viewpoints » S end letters to: letters@thejewishnews.com DETROIT JEWISH NEWS theJEWISHNEWS.com guest column Arthur M. Horwitz Publisher / Executive Editor ahorwitz@renmedia.us My Kind Of Town T he America I first met was made up of cities that were made up of smaller cities, some just blocks in any direction. When we lived on Longfellow near Dexter, I only had to cross Dexter, holding my father’s hand, then walk down a half- block to Ruskin’s Drugs where he’d get Life maga- zine. Then back toward our house to pick up his Norman shirts at the Ming Moy Prady Chinese laundry. When we moved to Tuxedo on the corner of Lawton, I was 5 and somewhat more aware of distances and the boundaries of my city within the city. The eastern end of our block was at Linwood. Across Linwood was a campus that I first walked on as a kindergar- tener at Roosevelt Elementary School, then Durfee Intermediate and lastly as a graduate of Central High School. Before crossing toward the schools, my world extended north and south on Linwood. First to the south was the drug- store, source of comic books, Bromo Seltzer, and a treat I’ve never seen since: Mello Roll ice cream on a waffle sugar cone. The roll F. Kevin Browett Chief Operating Officer kbrowett@renmedia.us was just that, a tube of vanilla ice cream with some kind of coating, wrapped in paper that was peeled off as the roll was pressed down into the cone. Or I could skip the drugstore and have a look around next door at Bob’s Bicycle and Repair. Bob’s was owned by a man named Lou. Paul worked there although he really wanted to be a firefighter. Bob’s sold model airplane kits, balsa wood, basketballs, foot- balls, hockey sticks and, oh yes, bicycles. If I didn’t have a Mello Roll at the drug- store, I could stop at Mason’s Dairy in the next block, across Webb, and get a chocolate malt served with two sugar cookies on a plate along with the mixer’s metal container that held the rest of the malt that didn’t fit into the glass. If I went another block, all the way to Burlingame, there was Hanney’s, a soda fountain and candy store where my friend Howard and I would each get a package of twin Hostess cupcakes and a Nesbitt’s straw- berry pop. If I went north on Linwood, I’d pass the gas station on the corner of Tuxedo, and Hirsch’s Grocery on the next corner. Across Linwood, I’d see the Five and Dime — Ben Franklin? — and the drugstore on the corner — Farber’s? But if I kept walking up Linwood, I’d have a choice of delicatessens every few blocks where I could stop for a dill pickle to munch on while I headed toward the Avalon theater in the last block before Davison. I’d also pass a number of storefront neigh- borhood synagogues, a C.F. Smith Grocery Store, a real estate office — Ben Rich or Joe Rich? — and at least one, maybe two, Chinese restaurants. It seemed at least every third block had a Jewish bakery, a kosher meat market and a religious school. My city was one block to the east at Linwood, two to the west at Dexter, 12 to the north at Davison, five to the south at Calvert. It didn’t have freeways, only a few stop lights. Anything else we might have needed would have been there. Rosetta Jacobs lived nine blocks up on Buena Vista in my city. But she moved away and became Piper Laurie before I had a chance to meet her. * Norman Prady, 82, is a journalist and author living in Berkley. 6 February 25 • 2016 Contributing Writers: Ruthan Brodsky, Suzanne Chessler, Annabel Cohen, Don Cohen, Shari S. Cohen, Shelli Liebman Dorfman, Adam Finkel, Ryan Fishman, Stacy Gittleman, Judy Greenwald, Ronelle Grier, Esther Allweiss Ingber, Harry Kirsbaum, Barbara Lewis, Rabbi Jason Miller, Alan Muskovitz, Steve Stein | Creative Services Corporate Creative Director: Deborah Schultz dschultz@renmedia.us Graphic Designer: Rebecca Schock | Advertising Sales Sales Director: Keith Farber kfarber@renmedia.us Account Executives : Kathryn Andros, Wendy Flusty, Andrea Gusho, Annette Kizy, Paige Lustig Sales Manager Assistants : Joelle Harder, Karen Marzolf | Business Offices Billing Coordinator: Pamela Turner Collections Analyst: Hazel Bender | Production By FARAGO & ASSOCIATES | Detroit Jewish News Bernie And Me A Managing Editor: Jackie Headapohl jheadapohl@renmedia.us Story Development Editor: Keri Guten Cohen kcohen@thejewishnews.com Arts & Life Editor: Lynne Konstantin lkonstantin@renmedia.us Senior Copy Editor: David Sachs dsachs@renmedia.us Editorial Assistant: Sy Manello smanello@renmedia.us Senior Columnist: Danny Raskin dannyraskin@sbcglobal.net Contributing Editor: Robert Sklar rsklar@renmedia.us Manager: Scott Drzewiecki Designers: Amy Pollard, Pam Sherevan, Michelle Sheridan, Susan Walker teen guest column s a high school senior, I simply do not vote. have lots to look forward The 2016 presidential election to: spring break, prom, is well on its way with a gaggle of graduation and — of course — candidates seeking their respec- college! However, what I am most tive party’s nomination, and excited about as I come of age is while many of the candidates are casting a vote for president. exciting and eccentric, there is President Franklin D. Roosevelt one candidate who is truly worth Samuel Kole noting: Bernie Sanders. once said, “Nobody will ever deprive the American people Clearly distinguished by his of the right to vote except the Brooklyn accent and messy American people themselves, and the only haircut, his unwillingness to pander to way they could do this is by not voting.” the establishment is both charming and Blessed with this sacred right, it may refreshing. Sander’s triumphant show- come as a surprise to some that America ing in both the Iowa caucus and New has one of the lowest voter turnouts of Hampshire primary cemented his cam- any country in the world. For the past paign as a force to be reckoned with. 30 years, the American electorate has His populist platform and exciting become accustomed to settling for the promise of a “political revolution” has lesser of two evils when it comes time to taken root on college campuses across cast their ballot. the nation. Compelled by his message of Discouraged by the Washington estab- equal opportunity and social justice, mil- lishment’s pursuit of mediocrity and lennials are turning out in droves to sup- inability to act decisively, Americans have port Sanders. lost faith in their leaders and, in turn, While the media continues to scrutinize | Editorial Sanders’ ability to attract non-white voters in states like Nevada and South Carolina, and Donald Trump’s haircut, what has gone relatively unnoticed is the fact that Bernie is Jewish. The most significant story of this elec- tion will not be found in Hillary’s emails but rather in that a once-unknown Jewish boy from Brooklyn is now a formidable candidate for the president of the United States. Not a century after the Holocaust, a Jewish candidate has a chance to become the leader of the free world. Bernie Sanders’ campaign means a lot of things to a lot of people. To me, it is a testament to how far the Jewish community has come in America since World War II. As an American Jew, I am confident that whether or not Bernie ends up win- ning the Democratic nomination, he has already won a special place in the history of the Jewish people. Chairman: Michael H. Steinhardt President/Publisher: Arthur M. Horwitz ahorwitz@renmedia.us Chief Operating Officer: F. Kevin Browett kbrowett@renmedia.us Controller: Craig R. Phipps Corporate Creative Director: Deborah Schultz dschultz@renmedia.us | Fulfillment circulationdesk@thejewishnews.com Customer Service Manager: Zena Davis | Departments General Offi ces: 248-354-6060 Advertising: 248-351-5107 Advertising Fax: 248-304-0049 Circulation: 248-351-5174 Classifi ed Ads: 248-351-5116 Advertising Deadline: Monday, 2 p.m. Editorial Fax: 248-304-8885 Deadline: All public and social announcements must be typewritten and received by noon Tuesday, nine days prior to desired date of publication. Subscriptions: 1 year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $85 2 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $153 3 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $204 1 year out-of-state . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $125 2 years out-of-state . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $225 Per year foreign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $300 Detroit Jewish News 29200 Northwestern Highway, Suite 110 Southfi eld, MI 48034 ©copyright 2016 Detroit Jewish News * Samuel Kole, 17, is from West Bloomfield. To make a donation to the DETROIT JEWISH NEWS FOUNDATION go to the website www.djnfounadtion.org