I

Jewish Life
In My 20s

Learning personal things through
vicarious victories on the ice.

_A LYNNE MEREDITH COHN
StaffWriter

ven live, it seemed like slow
motion. Three all-time hock-
ey greats, whose Red Wing
skates long ago started gath-
ering dust in a closet somewhere, car-
ried an 8x12-foot piece of red-and-
white cloth across the ice.
Perfectly groomed and wearing sharp
tuxedos, Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay
and Gary Bergman walked the long, red
carpet almost as if it were rolled out for
royalty.
Even in a democracy,
we have our own royal
figures.
And as that banner
made its slow ascent to
the rafters of The Joe,
wide grins matched quiet
tears. Like that cheesy 1980s song says,
what a night.
We all knew it would be bittersweet,
the raising of the Stanley Cup victory
banner after a 42-year drought, while
one of the finest contemporary puck-
players lies immobile in a hospital bed.
The next day, news reports quoted doc-
tors: Vladimir Konstantinov may never
speak again.
He will certainly never skate the
perimeter of the rink or toss the puck to
a teammate. Team masseur Sergei
Mnatsakanov will likely never walk. At
least he can carry on verbally with his
Russian buddies.
And so it was. We watched the ban-
ner being pulled to its stand-alone spot
on the ceiling of Joe Louis Arena, as
even former Red Wing Mickey
Redmond, the emcee of the pregame
affair, removed his glasses to wipe away
spontaneous tears.
I stood motionless beside my father,
who remembers what he was doing the
night the Wings last won a Stanley
Cup, the way our parents know exactly
what they were doing when they heard
JFK was shot. He beamed tearfully, like
a proud father at his child's wedding.
He's watched banners rise before.

So many times since that fateful June
night, six days after we smelled the cin-
namon-sweet scent of victory, I have
wondered about the meaning behind
such elation mixed with such tragedy. Is
this a not-so-subtle warning that we
can't take anything for granted? Is it a
message that we must learn to cherish
every God-given moment and small,
seemingly innocuous victory?
I think so. We partied and cried and
yelped and hugged along with our
team, as if we knew them at all.
Remember the hundreds of fans in the
Big Daddy's parking lot? And we
cried and yelped and
hugged as they did
after that horrible
limousine crash, shook
our heads along with
them every time we heard
excuses for what caused a driver
without a valid license to wrap a long
limousine around a tree.
As if it happened to us.
In a way, it did. What we learned
when our team won the Stanley Cup
was how it feels to work long and hard,
sweat and fight, and celebrate when you
finally achieve a long-awaited, hard-won
goal.
From the car accident, where
Vladdie and team masseur Sergei suf-
fered closed-head injuries rendering
them immobile for months and possi-
bly for life, we learned how little we
control our own lives. We saw how •
quickly the good life can turn into the
unbelievably sad life. That no matter
how careful we are — letting someone
else take the wheel after celebrating as a
team — we are not infallible.
On Oct. 8, I didn't really think this
in-depth about it. I just let the tears
well up in my eyes when Redmond
dedicated the game to Vladdie and
Sergei and said, "Come back soon. We
love you. We believe."
And I let myself cheer and clap
and scream and swipe away tears, as
the banner made its slow approach
toward the sky. As if it were happen-
ing to me. O

HAPPENINGS

Friday, Oct. 24

Singles Shabbat dinner with JEMS
(Jews who Enjoy Mingling and
Schmoozing), new at Temple Israel.
Dinner at 6:15 p.m., alternative
Shabbat services at 7:30 p.m. Dinner
cost: $12. Call Gloria Brozgold,
(248) 661-5700.

Saturday, Oct. 25

Fall Festivities at Camp Maas, Fresh
Air Society and the B'nai B'rith
Leadership Network. Hayride,
pumpkin picking and bonfire. 8-11
p.m. Cost: $5 per car. (248) 788-
NEWS or 661-0600.

Sunday, Oct. 26

Judeo-Christian Relations, discussion
with Jewish Professional Singles. 7
p.m. At the Agency for Jewish
Education, 21550 W. 12 Mile Road,
Southfield. Speaker: Bruce
Goldstein. Cost: $5. Call Susan
Dines, (248) 626-7246.

DIA tour, "Splendors of Egypt"
exhibit, Michigan Jewish Singles
Network. 9:30 a.m. (248) 851-1100,
Ext. 3157.

Tuesday, Oct. 28

YAD bar night. 8:30 p.m. At Old
Woodward Grill, 555 S. Woodward.
Call Marc Berke, (248) 203-1458.

Thursday, Oct. 30

Recruitment meeting for the 11th
UJA National Young Leadership
Cabinet meeting in Washington, D. C.
7 p.m. At the Max M. Fisher
Building, 6735 Telegraph Road. Call
Tanya Mazor-Posner, (248) 203-
1456.

Lunch with Rabbi Joshua Bennett.
12:30-1:30 p.m. Big Daddy's on
Orchard Lake Road in West
Bloomfield. Cost: $12. Call (248)
661-5700.

November

Sunday, Nov. 2

Allied Jewish Campaign telethon, YAD
and HMD. 6-9 p.m. At the Max M.
Fisher Federation Building. Dinner
and training included. For informa-
tion call Jim Rosenberg, (248) 642-
4260.

Connections Skating Afternoon,
sponsored by the Singles Network,
Jewish Family Services of Washtenaw
County. 1:30-4:30 p.m. At the
Skatin' Station II, 8611 Ronda
Drive, Canton. Call (313) 971-3280.

SINGLES TRAVEL

Dec. 3-13

Cruise for Jewish singles in their "mid-
dle years." Sponsored by the St. Louis
Jewish Community Centers
Association. Cost: $1,959. (800)
628-3941.

Dec. 7-14

Singles Caribbean cruise, ages 20-40.
Sponsored by the Jewish Community
Center of Pittsburgh. Cost: $1,548.
(412) 521-8011, Ext. 371.

Dec. 13-20

Southern Caribbean cruise for Jewish
young adults. Cost: $475, $599.
(213) 655-0800.

Dec. 18-Jan. 4, 1998

Israel Encounter's Young Pro-
fessionals Tour. Cost: $3,449. (800)
223-YJLC.

Dec. 22-Jan. 2

New Year's celebration in Thailand
with Premier Jewish Singles. Cost:
$2,350. (314) 994-9600.

Dec. 24-Jan. 4

New Year's Eve celebration in Spain
with Premier Jewish Singles. Cost:
$1,945. (314) 994-9600.

JANUARY

Jan. 10-17

Skiing, Big Sky, Montana. Cost:
$1,349. (800) 666-4857.

Jan. 21-25

Scuba diving in Cozumel, Mexico
with Steppin' Out. For novice and
advanced divers. (773) 509-8595.

FEBRUARY

Feb. 22-March 1

14th annual Jewish singles supercruise,
sponsored by the St. Louis Jewish
Community Center. Cost: $1,559.
(800) 628-3941 or (314) 432-6780,
Ext. 213.

10/24
1997

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