January 3 • 2019 5
jn

I

can’
t wrap my brain
around the fact
that it’
s 2019, as
evidenced by the first
three checks I’
ve had to
void since Jan. 1.
I also can’
t come to
terms with the fact that
in 13 months I’
ll be
eligible for Medicare.
I’
m sure that’
s why I’
m experiencing an
uptick in telemarketing calls like the
one I received last week pitching medi-
cal-grade braces. I hung up before they
asked me what part of my body needed
bracing.
Which brings up another age-relat-
ed topic. When buying movie tickets
online, if a theater doesn’
t state what
their senior ticket price is, do you deem
what age is appropriate to take advan-
tage of the discount?
Age 65 makes you eligible for
Medicare, but I’
ve seen 55 qualify for
some senior discounts. Though I admit
while completing my online purchase,
I can’
t help but think that data is being
collected and I’
ll be busted at the the-
ater, which will also reveal my trying
to sneak in a can of caffeine-free Diet
Coke.
Furthermore, the older you get the
earlier in the day you want to go to a
movie. If you go too early, you get the
matinee price, which just ends up being
the same price as the senior ticket.
Bummer. So maybe I’
ll just stay home
and continue to abuse the privilege
of being a guest on my son’
s Netflix

account.
Meanwhile, I can’
t believe how old
I’
m sounding in the previous para-
graphs. I sound like I’
m on the cusp of
yelling at kids to get off my lawn. The
fact is, though, I’
ve been old beyond
my years since birth, as is evident in
the above photo. I’
m not sure how
old I was in that shot but I look like I
could’
ve been the youngest member of
the Purple Gang.
Having just spent a few days away in
the Boca-Del Ray area has not helped
slow my aging process, not when the
two main activities there are making
plans for dinner just after finishing
lunch and discussing who’
s healing
from what procedure.
A nice vacation moment came when
I had a lovely encounter with a woman
at the corner of Atlantic Boulevard
and Gleason Street. Don’
t get the
wrong idea. I was waiting to meet a
friend when this nice lady wearing a

Tigers hat acknowledged my MSU
hat and greeted me with a jovial “Go
Spartans!” I returned the salutation,
saying “Go Tigers.
” This led to a con-
versation and some Detroit Jewish
geography.
It turns out my new-found friend
recognized me from the Jewish News
and was a fan of the Dick Purtan
Show. It’
s no secret I’
m desperate for
attention so I enjoyed hearing her talk
about me and did everything I could
to extend the conversation about me
until I finally caved and asked a few
questions about her.
Another pleasant surprise during
my stay in South Florida was that I got
to experience out-of-town seven-layer
cake! If you recall, last June I wrote a
column, For Love of Seven-Layer Cake,
which led to the video Tour de Seven-
Layer Cake of Metro Detroit, which
received nearly 7,000 views.
It was a rare find, but there in the
display case of the bakery inside
Poppies Restaurant & Deli on Linton in
Boca, was a giant piece of the luscious
layers! After finishing dinner, I ordered
a slice and consumed it in its entirety.
While it didn’
t live up to Detroit bak-
ery standards, it was definitely good
enough to take my mind off having to
decide where I was going have lunch
the next day. ■

Alan Muskovitz is a writer, voice-over/acting
talent, speaker, emcee and an occasional guest
host on the Mitch Albom Show on WJR AM

760. Visit his website at laughwithbigal.com.

continued on page 8

essay
Happy, Healthy Post-Rosh Hashanah,
Second-Chance Secular New Year!

letters

Mug Cutline
Contributing Writer

Temple Emanu-El Is
Growing
Your recent article comparing
current membership in Metro
Detroit synagogues (Dec. 13, page
10) with that of 2005 calls for me to
point out something that I am very
proud of. Your numbers for Temple
Emanu-El in Oak Park are accurate,
we did have 575 member-families
in 2005 and today we have 355.
However, we began 2018 with 315

families, and we have welcomed
40 new families this year, which
represents more than a 10 percent
increase, and we are still growing
as I write this.
Come into our building any time
of the day or night, and you will
find it bustling with activity. I am
excited about our future, and we
are in the Oak Park area to stay.

Martin Leibowitz

President, Temple Emanu-El

How Do You Define
Occupied Land?
I read with interest your article
about the new Congresswomen-
elect Rashida Tlaib (Dec. 13,
page 16). She advocates for the
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
movement against the State of
Israel. No doubt she feels that
Israel is occupying land she
believes belongs to Palestinians
and that Israelis are unjust

views

T
h
S
s
v

Little Alan

Muskovitz in

the late 1950s

or early 1960s

Maisel Creates
Center for Jewish
Studies at OU

Cis Maisel is a community leader in
Southeastern Michigan and a staunch
education advocate. She was instru-
mental in establishing the Seminars for
Adult Jewish Enrichment
(SAJE), a program man-
aged by Detroit’
s Jewish
Community Center,
and she was recently
introduced to Oakland
University by President
Ora Hirsch Pescovitz.
“I am very interested in supporting
the study of Jewish history and cul-
ture,” says Maisel of Southfield. “When
I learned of the excellent programs in
Judaic studies at OU, I wanted to help
faculty expand this curriculum with
other programs like SAJE.”
With the idea of shared resources
in mind, she was moved to create the
Cis Maisel Center for Judaic Studies
and Community Engagement. The
new center will focus on the study
of Judaism from an academic stand-
point as well as provide an important
space for research that enhances the
understanding of the rich traditions of
Judaism from around the world.
Funding will help expand Judaic
studies programming beyond the
classroom. One possibility is the pres-
ervation and display of artifacts and
sacred texts from the archives of a
variety of organizations or from OU’
s
study abroad program in Israel. Other
opportunities for the future include
events, community dialogue series and
programs focused on Israeli films, art,
dance, political issues, cultural tradi-
tions and more.
Maisel is looking forward to build-
ing a new level of understanding about
Judaism. She hopes the center will
inspire important conversations that
contribute to peace and awareness of
various perspectives.
“This center will help educate about
Jewish life, traditions and values,” she
says. “It will demonstrate how the
Jewish people have contributed to
society and the world. I hope these
programs will enhance understanding
among all people.” ■

Cis Maisel

JEN HOGAN
SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS