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.