jews d

in
the

For 75 years, our Jewish News has found a way, week
in and week out, to create a newspaper that feels
both uniquely personal and worldly.

continued from page 8

CLOCKWISE: Can’t you
see the resemblance?
Alan’s birth
announcement. A
story Alan wrote
about his cousin.

10

July 18 • 2017

jn

ted my brother’s birth
announcement, but my
father never went by the
name David. His legal name
is Dave. My mother’s maid-
en name was “Sborow” not
Sharow, as was published;
a spelling error probably
due to the submitter’s poor
handwriting. Remember
handwriting?
Finally, a bit of social
commentary. Take a look
at my birth announcement
(right) and note how my
mother’s name was present-
ed … Back with me? OK.
I believe that having gone
through nine months of car-
rying a baby and enduring
the pushing and occasional
profane language associated
p
with the process of bring-
w
ing a child into the world,
in
the
th mention of my mother
deserved
to be recognized
d
outside
a set of parenthesis.
ou
At
A the very minimum, mom
should
have received equal
sh
billing.
In the big picture
b
of making babies, moms
put
p in months; dads put in
minutes.
You get the point.
m
Thankfully,
we’ve come a
T
long
lo way, baby.
Speaking of babies, I’m the baby of my family.
My
M birth announcement in the March 11, 1955,
issue
was also plain and simple. But if given the
is
chance,
I would’ve added one word to it. You
ch
see,
se my siblings are 12, 9, and 6 years older than
I. Therefore — and Mom and Dad, of blessed
memory,
please forgive me — I would’ve added
m
to my birth announcement the word “oops.” It
was
w never discussed, but it’s safe to say I was
the
th best mistake my parents ever made.
I’ve always waited with great anticipation
for
fo my JN to arrive in the mail, usually on
Thursdays. God forbid it should arrive a day
T
late. Pu pu pu. It’s a standing joke that we
la
Je
Jewish News readers read the obituaries first.
D
Don’t deny it, but don’t feel guilty either. Just
ra
rationalize your behavior by saying the habit
is a carryover from reading Hebrew from right
to left.
One JN issue, in particular, brings back a
ve
very fond memory. It was the first and only
ti
time I was ever a “cover boy.” And I mean the
w
whole cover. My large, round head with signifi-
ca
cantly more (and darker) hair, graced the cover
o
of the December 22, 1995, issue promoting a
column about famous celebrity lookalikes in
our community.
The cover story was titled: “Double Takes —
W
Will the real Jason Alexander please stand up?”
T
The issue had come on the heels of my coming

in second place as “George
Costanza” in a Seinfeld loo-
kalike contest in Chicago
— voted on by applause by
more than 6,000 in atten-
dance at the Navy Pier.
Yada, yada, yada.
For 75 years, our Jewish
News has found a way, week
in and week out, to cre-
ate a newspaper that feels
both uniquely personal and
worldly — all in the turn of
a page.
It provides a platform
for our families to share
in their joy and their grief.
Organizations can always
count on the JN to promote
their philanthropic endeav-
ors, recognizing that what
is good for the community
is good for us all.
At the same time, it also
provides an irreplaceable
link to Judaism outside our
neighborhoods and some-
times our comfort zones.
I’m extremely grateful to
the Jewish News, not just for
providing me with a post-
Dick Purtan Show outlet for
my “humorous” takes on
day-to-day living, but for
encouraging me to chal-
lenge myself as a writer.
In doing so I’ve been blessed to have had the
opportunity to meet and share riveting stories
about our treasured Jewish War Veterans, tell
the heartwarming story of my cousin, the leg-
endary Maurry the Ice Cream Man, and just a
few weeks ago, shared with readers the fasci-
nating history of the Jews of India. Who knew?
I guess I have grown as a “journalist,” espe-
cially when you consider the first column I
submitted to the JN in April 2011 included a
story about my eating an entire kosher salami
in one sitting, left over from a three-day canoe
trip at Camp Tanuga. Just missed winning a
Pulitzer for that one.
To my award-winning colleagues at the
Jewish News, past and present, mazel tov on 75
years. What a legacy. I’m blessed to experience
the best of both worlds of the JN. As a contrib-
utor, I can’t wait to write my next column.
As a loyal reader, I can’t wait for the newest
issue to arrive to see where the paper’s content
will take me to next — which very well could
be the Boneyard Bar-B-Q if the issue includes
their 10 percent coupon. •

Alan Muskovitz is a writer, voice-over/acting talent, 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.

