Opinion Editorials are posted and archived on JNonline.us . Dry Bones "STERIC" BLINDNESS? THE WEST IS HAVING AN EPIDEMIC OF SELECTIVE VISION Editorial ALL OF US CAN SEE THE TENTACLES Center Of It All For Teens 0 f all the spots to house a Jewish teen center, a former Holocaust memorial center is an excellent choice. The site links the next generation of Jewish leaders, in a place they helped develop, with the darkest days of our people's past. While mingling, studying and just hanging out, teens at the Beverly Prentis Wagner Teen Center will be exposed to the precious memories radiating through the corridors. Peer discussion is sure to follow; the teens will be able to apply the lessons learned to their own life experiences. The teen center, designed by Neumann/ Smith Architecture in Southfield, is locat- ed outside the main entrance to the Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield. It has lots of teen trappings, like an all-kosher snack bar, a movie theater, a study center, the popular Dance Dance Revolution video game, large-screen TVs and wireless Internet. While there's plenty of opportunity to relax and unwind in the 10,000-square- foot teen center, study options — alone or with tutors — will abound, putting learn- ing on equal par with play. Planners made a wise decision to move the JCC's youth offices as well as the B'nai B'rith Youth Organization (BBYO) staff into the teen center. The JCC's new teen coordinator, Lindsay Fox, is busy prepar- ing for the teen center's grand opening on Jan. 17. The intersection between youth services and teen activities should echo for the entire Jewish community. Before the Frankel Jewish Academy opened in 2000, teens didn't congregate at the JCC unless there was a basketball game, a BBYO dance, a bar or bat mitzvah party or a similar event. The school brings teens inside the JCC daily. The busy InLine Hockey Center, opened in 2000, also brings hundreds of teens to the JCC. The teen center will expand the base and the reasons for coming to the JCC — Jewish Detroit's central address. The appeal should stretch beyond day school students to Jewish teens in the public schools, private schools and synagogue youth groups. The teen center has the enthusiastic support of JCC Executive Director Mark Lit, President Todd Sachse and the board of trustees. More importantly, teens led by Erica Sachse (Todd's daughter) and Ben Goutkovitch have had a key role in laying the design, amenities, gaming and programming groundwork. Teens even were instrumental in choosing the color scheme. The teen steering committee focused not only on what would be hip, but also practical. Our population numbers certainly validate the need for a place that teens can call their own. More than 20 percent of the Detroit Jewish com- munity is made up of teens 13-17. Keeping teens engaged in Metro Detroit and the Jewish community may give them a good enough impression to want to return here following college. The Prentis Family Support Foundation and the Bruce Frankel family deserve plaudits for their generous contributions toward the $850,000 cost of the teen center, named in memory of Beverly Prentis Wagner. It'll be a wonder- ful site to rent for teen-oriented events. Todd Sachse enthusiastically described the teen center as a kind of teen fantasy land. That's an inspired description. But the excitement cuts both ways. Sachse's daughter had the presence and maturity www.drybonesblog.com to thank the Jewish community for reach- ing out to teenagers and providing a haven with a Jewish flair. The teen steering committee should be kept in force with a staggered rotating membership to assure continued peer monitoring of what is shaping up to be yet another example of Detroit Jewry's knack for creating authentic national models of how to build a feeling of community. ❑ Reality Check Sweet Reunion T he girls came home for the holidays; girls no more, really, but young women embarked on careers and life choices. But my grand- children suddenly found themselves surrounded by five aunts they had never known before. They were my daughter Courtney's best friends all through middle and high school. While girls of that age frequently undercut and snipe at their peers, and friendships can wax and wane as quickly as the phases of the moon, this group was inseparable and dedicated to each other. I can't count the number of times they gathered at our house, to study together for the next test or just to crowd into Courtney's room to whisper and laugh. Now they were back for their 10-year high school reunion, and it was wonderful to hear their laughter ringing through our house again. Bekah, Jen, Nicole, Karen and Rachel. A46 December 18 • 2008 All of them, except for Karen, returning from Chicago and New York. Talking a mile a minute, describing work and boyfriends, recapturing a moment of their past. But more than anything else, they wanted to get to know Courtney's niece and nephew. Matthew, whose chief interests at the age of four months are drinking milk, sleeping and bab- bling away to no one in particular, drew some attention. But it was Caryn, named Chaya Shayna after her Aunt Courtney, who fascinated them. When Jaime brought her over, they all swore she looked just like Courtney. But they were seeing with their hearts and not their eyes, just as Sherry and I do sometimes. Because she's the image of her daddy. Caryn was in rare form. After getting past her initial shyness, she treated them to a spirited performance of her Greatest Hits, including the number she will perform at next spring's dance recital. Then she insisted that they all come upstairs and see her bedroom. It was her mother's old room, now converted to a playroom for sleepovers. Through the closed doors, I could hear them whispering and laughing, just like years ago. All the girls make it a point to call Sherry every Mother's Day and on Courtney's yahrtzeit, no matter where they are or what they're doing. Friends ask whether these aren't bit- tersweet moments for us. I always respond there is nothing bitter about them at all. While you never get over the loss of a child, and even the most casual remark or bit of music can bring back the pain in all its cutting ferocity, the fact that her friends remember and remain dedicated to that memory is a wonderful source of solace. Pictures were taken with Caryn beam- ing in the midst of the girls as they posed on the staircase. They had carried Courtney to her final rest and now they insisted that they will be five aunts to stand in for the one who is missing. But they had another surprise for us. Bekah will be the first of the group to be married. The ceremony will be next sum- mer. She took Jaime aside and asked if it would be all right if Caryn was a flower girl at her wedding. Jaime cried as she gave her answer. As wedding invitations go, it may have been the best we ever received. ❑ George Cantor's e-mail address is gcantor614@aol.com.