frontlines

I WAS SITTING AT DLNNER WITH A RESIDENT
AND I THOUGHT I RECOGNIZED AN OLD NEIGHBOR
ON' TILE OTHER SIDE OE T HE ROOM
I MY DINNER PARTNER
POLNTED AND SA/D, ASKED
WHERE SHE WAS SEATED
"OVER THERE—THE ONE IVITH THE GRAY HALR"....

THEN STMLITANEOUSLY....WE ROARED WITH LAUGHTER!!

Life With A Laugh

Susan Tawil
Special to the Jewish News

M

arilyn Rowens is a spry
85-year-old who carries
around a red rubber nose
that she dons (a la Patch Adams) to
make people happy. She writes books,
she says, "to keep me sane:'
Her wry observations on aging are the
subject of 13 small black-and-white car-
toon booklets, all illustrated with a stick-
figure philosopher who somehow bears
an amazing resemblance to the author.
"It's my inner child:' she says with a
smile.
Rowens says she has been "writing
forever:' but self-published her first
cartoon book in 1977, printing up a hun-
dred copies at Office Max. The books are
small and less than 30 pages.
The author insists the humorous
observations of life they contain are not
frivolous. "Behind the captions, there's a
serious concept:' she says.
When I am in emotional pain, I
have the strength to swallow my tears.
Unfortunately ... I'm on a salt-free diet.
Rowens grew up in Chicago, majored
in English at UCLA, and moved to
Detroit in 1953 to work as an employ-
ment counselor. She and her husband,
Jack, raised their family in Livonia,

where they lived for 58 years.
They joined the Birmingham
Temple in 1967, and she began
teaching Sunday school there.
She wrote and directed plays and
puppet shows, and created holiday
services. She also began drawing
cartoons, which appeared regularly
in the temple's newsletter.
Sadly, Jack passed away last
January. Rowens now lives at the
Heritage House Senior Citizen com-
plex in Southfield, and many of her
cartoons lampoon life there. The food
here is good if you add a little salt ...
but with a little dementia ... it's even
better!!
A resident on the elevator asked me
how I was. I responded, "Wonderful."
Then he said, "You'll get over it."
After her granddaughter taught her to
use the "Paint" computer program, she
made more than 30 short cartoon animal
stories in color. While she has printed
some, most are kept in colored folders
piled in a large basket.
"I'm an unpublished Beatrix Potter;
Rowens quips.
Many of her stories are in iambic
pentameter rhyme scheme, but all are
moralistic fables.
"They're for children of all ages:'
Rowens says.
"They express my philosophy: Reality

JN CONTENTS

(c) 2 al 4

D F

One night
to save Paris
from
destruction.

I MISS WHO I USED TO BE
BUT WHO I USED TO BE
IS HELPING ME TO BE
WHO I AM NOW!

is real, pain and pleasure happen, and
the magic is within each of us:'
Her story, The Seasonal Snowman,
ends with a wonderful snowman melting
in the spring: BUT HE WAS NOT SAD!
He had enjoyed a hat, beautiful buttons,
a red scarf and the sound of playing chil-
dren ... What more could a snowman ask
for!
Rowens donates multiple copies of her
books to the Jewish Book Fair every year,
letting them keep all proceeds. She also
gives out her books at the Hechtman and
Meer apartments in West Bloomfield,
and to the Jewish Federation's Senior Life
organization.
"People my age love the books:' she
says. "The peer reaction is delightful."

Diplomacy

❑

theJEWISHNEWS.com

Nov. 13-19, 2014 20-26 Cheshvan 5775 Vol. CXLVI, No. 14

Around Town
22
Arts/Entertainment .. 43
Business
36
Business Memos
38
Calendar
26
Food
48
Home
40
Israel .. 5, 20, 28, 32-33, 36
JN Archives
6
Letters
5
Life Cycles
54
Love Connection
57
Marketplace
57
Metro
8

Next Generation
27
Obituaries
62
Out & About
45
Points Of View
28
Sports
52
Spotlight
34
Staff Box/Phone List... 6
Synagogue List
30
Torah Portion
31
World
32

Columnists
Danny Raskin
Robert Sklar .

Shabbat Lights

Shabbat: Friday, Nov. 14, 4:53 p.m.
Shabbat Ends: Saturday, Nov. 15, 5:56 p.m.

Shabbat: Friday, Nov. 21, 4:47 p.m.
Shabbat Ends: Saturday, Nov. 22, 5:51 p.m.

Times are from Yeshiva Beth Yehudah calendar.

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