ing a mistake. "I go berserk, but only
when they try big plays."
Lynn Root of Birmingham, Brenda
Jaffee of Farmington Hills and Dr.
Henry Shevitz of West Bloomfield
are among his favorite partners, Kaye
says.
"He is the most intense person
I've ever met in my life': Shevitz says.
"He's a fantastic player and he's always
a mentsh. He's nicer to opponents
than he is to me, but I love playing
with the guy."
"He's a very, very good partner and
a very gracious opponent:' says Jaffe.
"He always lets you know when you
do something very good. He's very
intense!"
"He's taught me a lot:' Root says.
"He's a kind and patient teacher and
always very nice to everyone!'

Nontraditional Life

"Most of the top bridge players who
do well don't have traditional lives:'
Kaye says.
He is able to get it all in because he
requires just three hours of sleep, plus
two 45-minute naps during the day.
He also makes time for tennis with
Laura Stern, a longtime friend.
"The overwhelming thing about
Rick is his joie de vivre," the
Farmington Hills resident says. "His
hobbies are an expression of that.
"Some people might assume that

found coursework to be too easy,"
Podolyako says.
In the last two years, they had a
nucleus of 18-22 active members,
enough to field several teams for
the college tournament. Last year,
a U-M team finished eighth.
"Michigan didn't have a repu-
tation as a bridge school," says
Zach Foster, a bridge player at
WBHS and U-M who was out of the
country and had just heard of his
friends' first-place finish.
"It's wonderful. We should be
able to improve our recruiting,"
says Foster, who will be a U-M
senior this fall.
Still, both Vosko and Podolyako
are pessimistic about bridge
becoming as popular a game as
it once was. Euchre, they say,
has taken its place among young
people.
"The main problem is that
bridge is difficult," Vosko says.
"As a social ac'civity, young people
don't want to sit around in groups

he's a sports nut:' she says, "but he's
not. He only likes his teams and would
not be pleased to be called 'macho!"
"He's probably pretty normal
among bridge players:' says his wife
Ellen. "Bridge is a godsend to me.
Between his work and bridge it really
keeps him busy. It keeps him out of
the retirement syndrome!'
Ellen and Rick met at the end of
their freshman year at U-M, where he
graduated with a bachelor's degree in
math and a master's in actuarial sci-
ence, and she with a bachelor's degree
in journalism.
Rick knew they would marry after
their first meeting because Ellen was
the first woman he knew who could
discuss both politics and sports. They
have four children, ranging in age
from 37 to 16, two daughters-in-law
and four grandchildren.
The whole family gets together reg-
ularly three times a year — at Camp
Michigania, for a football weekend
and over the winter holidays.
Committed to his young grand-
children, he visits the two who live in
town every evening and the two in
Arizona at least once a month, except
during the summer.
And no, none of his children plays
bridge.

❑

On behalf of the
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit,
we thank you for opening your hearts and homes
to our 80 Israeli campers this summer.

2006 ISRAELI. CAMPER PROGRAM HOST FAMILIES

Jeff & Andrea Belen

Russell Linden & Cathy Radner

Stanford & Roz Blanck

Michael & Sandy Lippitt

Alan & Stacey Borsen

Stewart & Barbara Mandell

Jeffrey Busseli & Debbie Pevos

Mark & Lisa Menuck

Estelle Dolinka

Steven Metz & Lori Davidson-Mertz

Stephen & Nicole Eisenberg

Bill & Lea Narens

Lorne & Gayle Gold

John & Gale Poris

Raphael & Julie Goldstein

Harvey & Robin Reznick

Steve & Margo Goodman

Alexander & Svetlana Reznikov

David & Laura Gorosh

John & Deborah Rittman

Seth & Karen Gould

Warren & Carol Ann Rose

Brian & Liz Guz

Robert & Amy Singer

Bob Handelsman &

Allan & Dona Stillman

Cheryl Sukenic

Renee Horowitz

Howard & Lilly Jacobson

Bennett & Suzi Terebelo

Barry & Annette Kaufman

Larry & Carolyn Tisdale

Stuart & Renee Kay

David & Kelly Victor

Ron & Stacy Klein

Glenn & Janet Warsh

Brian & Elyse Kolender

Ron & Jodi Weiss

Richard & Judee Lewis

Eric & Stacy Wolf

Arie & Karolyn Liebovitz

Lorne & KC Zalesin

DETROIT FEIERATION'S

and silently think. If people
stopped putting emphasis on the
rules of bridge — bidding spe-
cifically — people might be more
influenced to play casually."
Podolyako blames current
college culture for the game's
decline. "People look to their time
in a university for easy fun ...
Bridge is the opposite. You have
to read, study and painstakingly
practice to be any good."
Meantime, the two close friends,
who, in 2004, went on a Birthright
Israel trip together, may not be at
the same bridge table for a while.
The Collegiate Bridge
Championship finished at 1 a.m.
At 9 a.m. that day, Vosko was on
a plane for London, where he will
be working as a derivatives trader.
His U-M degree is in industrial and
operations engineering.
Podolyako, who majored in eco-
nomics, honors psychology and
linguistics, is headed to Yale Law
School this fall.

ISRAELI
11111p)ER
PFirOlrG RANI

Steve Goodman and Ken Korotkin, Co-Chairs

This is Federation

www.thisisfederation.org

1151410

August 24 2006

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