Secrets Of Book Biz
DOER
PROFILE
JOSHUARJBI\
City: West Bloomfield
Kudos: Ecology-Minded Eagle Scout
On May 9, Rubin became an Eagle Scout, the highest
rank in Scouting. In addition to 23 merit badges, he
has earned his Jewish Ner Timid Religious Medal
and is a brotherhood member of the Order of the
Arrow,. the Scout service socie t y. Active at Congrega-
tion Irnai Moshe,
he attends the
International
Academy High
School in. Bloom-
field Hills and will
represent Michigan
this summer at the
National Student
Leadership
Conference in
Washington, D.C.
What keeps you
interested in
Scouting?
"I've been a Scout for 10 or 11 years. I like the
organization, the outdoors, the leadership oppor-
tunities I get. And I've made a lot of friends."
Tell me about your Eagle Scout project.
"My project was to remove phragmitis australis
—an invasive plant — from a plot at the West
Bloomfield Civic Center. It took 100 man-hours,
and I had the aid of fellow Scouts. The Township
continues to keep the plot clean, and it's now
growing cattails and another native grass in that
area. I feel pretty good about it. Service projects
are nothing new for me. In Scouting, we do com-
munity service. I enjoy that.
,
What other things do you do?
"I can list a hundred interests, but I really like
home cinematography claymation and scale radio-
controlled cars."
Are Scouts nerds?
The student stereotype that Scouting is only for
dorks is false. I know jocks and other types of stu-
dents who are involved and all have a fun time. I
would definitely recommend it to others." E
— Keri Guten Cohen,
story development editor
REPORT A DOER...
Know a Doer — someone of any age doing interest-
ing, meaningful things in their life outside of their
job? Share suggestions with Keri Guten Cohen, story
development editor, at (248) 351-5144 or e-mail:
kcohen@thejewishnews.com
any years ago, I was
assigned to spend the day
with a marginal candidate
in an election for governor.
We started off in his hometown
of Corunna, went to Lansing and
Kalamazoo and then made a few
other stops. Turnouts were sparse
and his mood seemed to sag as the
GEORGE
day went on.
CANTOR
Our last call was at a meeting of
Reality
supporters at a bowling
Check
alley in Wyandotte. The
parking lot was packed
and I could see hirri perk up as he strode
purposefully towards the front door.
He walked inside ... and right into the
middle of a bowling league banquet. His
group, consisting of about a dozen people,
was clustered in a back room.
I felt sorry for the guy. Then the same
thing happened to me last month.
I had a book signing at Oakland Mall
for my opus on the 1984 Tigers, Wire to'
Wire (a thoughtful and magnificent
Father's Day gift, by the way).
There was no place to park in all its vast
lot. I even saw a couple of Troy police
cars, called out for crowd control.
-
"This exceeds my wildest expectations," I
remarked to myself as I walked inside the book-
store.
It sure did. The crowds were there to see William
Hung, the American Idol dropout who is famous
for not being able to sing.
My little standiat the front of the store stood
deserted as the crowds rushed past like a hurricane
surge to pay homage to Hung.
"I've got it all wrong," I told my wife later on.
"The next book I'm going to write as badly as I
can. That is the path to riches."
Oh, I know what you're thinking about being a
writer. You think it's pretty gosh darn glamorous.
Well, if you're Elmore Leonard or Scott Turow,
with people lining up to buy your work and offers
Di
George Cantor's e-mail address is
gcantor@thejewishnews. corn
coming over the phone, it can be. For the rest of
us
I love the writing part. The research, the inter-
viewing, fitting the pieces together. That's the good
stuff.
But the book signings for crowds that never
come. The radio interviews with hosts who have
never read the book and couldn't care less. This is
not what I'd call fun.
While promoting a book once in Buffalo, I was
scheduled for an interview show conducted by a
man who was blind. He was also a terrible inter-
viewer and spent most of the time off-mike asking
me about contacts for a job in Detroit.
About halfway through this tedious session, I
heard a sudden banging on the wall. I was terrified.
I thought an irate mob of bored listeners had
stormed the station and was trying to get their
hands on us.
But it was only the engineer. Since the host
could not see, he had to give cues for commercial
breaks by pounding on the wall.
Not all book-plugging experiences are quite that
eventful. While on the road for a travel book,
though, one comical TV host in Chicago handed
me a road map and challenged me to fold it up on
camera. Laugh, I thought I'd die.
But now I have learned my lesson. My next book
starts off, "It was a dark and stormy night." And,
William Hung, watch out.
❑
Shabbat Candlelighting
"I light my silver Shabbos candlestick every week. When my mommy tells me that it's that time, I
get so excited! My mommy gives me a big hug and kiss and says, 'Good Shabbos.' I feel so special."
— Chana Amzalak, 3, Oak Park
Candlelighting
Candlelighting
Friday, June 4, 8:48 p.m.
Friday, June 11, 8:52 p.m.
Shabbat Ends
Saturday, June 5, 9:59 p.m.
Shabbat Ends
Saturday, June 12, 10:04 p.m.
To submit a candlelighting message, call Miriam Amzalak of the Lubavitch Women's Organization at (248) 548-6771 or e-mai• mamzalak@juno.com
tTN
6/ 4
2004
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