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A Letter To Sy Manello

For all the years you have laid upon us
your “play on words,” never was there a
time I didn’t crack a smile or issue a nod
and a chuckle in response to your outlook
on life (and if not for my company’s crack
IT staff monitoring my email while I nod
off, I actually would have sent this email
via Outlook).
But I’m writing today to talk about
class. I recall back in high school I had
many a classmate who were concerned
about being on-time to class, lest we be
sent to a mandatory study class at the end
of the day. I was usually more concerned
with finishing our recess baseball game
than going back to the classroom to learn
about Beethoven, which probably explains
why I’m no fan of classical music. But by
no means did I ever consider cutting class,
which would certainly classify as being
a classless act, even for a member of the
freshman class. After all, who wants to be
coined the class clown?
I grew up in a typical middle-class
neighborhood in Southfield, which is to
say there were many working-class fami-

Contributing Writers:
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Chessler, Annabel Cohen, Don Cohen, Shari S.
Cohen, Shelli Liebman Dorfman, Adam Finkel,
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Ingber, Allison Jacobs, Barbara Lewis, Jennifer
Lovy, Rabbi Jason Miller, Alan Muskovitz,
David Sachs, Karen Schwartz, Robin Schwartz,
Steve Stein

Arthur M. Horwitz
Publisher / Executive Editor
ahorwitz@renmedia.us

F. Kevin Browett
Chief Operating Officer
kbrowett@renmedia.us

| Editorial

Managing Editor: Jackie Headapohl
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Story Development Editor:
Keri Guten Cohen
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Arts & Life Editor: Lynne Konstantin
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Editorial Assistant: Sy Manello
smanello@renmedia.us
Senior Columnist: Danny Raskin
dannyraskin@sbcglobal.net
Contributing Editor: Robert Sklar
rsklar@renmedia.us

lies living on my block. My father did own
a Cadillac Fleetwood (a real classic!) for
a few years, so some people thought we
were upper-class (and I thought the same,
as I was too young to understand the term
“company lease”). Nowadays, with every-
one trying to move up in status, middle
class has been replaced by lower middle-
class and upper middle-class ... it seems
nobody wants to be thought of as just
plain average, or heaven forbid a second-
class citizen.
I’ve always thought of myself as some-
one who has class, although I admit I’ve
never flown first class, which is probably
for the best as I probably wouldn’t get
along with those high-class, highfalutin
types anyway. I actually enjoy flying
Southwest Airlines because class segrega-
tion is against their corporate philosophy.
I even recall their old backwards-facing
seats which formed a six-pod of sorts, and
will never forget the first-class jerk who
took off his shoes and socks … talk about
low class!
As I’ve moved up in the world, I’ve
attained many class privileges, though not
directly linked to my social class, which
has oddly remained the
same. I’ve had roughly
the same class of friends
since grade school,
though not a lawyer
among us … rather
unfortunate as I’m cur-
rently involved in a class-
action lawsuit. Perhaps
I’ll cash in my Class A
shares of Ford stock and
take out a classified ad to
find myself a world-class
attorney. Failing that, my
private first-class army
buddy could be of use
if things start getting
rough.
Getting back to you

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Sy, your poetic words, not to mention
your stunning portrait, really class up
the JN (and I should know, I live in LA).
Most would agree you’re a real class act …
deflect the praise if you wish. But always
remember this classic quote: “There are
two classes of people in the world; those
who divide people into two classes and
those who do not.” I’m sure you’re now
as confused as I am, and it’s even up for
debate who originated that quip. As a
famous thick-mustached, finely-quaffed,
red suit-wearing, 1970s San Diego anchor-
man would have summed it up: “You stay
classy, Sy Manello!” And if I may be so bold
as to add my two cents: You can’t even
spell classy without S-Y!

Hershel Goulson
Valley Village, Calif.
(formerly of Southfield)

Advice For
College Seniors

I read with interest the advice to seniors
from Alexis Spector in the May 23-31
Jewish News. I thought it important to pro-
vide incoming freshmen with a counter-
opinion.
While Greek life is an excellent option
for many undergrad students, it is certain-
ly not essential to the college experience.
Participating in Greek life is often too
expensive of an option for students, can
be extremely time consuming and may
lead to a culture of excessive drinking.
I think it’s important for incoming
freshman to realize that while Greek life is
very prominent on campus, it is only one
of a myriad of opportunities for students
to make friends. There are an endless
number of sports clubs, philanthropies
and special interest groups at college.
Some of my favorite memories in
undergrad were made on the ultimate
frisbee club, which included not only
practices and tournaments, but also

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Joelle Harder
jharder@renmedia.us

social gatherings (including date parties!).
My advice to incoming freshman: Keep
your minds open to all possibilities. Go to
Welcome Week events; try new things and
sign up for anything and everything that
interests you. (Yu can always pick and
choose later)!

Hanna Berlin
University of Michigan, B.S. 2015

Reunified Jerusalem
Program

Many of us enjoyed an emotional,
touching event celebrating the 50 years
of a re-unified Jerusalem at the Farber
Middle School on Tuesday, June 7.
The Israel Foreign Ministry, working
with its embassy in Washington, D.C.,
live- streamed events from Jerusalem
and Washington, D.C., featuring PM
Benjamin Netanyahu, Speaker Yuli
Edelstein, Speaker Paul Ryan and
Ambassador Ron Dermer.
The event spread across the U.S., with
several dozen cities participating.
Several governors lent their support
though videotaped messages.
Simultaneously, supporting events
that took place in each of the 50 states
were broadcast from behind the podium
in Washington, D.C., to reflect a “wall”
of support for the U.S.-Israel relation-
ship and the recognition of Jerusalem as
the unified capital of Israel.
We were pleased that Jeremy
Kaplan from Congresswoman Brenda
Lawrence’s office also attended.
I appreciate Allan Gale at the JCRC/
AJC for arranging the program locally.

Ed Kohl
West Bloomfield

CORRECTION:

The History Walk at Clover Hill Cemetery
has been rescheduled for Oct. 1.

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June 15 • 2017

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