration in the year to come. In the meantime, may all of you enjoy the most blessed of new year's celebrations and may the coming new year bring you continued good health and success in your endeavors. See you next year....

A jug of wine, a loaf of bread, and Edwin

The holidays are making this an extremely short workweek. Due to the placement of New Year's Day on Thursday, it is very doubtful that offices will reopen for one day on Friday, January 2. It is also true that many businesses will shut down for half a day on New Year's Eve. So, the end result is that there are but two full workdays this week, to wit, Monday and Tuesday. So, it was with great pleasure that I took in a concert by Edwin McCain on Sunday night at the New Orleans House of Blues. For those of you who recall "I'll Be" or "I Could Not Ask for More," you know who Edwin McCain is. He is one of the truly great troubadours of rock influenced by soul, jazz, folk and Southern rock. His memorable songs contain insightful commentaries and are full of unalloyed poetry. For those who have been privileged to see him in concert, the experience of his music is heightened ever so much by the dynamism of his powerful stage performances. With saxophonist Craig Shields and guitarist Larry Chaney giving tremendous support onstage, Edwin plays for an hour and a half or more without stopping. Bassist Murray Yanes and drummer Trommel Blassingame round out the band. The focus of the band is Edwin. He is a force of nature to be reckoned with and, for those that attend with their significant others, a nice date night too.

Slaving over scripts

While December 25 may mean Christmas to many, it has a more profound meaning to me. It means that I have only 12 days until the beginning of the Carnival season here in New Orleans. That may not seem like a big deal to many of you, but as the manuscript writer and narrator for four Carnival balls and the announcer of six street parades at historic Gallier Hall, it marks the beginning of a very busy time for me and one that forces a crunch of creativity. While few understand how much I slave away over the tableaux (or scenes) of each ball, the end result is not unlike a play with lighting, music and book. These components all contribute to the benefit of the whole. There is nothing more satisfying to me than being able to put into fruition a manuscript with entrances and accompanying music for the royal courts, officers and captains for each of the krewes (or Carnival groups) for whom I write these tableaux. These balls will begin in earnest on The Feast of the Epiphany for those in the Catholic world or, as Shakespeare would perhaps colloquially remind us, on Twelfth Night. That night is always January 6 and with Mardi Gras stated as February 24 this coming year, I have only a little over seven weeks before it's all over.

Chanukah, Christmas and Kwaanza to come

With all of the holidays that have begun and will continue to be celebrated over the course of the next several days, family and friends should enjoy quality time with one another. It is at the core of all such holidays and, aside from renewing the ties between loved ones, we should view this as a time for reflection. We should reflect on the past year with its many ups and downs as well as to speculate on the hope and promise of the next year with its many challenges. Today has been a day of reflection as I have enjoyed a festive meal with one family enjoying Christmas, while also being observant of the Chanukah holiday. I thought about the change that one year has brought to my synagogue at morning services, vibrant and alive with a family from outside of our community. Their many members are preparing to celebrate the Bat Mitzvah this weekend of a 12-year-old girl who wants to make a difference and combine the usual festivities with a week of work, repair and remediation at various locations across town. I saw women parading with one of five Torah scrolls donated to the synagogue over the last year and a half. I also heard guitar music in the middle of a service being played by none other than the dynamic new rabbi at Beth Israel, Uri Topolosky. The changes there have propelled Congregation Beth Israel into the forefront of recovery from Hurricane Katrina and Rabbi Topolosky has added another feather into his...er...uh...yarmulke. He has overseen the koshering of a world famous New Orleans landmark. He has made Cafe du Monde kosher! Yes, as of a few weeks ago, the famous cafe au lait and beignets (square donuts) served to millions of tourists and enjoyed in the homes of countless others in mixes and gift boxes are now kosher. Rabbi Topolosky, in concert with the Louisiana Kashrut Committee, worked on the process for the past year. For some, it is nothing less than another miracle at Chanukah.
For Rabbi Topolosky it is all in another day's work. He and his lovely wife Dahlia and their two small sons are also awaiting the arrival of another miracle in another few months. This will be their first native-born New Orleanian and everyone is hoping their home will be filled with the joyous sounds of a healthy newborn by the time next Chanukah arrives. It has occurred to me that I have been back in New Orleans longer than my time away in Cleveland following the flooding that came after Hurricane Katrina. There has been much that has transpired since my arrival in April of last year, most of it very good and productive. We have experienced losses of close friends and family and yet we marched forward, knowing that births, special events and new wonders have also made the journey pleasant. Just two weeks ago the city was reveling from the splendor of a rare one- to five-inch snowfall. In Cleveland such a sprinkling of snow might occur in a blink of an eye, but here it was a cause for celebration. With temperatures hovering just below or slightly above freezing in Cleveland, it is hard for many of my friends to conceive that I celebrated yesterday in short sleeves and 82-degree weather. Unlike Cleveland's snow banks and slippery sidewalks, the metropolitan New Orleans area was dry throughout the day with sunny skies. It is a major difference between the two cities, but I must admit that I do miss an occasional incursion of snowflakes, if nothing else than to mark the seasons more prominently. While I did not have a White Christmas, it was the people with whom I shared it that ensured me of a very warm day, indeed.

Wingding in Westwood

The weekend was a blur of activity for me and I am just getting back into the New Orleans groove, punctuated by a cold wave that came through while I was in fast-moving Los Angeles. Everything in L.A. seems to be moving at a faster pace than here in the sleepy South, that is except for the traffic on the highways. Californians seem to accept a nine-mile, 50-minutes run from the airport with little or no alacrity. Apart from the traffic, there is that bright California sun that hangs up in the sky like a China ball spreading warmth and light across the city that bounces across nearby mountains and valleys. I saw no smog on this trip, but it is, after all, winter. The reason for my departure for the Left Coast was a family event: my second cousin Annie's Bat Mitzvah. I mentioned this in an earlier blog. This was the first time I had seen my Uncle Joel's family since his daughter Renee's wedding to Stephen Gingold about 17 years ago. Dr. Joel Smason, a retired orthopaedic surgeon, is the younger brother of my father. At that time many of my father's family were still alive. I rather enjoyed seeing them all gathered together at such a lovely affair at the very swank Beverly Hills Hotel. Back in 1960, I was the ring bearer for my Uncle Joel and Aunt Evelyne's wedding and when their daughter Renee got married, she and her fiancé asked my son David to act as a ring bearer too. The Bat Mitzvah weekend at Sinai Temple began with Friday evening services at the synagogue located on Wilshire Boulevard in a small chapel that was followed by an evening meal in a nearby room. The next morning there was a huge affair in the main synagogue sanctuary and I was asked to read from the Torah scroll during the services. It was a huge responsibility and I was extremely nervous, especially while chanting in front of an audience of five hundred that blossomed to almost 1,000 later in the morning. Apparently I did okay, because most people complimented me, but I still was relieved when it was over. The joyous affair was punctuated by sadness as the death of 83-year-old Torah scholar and president emeritus of American Jewish University Rabbi David Lieber was noted by Senior Rabbi David Wolpe. Wolpe was named this year as the number one pulpit rabbi in America by no less than Newsweek Magazine. He was an impassioned speaker, electing to talk on one man he knew so well whose death had marked the community and the country as opposed to Bernie Madoff, whom he said had generated news but in a wicked way. Wolpe took time to sermonize about the qualities that Lieber had and the effect for goodness in the world he had generated. In Wolpe's case there were times when Lieber's influence on him personally kept him in Los Angeles and helped him and his wife face a battle with cancer. Wolpe's speech about Lieber ultimately pointed out how effective he was in working with disparate groups. The "Etz Chaim ("Tree of Life")," the Chumash or Five Books of Moses the Conservative Movement has used in prayer services since 1999, lists Lieber as senior editor, above all other writers including the eminent Chaim Potok. Following services the family gathered for an impressive Kiddush luncheon repast in one of several large rooms at the facility. The evening party was held at the Brentwood Country Club with a DJ, dancers and a 1960s theme of "Peace, Love and Annie." Annie enjoyed herself and her friends managed to keep dancing until the midnight hour, even taking pity on a cousin from New Orleans who insisted on hitting the dance floor himself to tunes such as "Low" and "All the Single Ladies." The final family event was brunch at the Brentwood Country Club the following morning and early afternoon before I dashed off to the airport with my sister Arlene in tow. She was headed back for Cleveland. I was on my way back to the Big Easy. As it turns out the lines were so long for departures, it was a blessing that I arrived so early and was able to take my time going through security and the check-in process. On reflection the weekend was chock-a-block, but all so worthwhile. It was, after all, family.

Beam Her Up, Scotty

Leave it to me to head for the hills...the Hollywood Hills to learn of the passing of Majel Barrett Roddenberry. Majel (nee Hudec) Barrett, the actress known as Nurse Chapel on the original "Star Trek" TV series of the 1960s was also the widow of series creator Gene Roddenberry. Many of my friends there will note that she was a native Clevelander. True devotees of the series will also recall that Roddenberry cast her as "Number One" on the original pilot for "Star Trek." That pilot starring the late Jeffery Hunter as Captain Christopher Pike of the starship Enterprise was scrapped by network executives who were intrigued enough to order another pilot with another male lead: William Shatner in the immortal role of Captain James Tiberius Kirk. The original pilot was cleverly used in the two-part season two opener titled "The Cage." While playing Nurse Chapel on the TV series, she struggled as a health officer infatuated with Vulcan First Officer and Science Officer Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) while working alongside Chief Medical Officer Leonard McCoy (Deforest Kelly). Barrett Roddenberry wed her husband in Japan in 1969 following the cancellation of the series. She began to attend Star Trek conventions around the country and I recall meeting her at one of the first such events held in New Orleans. Following the death of her husband, Barrett Roddenberry became one of the standard bearers of the Star Trek legacy. She appeared in all of the series that followed and was noted as the voice of the computer in all films that were released bearing the Star Trek logo. She just completed the voice of the computer in the upcoming release that is based on the original series and is to be simply titled "Star Trek." Science fiction fans will note that she also appeared in "Babylon V" and was cast in Roddenberry's "Genesis II," which was his last TV project. Fans including me will miss "The First Lady of Star Trek" whose death from complications of leukemia was December 18. She was 76.

Meanwhile, several years following the death of Linda Lovelace, Mark Felt, the real "Deep Throat," also died the same day. Felt, an Associate Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation was revealed as Woodward and Bernstein's secret source three years ago, who insisted the reporters follow the money trail that eventually brought the Nixon White House down. Felt, 95, passed peacefully in a hospice in Santa Rosa, California.

Madoff's muck

Yeshiva University lost an estimated $110 million. Hadassah, according to a relative that quoted a report from the national president, reportedly lost an estimated $90 million. The Washington D.C. Jewish Federation lost its entire endowment. The American Jewish Congress reportedly lost millions. The Robert I. Lappine Foundation in Massachusetts closed its doors. Major Hollywood players like Steven Spielberg and Jeffery Katzenberg were victims. Real estate tycoons like Mort Zuckerman were taken in by Madoff. There are countless other Jewish organizations and other firms that trusted Bernard Madoff with their investments and are now penniless because of this misplaced trust. The ripples of distrust and unbelief are still radiating throughout the entire Jewish philanthropic world. How one man could be so destructive seems to boggle the mind. Remember that the Enron scandal involved $63.5 billion and Madoff is alleged to have bilked investors out of $50 billion in a Ponzi scheme that very few understand could have lasted for 25 years. But Madoff counted on Jews trusting Jews. A confidence man requires this trust while he practices his particular form of legerdemain. For those who are counting their blessings that they got out of their association with Madoff years ago before it was revealed that he was unscrupulous and downright crooked, there remains the looming possibility that they may not be so lucky. It is increasingly possible they may be forced to repay their funds back to the firm now that Madoff has agreed to a freeze of the assets of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, LLC and that everything in that account is turned over to a receiver, Irving Picard. Andrew Calamari, the SEC enforcement official in charge, announced that Picard will act as Receiver under the Securities Investment Protector Act (SIPA). The potential for this so-called clawback action has lots of former investors especially nervous. Imagine investing with Madoff years ago, getting a payoff, investing with another firm and then taking a huge hit with the decline of the market this past year. It is possible that all of those funds could be forced to be repaid to Picard as Receiver. Picard supersedes the previous Receiver, Lee Richards of Richards Kibbe and Orbe LLP, who continues to act as the Receiver for Madoff Securities International, Ltd. It is all part of the intricately woven web of deceit that is only now coming to light. Many people were surprised to learn that major banks and hedge funds had assigned part of their portfolios to Madoff, based on his performance and promised 8% return to investors. Feeder brokers for financial institutions would regularly send Madoff business, some of which he accepted. At other times, he apparently rejected other customers. For example, a well-known financial institution like Oppenheimer Funds, through its Tremont Funds Group, used Madoff for investment purposes. The amount of litigation that will ensue these actions will clog court dockets for the next decade. Far more badly than the loss to the banking institutions are those heartbreaking cases of couples who invested all of their life savings with Madoff and retired to places like Boca Raton, figuring their nest eggs would last them in their golden years. Now they are all at risk of losing everything they scrimped and saved for over decades. Frantic calls to children and relatives have been reported through the news media. That Madoff took away their life savings is a shame and a tragedy. But his greater crime was that he took away their hope and their independence. Madoff remains under house arrest in his tony $10 million New York City apartment now that the magistrate judge in his case took away his right to leave during the day. Except for court appearances that's where he will stay for the foreseeable future.