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