 NOVEMBER 21 • 2019 | 5

T

his isn’
t about me 
except sort of. That’
s 
what I remind myself 
each time I set 
out to tell some-
one’
s story. It’
s 
theirs after all. 
Except sort of. 
I remember to 
wipe my feet 
before entering 
their world, to 
use only the oxygen I need 
to breathe it in deep, to seem 
self-aware in said selfies.
I cherish the quality time we 
spend together, though quan-
tities vary — as does their 
awareness/aliveness.
I would like to think I’
m just 
a medium through which the 
tales travel — journeys toward 
justice, soul searching, trying 
to make sense of this crazy, 
mixed-up world. But, as my 
mother-in-law has informed 
me, I’
m not a medium.
Here, then, are updates on 
some of my upstanding and 
unwitting subjects, along with 
one of my own.
According to the exten-
sive Wikipedia page for 
MasterChef Junior, Huntington 
Woods’
 Sammy Vieder was 
eliminated just one week after 
his Blue Apron mystery box 
tour de force. Along with 
Ariana Feygin — the pride 
of Excelsior, Minnesota — 
and Henry Hummeldorf(!), 
Sammy was undone by none 
other than egg-yolk ravioli. 
Dio santo!
Sammy appears to have 
transitioned back into pri-
vate life better than the 
child stars of the 1980s. Last 

year, I bumped into him at 
Berkley High School, where 
I was running the Young, 
Optimistic and United 
(YOU!) club for the Tri-
Community Coalition, but 
I just got really nervous and 
said “Hola” for no reason. 
(Sammy, if you’
re reading 
this, Como estas?)
Speaking of brushes with 
celebrity, Ramy Youssef
— whose show Ramy was 
renewed by Hulu for a 
second season, coming this 
spring and featuring two-time 
Oscar winner Mahershala Ali 
— thought my column about 
him was “so dope.” I know 
this because our dear mutual 
friend Muhi Khwaja sent it to 
him and he replied, “This is so 
dope.” I have the screenshot of 
the Instagram DM to prove it 
and screenshots are forever.
Matt Prentice has 27 lives. 
Or at least Three Cats, his 
new restaurant in Clawson. 
Last winter, at the tail end of 
his non-compete judgment, 
Matt told me he was looking 
forward to running a restau-
rant, rather than a restaurant 
group. Meow he gets to serve 
up great stuff on small plates 
and in martini glasses at the 
former movie theater space 
next to Leon and Lulu.
I got to see Matt in action 
last weekend and delighted 
in the Roasted Indiana Duck, 
Michigan Cherries, Hash, 
Fall Vegetables (large plate). 
True to form, his September 
opening doubled as Three 
Cats Cash for Cass, a benefit 
for Cass Community Social 
Services.

After reading about Selma 
Goode, Judge Michael 
Goodman reached out to 
reconnect with her. He presid-
ed over countless administra-
tive hearings and confirmed 
that she was a force to be reck-
oned with, arriving late only 
once and only because her car 
broke down in a snowstorm — 
and only then by a half hour. 
In a political and regulatory 
environment increasingly hos-
tile to welfare recipients, she 
knew the law better than the 
lawyers, who underestimated 
her at their peril.
Selma was a zealous advo-
cate, no matter who was on 
the bench. After speaking 
to the retired judge, she told 
me, “He was helpful with his 
favorable decisions. I am sorry 
that at that time I didn’
t know 
that he was a leftie.”
In brief:
Randolph Bowersox is 
looking forward to seeing 
the films — and audiences — 
headed to the Birmingham 8 
this year. He’
s especially excit-
ed for Ford v Ferrari, having 
grown up in a Ford family in 
the 1960s. 

Aaron Foley — author of 
How to Live in Detroit Without 
Being a Jackass, chief story-
teller for the city of Detroit
and current John S. Knight 
Journalism Fellow at Stanford 
— reminds people to read 
thoroughly, think critically 
and post responsibly. Lest ye 
be a jackass.
It is unclear, based on the 
state budget impasse, whether 
Maxine Berman is haunting 
Lansing or Lansing is haunt-
ing Maxine Berman. Has to be 
one or the other.
… Me? This isn’
t about me 
except sort of. Last week, I 
started my new job as a chief 
program officer at Jewish 
Family Service.
I’
m not burying the lede, 
just busy learning as much as 
I can as fast as I can to be as 
useful as I can at an agency 
that has been moving moun-
tains for more than 90 years. 
I will have lots to report on 
— and recruit for — over the 
next 90 years. In the mean-
time, be a doll (or transformer 
or baby shark) and sign up to 
adopt a family at jfsdetroit.org. 
 
 Talk to you next month. 

Jewfro

Where Are We Now?

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Ben Falik

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