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The Name Of The Game

Celebrations!

W

hat's in a name? A rose by any other name would smell"
Buzz Bissinger, she would have become Kim Bassinger Bissinger.
or something like that.
If Austrian composer Joseph Haydn had a daughter who came to
We like to have names for things. Well, of course, that
the United States and, in the 1920s, married one of the 19 members
does help when talking to others because we do not get too far with
of the Seek family living in California at the time, she would have
"Did you see the whatsis?""Was it over there by the thigamajig?"
become a Haydn Seek.
There does come a time when names of people and things
OK, so these are a stretch. Let us then consider some
begin to elude us and we are left with the proverbial egg on
REAL names that can really leave you laughing.
the face for not remembering that the person we are talking
• John Senior Jr. of New York City
to is our spouse. However, think of the fun to be had with
• Justine Tune, a chorister in Princeton, N.J.
some odd combinations of names.
• Mary Louise Pantzaroff of Huron County, Ohio
What if some famous people were paired up with others
• Newton Hooten of Cambridge, Mass.
of equally famous names and the result was laughable? Let's
• Mrs. Screech, a singing teacher in British Columbia
consider some of the following.
• Silence Bellows, an editor at the Christian Science
If writer Harper Lee were to marry radio personality Jim
Monitor
Harper, she would then be Harper Lee Harper. If she left
• Trailing Arbutus Vines of Tennessee
him for Robert E. Lee (you have to forsake all touch with
Sy Ma nello
• Dr. E.Z. Filler, a dentist in Roslyn Heights, N.Y.
real time to play this game), she would then be Harper Lee
Edit anal
• Hedda Hare of Spring Valley, N.Y.
Harper Lee.
Assis tant
• Herman Sherman Berman, a commissioner of deeds in
If Aretha Franklin had teamed with Buddy Holly, she
New York City
would have been Aretha Holly. Had Buddy then gone for
• Iva Odor, a schoolteacher in Spencer, Iowa
Dolly Parton, she would have become Dolly Holly.
• Solomon Gemorah of Brooklyn, N.Y.
If Admiral Byrd had a daughter who married the son of Nicholas
Then, you could always seek out some names of firms that are good
Cage, her last name would be Byrd Cage.
for a chuckle such as Cheatham & Steele, bankers in Wallowa County,
Had there been a man named Max Izmir and he married Saturday
Oregon.
Night Live's Tina Fey, she would have been Tina Fey Izmir.
Understanding names — rather, hearing clearly what is said — can
Food TV cook Ina Garten might have married rapper Obie Trice
help to avoid some laughable errors. I cannot recount the number of
and become Ina Trice (All right, so no one counts like that any more.
times I've been called Simon Ello or Sal Monella. Ah, well ... Now
Are you going to quibble or play my game?).
that you have the hang of it, try it yourself or just train your eye to see
Had actress Kim Bassinger married Vanity Fair contributing editor some interesting names in the news.

-

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High Court Honoree
At a September dinner in Farmington Hills, the Marshall-Suburban-
Tikvah Lodge of B'nai B'rith honored retired Michigan Supreme Court
Justice Charles L. Levin, 81, who served 23 years
on the federal bench. He received a plaque for his
years of service to B'nai B'rith.
The Detroit native and University of Michigan
graduate served as a judge from 1973 to 1996.
"Theodore Levin, Charles' father, an outstand-
ing judge in his own right on the U.S. District
Court of the Eastern Court of Michigan, was the
inspiration and legacy for Charles to follow;' said
Charles Levin
Irving Handelman of Oak Park in introducing
Levin at the event. "It wasn't easy in the early years
when religious prejudices were more prevalent than it is today"
Levin nominated himself as an Independent for the high court seat.
"He took the challenge and made his own destiny by having con-
fidence and determination;' Handelman said, "despite the odds of
not running as a Democrat or Republican, for they choose their own
favorites that are not always the most capable."
Charles' cousins are U.S. Rep. Sander Levin and U.S. Sen. Carl Levin,
both of Michigan.

- Robert A. Sklar, editor

UP Synagogue Lauded For Clean-Up

Marquette
Jewish Earth Keeper team member Jacob Silver accepted an environ-
mental award in late September during a press conference honoring
Temple Beth Sholom in Ishpeming and others involved in the north-
ern Michigan interfaith projects that protect Lake Superior and pris-
tine forests.
The impact of numerous environmental projects created by the
northern Michigan Earth Keepers over the past few years is measured

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November 1 • 2007

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in the hundreds of tons as more than 15,000 residents have turned in
hazardous waste, teens are restoring wild rice beds, businesses and
homes are reducing power con-
sumption and thousands of dollars
used to protect Lake Superior. The
members of Temple Beth Sholom
actively support all the Earth
Keeper projects.
The non-profit Michigan Earth
Keeper Initiative, its nine faith
communities, an Upper Peninsula
American Indian tribe and more
than 400 volunteers were hon-
ored recently with the 2007 Lake
Jacob Silver of Temple Beth
Superior
Magazine Achievement
Sholom in Ishpeming receives
Award.
an environmental award on
behalf of volunteers from the
On Earth Day 2007 for the third
synagogue.
year in a row, northern Michigan's
Jewish community turned their
commitment to tikkun olam (repair
of the world) and social action by participating in the annual clean
sweep and other activities to protect the environment.
"The 2007 clean sweep of outdated and no-longer-used medication
demonstrated how comprehensive our commitment is to keeping our
water pure and our people healthy," said Silver, one of 70 members of
Temple Beth Sholom in Ishpeming.
The annual award established in 1994 "recognizes organizations
or individuals who have improved the well-being of Lake Superior
and its residents:' said Lake Superior Magazine Editor Konnie LeMay,
who traveled from Duluth, Minn., to honor the interfaith environment
project.

- Greg Peterson, special writer

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