Rant #3,953: Written On the Wind

I am back at one of my doctors today, basically to see if the operation I had two weeks ago did what it was supposed to do.

I have a printout of my followup catscan, I think it looks OK, but since I am not a doctor, I don't know for sure--

I await what the doctor says, and hopefully, it will be all good news.

That will lead toward my goal, which is good health.

Since I had to be into the doctor's office for an early appointment, I am writing this particular Rant blindly, because I was forced to write it a bit earlier than normal due to this appointment.

On Thursday, I was told that I was going to have something printed in the local Newsday newspaper, and that it could actually run in the Friday edition--today's newspaper--but since I am writing this particular entry early, I have no idea whether it will wind up in that edition or maybe over the weekend or into next week.

It all relates to a scaled-back story that I sent them related to my oft-told true story about my bar mitzvah in 1970 and how it relates to the Knicks winning their first NBA championship the day before I read my haftorah.

I wrote about it here just a few Rants back, but since the Knicks are in the NBA championship round this year for the first time since 1999, I felt I should strike while the iron was hot, and put out something for the masses, not just those who read this blog.

It is a quite interesting story, all true, no filler, and I figured that people would enjoy reading about it.

I edited my thoughts quite a bit, sent it in, and lo and behold, Newsday called me back on it during Thursday afternoon.

They said they would re-edit the piece--they gave me a final look at the finished product, and I could make some minor changes if I saw it fit to do so--they asked for some bar mitzvah and current photos--

And VOILA!, I was told to look for the piece in the newspaper as early as today.

But since I am writing this Rant earlier than today, I have absolutely no idea if it went into today's newspaper or not.

Suffice it to say, when recalling the incident here at the Blog, you guys got the full story, which had to be edited for Newsday and was further edited by their staff.

Just so you know,  for the record, here is what I originally sent them, and again, they re-edited what I sent them--which is their right--for publication.

"The current success of the New York Knicks has brought me back to another time ...

Roughly 56 years ago, to my bar mitzvah.

I remember the whole thing like it was yesterday, and that period stands out to me as among the most important times of my life.

Leading up to my bar mitzvah on May 9, when I had my ceremony, I had had a really tough time. I was sick for about a week to 10 days prior to my bar mitzvah day, all from a case of nerves.

I had anywhere from a mild to a high fever, and I was as sick as could be.

I watched every minute of the NBA championship series between the Knicks and the Lakers that I could. It was difficult because in those days, games were blacked out in the home city, so our local ABC outlet didn't carry a lot of the games live, but on tape delay.

But I had a secret weapon--my TV picked up Channel 8 very well, from the ABC affiliate in Connecticut, and they carried the games live, so I was able to watch the games on that channel.

On May 8, I was really sick as a dog, and the pressure was on, because my bar mitzvah was on May 9.

There was no way out of this.

On the evening of May 8, I decided to watch the Knicks game, the biggest NBA game that the team ever played up to that point.

I turned on Channel 8, and the game changed my life.

Team Captain Willis Reed, who was injured earlier in the series, decided that nothing was going to stop him from taking the court in deciding Game 7.

The rest of the Knicks had come out for their shoot-around, as had the Lakers, but when Reed came out of the locker room apart and after his teammates, the Lakers were so stunned that they all stopped whatever they were doing and watched what was unfolding as the crowd cheered their hero, and they never really recovered.

Reed limped along on a bad leg, made his first two shots of the game, Walt Frazier had one of the greatest clutch games ever played by a Knick or any NBA player, and the Knicks won 113-99.

When I saw Reed limp out, I got goosebumps myself.

I thought to myself, if this guy can do what he is supposed to do on one leg, then what am I doing in the bed here as sick as I was--I can do it too!

When that game was over, I felt like a burden had been taken off my back.

I woke up on May 9, all ready to go. Sure, I still had a fever, but I felt like I could take on the world.

All told, I barely made it through the ceremony in our synagogue, and I nearly passed out toward the end. But I did it. And later in the day, I felt fine--100 percent fine, no fever, no nothing.

Those two days--May 8 and May 9--were certainly the most important days of my young life, and over 50 years later, still stand out as two of the most important days of my existence.

I see today's Knicks team, and it simply conjures up all of those memories from that time in my life.

I am older now, have some major ailments to address, but like it was in 1970, when Willis Reed limped onto the court, if they can do it in 2026, I can do it, too.

We are both out to win, and we are both going to do it."

If it is in the newspaper today, you can see how they edited it for publication, much like I edited it to send out to them. 

If it is not in the newspaper today, it will be, so I will keep you alerted when it finally gets in there.

As you know, I have been in Newsday dozens of times over the past more than 50 years, the last time being just a few months ago, as a letter I wrote about late night talk shows was reprinted as one of the top reader letters of the past year.

I have always loved seeing my name in print, and heck, being a writer and an editor has put food on my table for decades, from then to the current time.

So this is just another fun moment for me, seeing my thoughts in print in Newsday, pretty much the only game in town on Long Island for daily printed news, sports and entertainment items.

Bully for me, I guess.

With that all being said, have a great weekend, and I will speak to you again on Monday--

When my goal of good health extends to my car, as I have to bring it into the shop for an oil change and its yearly inspection.

Please keep me--and my car--in your thoughts.

(P.S.: My story is in today's Newsday, on page A21!)