4 | AUGUST 12 • 2021 

for openers
The Century Club 
L

ost in all the hype over Detroit Tiger 
Miguel Cabrera’s chasing milestone 
home run and RBI records is the fact 
that quietly, and dare I say modestly, I am 
only 70 years shy of tying Danny Raskin’s 
breathtaking record for years 
consecutively writing for the 
Detroit Jewish News. 
Spoiler alert — I actual-
ly will never tie or surpass 
Danny Raskin’s nearly 
80-year JN journalistic record 
because I plan on only writ-
ing for the JN through 2090, 
purposely and respectfully leaving Danny’s 
record intact. 
As you well know by now, Danny, a 
popular fixture in our community and our 
beloved colleague at the JN, passed away on 
July 26 at 102. 
Danny was a big baseball fan, so it makes 
sense that when I began reflecting on his 
longevity in the journalism game, I imme-
diately thought of the legendary New York 
Yankee Lou Gehrig, who for his durability 
over the course of his illustrious 17-year 
baseball career was nicknamed the “Iron 
Horse.
”
Much has been written in these pages 
over the last couple of weeks documenting 
the incredible journey and menschkeit 
qualities Danny exhibited in both his pro-
fessional and personal life.
I was particularly moved by the reve-
lation I read in several tributes to Danny 
that he never wrote a negative restaurant 
review. If he were on the disappointing end 
of a poor dining experience, he spared the 
restaurateur any public shaming in print; 
unlike the vitriol we too often see on social 
media platforms. Danny, instead, would pri-
vately offer advice to the proprietor with the 
hope of returning to write about the new 
and improved version of the restaurant.
Danny was a witness to so much histo-
ry that only a lifespan of 102 years could 
afford. Thanks to the Detroit Jewish News 
Foundation’s William Davidson Digital 
Archive of Jewish Detroit History, you’ve 
got a free time machine at your disposal to 
go back to the JN’s inaugural issue in 1942 

and read Danny’s first column. Set aside a 
few hours and binge read a few decades of 
Danny. 

RARE TREASURES
Rare is the opportunity to write about a 
centurion like the amazing Danny Raskin. 
So, while I’m at it, allow me to give a shout-
out to 102-year-old Dr. Maurice “Maurie” 
Reizen of Novi. The good doctor, a former 
director of Michigan’s Department of Public 
Health, is a longtime friend of my father. 
I was thrilled, along with a throng of 
other friends and family, to witness his 
102nd “distanced” birthday celebration out-

side his senior living community this past 
Feb. 24. 
Maurie continues to celebrate life’s sim-
ple pleasures as was evident in a photo his 
daughter Nancy sent me of her beaming 
father on one of their recent drives to a lake 
for an afternoon of lunch, relaxation and 
reading.
Then there’s the unforgettable and 
unflappable Eva Port, of blessed memory. 
In 1992, while on the air at WOMC radio 
in Ferndale, I received a phone call from 
a Ferndale convalescent residence. They 
thought that since I worked on the air for 
Dick Purtan on 104.3 FM, it was the perfect 
reason for us to interview their resident, 
Eva Port, on the occasion of her 104th 
birthday. And we concurred. 
Dick and I will never forget that visit 
with Eva. I was a little more portly at the 
time (OK, I was fat), and when I asked Eva 
what I could do to experience the kind of 
longevity she had been blessed with, she 
replied emphatically without missing a beat 
— “lose some weight!”
Bill Clinton was president at the time of 
our interview and the Monica Lewinsky 
scandal had been making headlines. It turns 
out, I underestimated how up to date Eva 
would be on current affairs when I asked 
her what she thought about Bill Clinton. 
Again, without a second of hesitation 
she shot back, “I think he thinks with his 
pants!”
What a treasure Eva Port was. And what 
a privilege to have interviewed her on her 
104th birthday … and again when she 
turned 105, 106, 107 and 108. She passed 
two months after her 108th birthday, and 
I was just one of three in attendance at her 
funeral.
I’m constantly inspired by the knowledge 
and enthusiasm for life by folks like Danny, 
Eva and Maurie. I think they make a good 
argument for that adage that youth is 
indeed wasted on the young. 

Alan Muskovitz is a writer, voice-over/acting talent, 
speaker and emcee. Visit his website at 
laughwithbigal.com,“Like” Al on Facebook and 
reach him at amuskovitz@thejewishnews.com.

Alan 
Muskovitz

PURELY COMMENTARY

TOP: Dr. Maurie Reizen enjoys a recent 
lunch date with his daughter Nancy Serlin. 
BOTTOM: Dick Purtan and Alan “Big Al” 
Muskovitz visiting Eva Port on the occasion of 
her 104th birthday.

NANCY SERLIN

