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National Council of Jewish Women
Greater Detroit Section
for openers
Brush With Fame
D
uring my radio career, I’ve had
cheek” encounter; the goal to elicit a
the good fortune to interview
humorous response from my interview
some legendary personalities.
subjects without being disrespectful.
This, being the week of Super Bowl 50,
And believe me, it takes me longer to
brings back one of my favorite encoun-
work up the nerve to ask the questions
ters. It was 10 years ago this week that I
than to formulate them.
enjoyed a memorable exchange
That afternoon, several hun-
with the one and only Mick
dred of my colleagues from
Jagger of the Rolling Stones. The
around the globe were ush-
group was in Motown prepar-
ered into a ballroom at the
ing to be the featured halftime
Renaissance Center. Excitement
entertainment at Super Bowl XL
filled the air as we readied
at Ford Field.
ourselves for a rare Q & A with
Leading up to the big game,
one of the music industry’s
the Dick Purtan Morning Radio
most famous/infamous bands.
Alan Muskovitz
Show was broadcasting remotely
My first objective was to corner
from one of the media hubs of the Super the guy with the roving microphone and
Bowl, the Renaissance Center. It was
kindly ask him (beg him unmercifully)
exciting to be part of arguably one of
to make sure I got a chance to get a
the biggest entertainment extravaganzas word in with Mick Jagger.
on the planet — one we Lions fans may
After a reporter from Entertainment
one day get to experience. I, for one,
Tonight concluded his query, the micro-
plan to be cryogenically frozen with the
phone came to me. With all the nerve
hope that when that day finally arrives,
I could muster, I began the following
centuries from now, I can be thawed to
dialogue with Mick Jagger. “Big Al
witness it.
Muskavito, Dick Purtan Show, WOMC
As a “journalist,” I was given creden-
Detroit. Question for Mr. Jagger. How
tials for an afternoon press conference
are you, sir?”
with Mick and the Stones. Those of you
Mick nodded politely as I continued
familiar with my interview style know
to address him by saying the following:
that I don’t ask run-of-the-mill ques-
“I have reason to believe you may be my
tions. My main objective is to add levity father.”
to the proceedings with a “tongue-in-
After a few awkward chuckles from
the crowd, Mick looked at me, smiled
and said, “There’s a great similarity in
resemblance.”
And just like that, it was over. My
work here was done. I had the sound
bite I wanted, but little did I know that
it would reverberate in the press around
the world.
OK, maybe that last comment was
a bit overstated. Let’s just say, after a
Google search that night, I found one
reporter, I believe from London, who
upon witnessing my escapade described
me as — and I’m paraphrasing —“a
portly, middle-aged, radio hack.” I could
not have been more flattered or hap-
pier. Mission accomplished. Of course,
since then I’ve shed a few pounds and
today, when I fill in for Mitch Albom on
WJR, I’d like to think that I’m more of
a slimmed downed, middle-aged, radio
hack.
I invite you to visit my YouTube
Channel to view my Jagger “interview”
at YouTube.com/LaughwithBigAl. Oh,
by the way, the DNA results finally came
back; it turns out George Costanza, not
Mick Jagger, is my father.
*
Alan Muskovitz is a writer, voice-over/acting tal-
ent, speaker, emcee and a regular guest host on the
Mitch Albom Show on WJR AM 760. Visit his website
at laughwithbigal.com and “Like” Al on Facebook.
letters
Methodists Are Wrong
In Support Of BDS
The following is the text of a letter sent
to Bishop Bruce R. Ough, president of
the United Methodist Church:
Like many, I am surprised and dis-
appointed by the United Methodist
Church’s actions to divest from five
Israeli banks, stating that they are
funding West Bank activities with
which the church does not agree and
thus joining the BDS (boycott, divest-
ment, sanctions) movement, aimed
uniquely and exclusively to Israel.
The much respected UMC is thus
beginning to partner with a movement
that holds values that are far different
than the church’s.
BDS focuses entirely on the de-
legitimization of Israel, concentrating
on its imperfections, holding it to
an ideal that is reached by no other
country and taking it to financial task
for its inability to reach perfection. I
would think that this attitude falls far
beneath the UMC standard.
Let me ask: Has the church’s pen-
sion board looked at other countries
in which it is invested and made simi-
lar decisions? To be consistent, Israel
should be compared to such countries
and not to an unobtainable ideal. If
the church is invested in nations such
as Turkey, Russia, China, the Gulf
states, North Africa, Pakistan, India
and many others, then a unique dis-
parate standard is being used only for
Israel.
If respect for Christians, women
and Western morality are of value
to the church, then the attempt to
harm Israel’s economy just makes no
sense; Israel is the one state in the
disintegrating Middle East in which
a Christian can live in security. Any
Egyptian Copt can attest to this.
I am not a fan of the settlements,
but Israel’s Arab population is the
world’s freest by a large margin.
I hope that the church will not pur-
sue this motion and will recognize
that while perfection exists nowhere,
particularly in the world’s most vio-
lent region, it should not join those
who work to undermine Israel’s well-
being.
Leslie M. Goldstein
West Bloomfield
Sculptor’s Faith Shines
Through In His Art
In the Jan. 28 cover story by Julie
Edgar about Lev Davidow (“A Soul In
Sculpture”), Davidow is quoted as say-
ing “I’m not religious, but I’m Jewish
in my blood.”
The very act of creating his sculp-
ture, the devotion and pious concen-
tration required to create it, is itself
religious.
Jon Levin
Birmingham
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February 4 • 2016
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