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It's In The Bag
H
ere is a Jeopardy answer for you: It can contain your
worldly goods while describing a variety of everyday items.
Question: What is a bag? Of course!
Who has not had the experience of being offered the choice, "Paper
or plastic"? The bag you choose could say a lot about you and think-
ing green, saving the earth or just plain being able to tote
all those groceries into your house without a loud rip pre-
cluding a major spill of foodstuffs and naughty words.
Then again, if you decide to brown bag it, you are taking
lunch to work and, therefore, not wasting gas by driving to
get a bite to eat. The ultimate effort would be in seeing how
many weeks of use you can get from one brown bag. (What
do you mean by "cheap"? I consider it a mark of frugality.
Besides I have since switched to a cloth lunch bag with a
freezer-pack insert.) As a side note: What is brown and
hangs from a steeple? The lunch bag of Notre Dame!
When you use a container, it is one thing; but you would
be highly resentful if someone told you, "Bag it!" That, in
effect, is a way to say, "Just stop!"
Remember when going on a trip was fun? Well, these
days the final destination may hold fun for you if you
get through the torture that air travel has become. Not only are you
restricted in the number of bags (suitcases) you can take, but you
also are charged accordingly — even for the first one. Let us not even
go into that area of what you can pack in a carry-on bag. I am happy
with the careful scrutiny that we seem to get in the airport security
Put Your Teen To Work
areas, but there are some checks that really seem to be overdone.
What, you may wonder, will the government find next to pull from its
bag of tricks?
Whatever it may be, be assured that we will be the ones left holding
the bag — and maybe not making our flights.
The next time you master something, you can probably
congratulate yourself on doing so and think to yourself
that it's in the bag!
If you are an adventurer, you may wish to try your hand
a bagging some game on a safari. If you are an animal
lover, you can arrange for a picture safari; and, though you
may get bags under your eyes from the tedious journey,
you will find that photographing nature in the wild makes
for an exciting trip.
Some baseball fans are expert at telling major league
players when to steal a bag (a base); in fact, they are usu-
ally expert at all facets of the game and have no compunc-
tion about letting you know. Actually, sports are not my bag
so I evoke little sympathy or understanding in that realm.
If you are into serious dieting, be careful not to go to
extremes: You do not want to become a bag of bones! No, I
do not believe that the fashion models are the way people should look
— but that's a whole other bag.
I am tempted at this juncture to introduce baguettes. Yes, I realize
that neither the rolls nor the cut diamonds are really related to what
we have been discussing, I just could not contain myself. E
men were inspired to re-direct their energies toward raising both
funds and awareness in support of autism-related organizations.
TonerForAutism.com combines Pearlman and Dube's printing indus-
try experience with their passion for promoting a cause that inspires
them both personally and professionally. Image One is based in Oak
Park.
- Keri Guten Cohen, story development editor
Joel Pearlman and his daughter, Danielle
Toner For Autism
Image One owners Joel Pearlman and Rob Dube have launched a Web
site, TonerForAutism.com , dedicated to raising awareness and funding
for autism. Through the sale of toner and ink, the site has a goal of
raising $1 million by contributing 5 percent of each sale to organiza-
tions that support autism-related research and issues.
Much more than an online retail outlet, TonerForAutism.com gives
people the opportunity to use their purchasing power to make a
statement and to support education, research and build awareness of
autism, a disorder that affects one in 150 individuals.
The site offers options for purchasing virtually any brand of ink
and toner such as HP, Canon and Epson. The site allows individuals
to choose which charity they wish to support through their purchase,
whether it is a national or local autism-related support organization.
When TonerForAutism.com CEO Pearlman's daughter, Danielle,
was first diagnosed with autism at just 20 months old, the two
A10
August 7 e 2008
iN
Turkish Observers
Temple Israel hosted six Turkish religious leaders at its Shabbat
Unplugged outdoor services Friday night on the Wasserman Pavilion.
Gersh Cooper, president of the West Bloomfield synagogue, welcomed
the guests.
The visitors, including muftis, were among 12 American delegates
of the Diyanet Isleri, or Religious Affairs Office, the highest Islamic
authority in Turkey. The delegation came to America from July 27 to
Aug. 6 as part of the International Visitor Leadership Program spon-
sored by the U.S. Department of the State. The program gave the visi-
tors a chance to meet U.S. religious leaders, scholars and practitioners
in hopes of building formal exchanges; to better understand the role
of religion in America; and to learn how American imams are trained
and how mosques and Islamic centers focus on youth development,
women's issues and outreach technologies.
The full delegation visited Washington, D.C., then split into two
groups; half went to Boston and half to Detroit. It reunited in New
York.
Detroit visitors included: muftis Sinan Cihan, Ibrahim Ocut and
Mehmet Sonmezoglu; and Dr. Muhlis Akar, Tashin Olmez and Yuksel
Salman, all part of the Religious Affairs Presidency in Turkey. A mufti
is an Islamic scholar who interprets Islamic law (Sharia). A diyanet is
a council of muftis, which can issues a fatwa, or religious ruling.
- Robert A. Sklar, editor
The JN is seeking teens inter-
ested in writing and photog-
raphy to help us cover two
upcoming events: the JCC
Maccabi Games Aug. 17-21
and "A Fair To Remember," a
Federation-sponsored Israel at
60 celebration at the Michigan
State Fairgrounds Aug. 21.
Teen stories and photos will
appear in print and on the JN
Web sites. Teens will work with
JN staff members.
Teens also are encouraged to
join the Teen2Teen staff for the
coming year. T2T is featured
each month in the JN.
Interested teens should
send an e-mail to Story
Development Editor Keri Guten
Cohen at kcohen®thejewish-
news.com or call (248) 351-
5144.
What Have I Got
To Lose?
Look for new
blog entries
from Story
Development
Editor Keri
Guten Cohen
as she gets
fit and loses
weight in a special program at
Franklin Athletic Club.
Go to JNonline.us and click
on the box on the right labeled
"What Have I Got To Lose?"
Online Poll
This week's poll question:
Should the Israel Defense
Forces seek to rescue Gilad
Shalit, assuming the IDF knows
where he is being held?
Visit the JNonline.us home-
page, below the left menu, to
cast your vote.
Last week's question:
Has your job or business been
affected by the downturn in
the U.S. economy?
Last week's poll results:
Yes: 86%
No: 14%