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?
Views
Ben Falik
JFS Fall Fix Up
friendly faces