February 28 • 2019 5
jn

M

ost people tell someone 
who’
s waiting for them, 
“Look out for the red car,
” 
“I’
m driving a green Honda” or “I’
m in 
the Toyota Sienna” — things like that. 
I just say, “Look for the vehicle that’
s 
held together with fluorescent orange 
duct tape.
” You can’
t miss me if you try!
Sadly, I’
m not kid-
ding. If the duct tape 
comes off, the entire 
rear window will fall 
out and we’
ve already 
paid for it once, an 
experience we’
re not 
eager to repeat. Besides 
that, my van also 
makes this grumpy “What do you want 
now” sound when it sits in my drive-
way; only one back door opens (and 
only from the inside), there’
s something 
stuck in the key hole so you can’
t man-
ually unlock the car on the driver’
s side 
and we have to keep reattaching the 
bumper with zip ties so it won’
t drag on 
the road.
But I don’
t mind (too much.) I like 
to think my car has character. And you 
know what they say about things with 
character: A strong character can move 
mountains.

In my van’
s case, at least it moves. 
And I don’
t take that for granted! 
It’
s always good to know you’
re in 
good company. I enjoy hearing about 
other vehicles that should have been 
condemned years ago that are still get-
ting folks to their desired destinations. 
When I was growing up, my father 
drove us around in his beat-up white 
van with a bumper sticker that had 
nothing on the “26.2” or “My child’
s 
the world’
s best student” or “My dog is 
smarter than your student” ones you 
see these days. My father was so proud 
of the “Dad’
s Limo” bumper sticker I 
got him, he kept it INSIDE the car, on 
the dashboard, so it wouldn’
t get dirty!
We’
re definitely in the market for a 
new vehicle one day, but, in the mean-
time, I say: Love the one you’
re with.
I’
m not going to romanticize it and 
say my van’
s a dream because it’
s defi-
nitely not, but at least I know all its 
quirks and idiosyncrasies. We’
ve been 
together more than 10 years now; I 
know what to expect from it. It might 
drive me around the edge, but as long 
as it gets me home in one piece, there’
s 
really nothing to complain about!
One day we’
ll have a new car and 
we’
ll look back on all our times with 

this duct-taped one with fondness. We 
already have tons of anecdotes to share 
at dinner parties (or, more likely, in the 
waiting room at the car dealership). 
We’
re the ones starting every story off 
with, “So there I was, driving down 
the highway at 65 mph when suddenly 
boom! The hood flew up!” and “So 
there I was, driving around this small 
town in the middle of nowhere and all 
the locals kept waving at me, I thought 
it was the friendliest little town ever, 
then I discovered one of my headlights 
had 
somehow broken off and was drag-
ging along “’
 or “Remember that time 
the car broke down on the side of the 
highway two hours from home and it 
was 92 degrees outside?”
Yup. Fun times. 
So, that’
s the thing about cars. It’
s not 
a person, it’
s not a forever relationship, 
but because you’
re creating stories and 
memories every minute of every hour 
of every day, you might as well take the 
high road and make the best of the one 
you’
ve got! ■

Binyamin Burstyn, 10, doesn’
t mind the duct 

tape or zip ties if he gets to ride in the front 

seat.

continued on page 6

views

for openers
Cars with 
Character

letters

Music Study Club
Regarding the article about Mark 
Slobin’
s new book “More than Just 
Motown,
” in the Jan. 24, issue, I would 
like to expand on the Music Study 
Club of Metropolitan Detroit.
Although the club may have met at 
the JCC at one time, it was not affil-
iated with the JCC. The Music Study 
Club was founded in 1924 so Jewish 
Detroit women musicians would have 
a place to meet and perform monthly, 
have a student group, give scholarships, 
and sponsor, introduce and promote 
major young talent in a yearly artist 
concert. Among those artists who per-
formed in their youth were Seymour 
Lipkin, 1943; Joseph Silverstein, 1957; 

Ruth Meckler, 1958; Itzhak Perlman, 
1963; and Pincus Zukerman, 1966.
My own mother, Ethel Mendelson, 
was the counselor of MSC for many 
years. I, too, was a counselor of the 
Music Study Club Student Group for 
many years when Annie Kafavian, 
David Syme and others were mem-
bers. Both my mother and I served as 
presidents during its existence. It was 
a very prestigious organization that 
gave thousands of scholarship awards 
to deserving youth and introduced 
many wonderful aspiring pianists to 
the public.

— Helen Kerwin

Southfield

36 Under 36 Pride
It was with great joy and pride that I 
read the individual biographies of the 
36 under 36 young men and women 
impacting the community, who are 
chosen annually by the partnership of 
The Well and JN (Feb. 14, page 22).
These 36 distinguished young peo-
ple, each in his or her way, are engaged 
in what we call tikkun olam in the full 
sense of the word and are deserving 
of the honor bestowed upon them. 
However, there is no doubt in my 
mind that there are more modern-day 
Lamed Vovniks, the 36 hidden righ-
teous men and women that, according 
to Jewish belief, in whose right our 
world exists. Granted, the number 36 is 

Rochel Burstyn

For information, 
contact Tracey Proghovnick 

(248) 661-1836 
jslmi.org

RE-IMAGINING
Senior Living

Living Your Best ...
Jewish Senior Life

Jewish Senior Life is far more than 
a place to live. It’s six beautiful 
residences where older adults can 
embrace life and community in a 
secure and supportive environment.

JSL is proud to provide inclusive residential communities, programs and services. We 
welcome all people without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, disability, 
gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, familial status and marital status.

JSL is looking toward the future for our 
residents, ages 85-94, the fastest-
growing segment of the US population. 
We have engaged thought leaders, 
Perkins Eastman, the global architecture 
through fresh eyes and to help us 
position our communities for the future. 

They bring to this process insights 
gained through their Clean Slate 
Project, a year-long effort to explore and 
re-imagine senior living by consideration 
of and collaboration with other industries 
including healthcare, hospitality and 
retail to inspire innovations. They point to 
technology as the number one trend that 
will help seniors live independently and 
longer in their own homes. AI, robotics, 
and virtual reality are posed to change 
how older adults engage with the world. 
Already, the use of technology to connect 
us via video conferencing has won over 
grandparents worldwide as they stay in 
touch with grandchildren on Facebook 
and facetime. More and more people 
moving in today not only understand 
technology, they thrive on it. But will 
technology replace living in communal 
environments?

While our community partner, Jewish 
Family Service, already assists people 
living in their homes through adaptive 
technology i.e.., personal emergency 
response systems, pill dispensers and 
will explore with Perkins Eastman, how 
to employ and utilize new trends for 
our residents. 

One thing we know for sure, nothing can 
replace human touch and connection. 
In JSL’s communities, friendships and 
support provide the human touch so vital 
for engagement for older adults because, 
for most, screen time is just not enough. 
This is just the tip of the melting iceberg 
at Jewish Senior Life. We continue to 
think and plan for us all.
 

