Rant #3,348: I Remember the Feeling

I cannot believe that 54 yesrs ago today, I had my bar mitzvah.

May 9, 1970 ...

I member everything about that day ...

How sick I was ... how I literally forced myself to get up on that stage to recite my haftorah ... how I got a lot of solace from what the New York Knicks did the night before ...

How do the Knicks work into all of this?

I was really sick leading up to my big day.

I had 105 temperature, and it all had to do with nerves.

I was the first great grandchild, the first grandchild, the first son, the first of everything in my family.

No sickness was going to stop me.

The night before, my orthodox grandfather told me flat out that I was going to do my haftorah, even if I had to do it in my bed.

Well, I just had to do it; I had no choice.

I felt horrible, but I was able to watch the Knicks NBA championship game, that famous game where center Willis Reed limped onto the court with really one fully working leg, spooking the Los Angeles Lakers and providing the adrenalin to power the Knicks to their first championship.

(The game was blacked out on Channel 7 in New York, but I was able to watch it on Channel 8 from Connecticut.)

Anyway, I saw Reed limp out to the court, and I literally thought to myself, "If this guy can do it, then I can too."

Sick as can be, that game invigorated me, and even though I was still sick the morning of May 9, I did what I had to do, nearly passing out doing it, but right after I was done, I was fine--no more fever, and I felt great!

How ironic that it is now me who has the gimpy leg, and I am watching the Knicks all these years later try to do the impossible, and make their way to (hopefully) another championship.

Where once I idolized Reed, Walt Frazier and all the rest of that team, today I marvel at the talent of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and the other Knicks as they battle the Indiana Pacers to get to the Eastern Conference finals.

A win of this series will get them to that next step, and if they can get past the conference finals, they will be in the finals for the NBA championship.

Sure, I am putting the cart before the horse here, but if they could win the whole thing in 1970, I do believe that they could do it again in 2024.

The Kicks haven't won an NBA championship since 1973, so maybe this year is the year that they do it again.

I love baseball and the New York Yankees, but no team galvanizes the New York Metropolitan Area like the Knicks do when they are a championship-calibre team.

And Madison Square Garden is really hopping, what with the New York Rangers gunning for their own championship in the NHL.

So as I look back at May 9, 1970, I also look forward to today and beyond, I guess what comes around goes around, but it is not a completely circuitous route, at least for me.

And I think back to Willis Reed, and I still believe that if he could do it, I can do it too.

We ALL can do it.

Rant #3,347: Every Picture Tells a Story

I am having so much fun with my birthday gifts!

I received a Monkees jacket from my wife, and I have worn it each and every day since I received it ... but not yesterday afternoon, when it was 82 degrees in my neck of the woods.

I actually put the air conditioning on in the car when I picked my son up from work--

And I think that ended up being a good thing to do, because it seemed a bit weak.

When I go for my inspection, I will definitely have that checked out.

And as for the other gifts I received from my son and a few relatives, I poured that into my record collection, and filled some holes in my collection as well as added some other things that are just  so much fun to have.

I mainly bought some Beatles singles ...

I could have sworn I had some of these, but maybe I didn't--I guess it is possible that some of these 45s were "misplaced" when we moved, but whatever the case, these are records that I didn't have, but now have them.

Some of the things I purchased were truly outside the box.

I have always enjoyed the music of the late Lesley Gore, and honestly, why she is not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is completely beyond my comprehension.

She fits all the criteria for enshrinement, but it hasn't happened yet, and might never happen.

I have a good amount of her LPs and singles, but I found one--"Summer and Sandy"--that I didn't have, and it was fairly priced with a nice picture sleeve, so I bought it.

The 1967 song wasn't one of her biggest hits, but it is a perfect song as we get closer to summer, and I am glad I now have it in my collection.

I listen to a couple of podcasts related to music, and I can't recommend enough "Come to the Sunshine," which is hosted by musician/singer/songwriter/producer/Jack of all musical trades, master of all.of them Andrew Sandoval.

He plays 45s that he buys for his personal collection, getting them from right here in the U.S.A. and also from around the world.

I have listened to this podcast for several years, and I have heard music I would have never heard if not for this show, which you can find at https://wfmu.org/playlists/CZ

One such song that was played on the show was "Midnight Confessions," not by the Grass Roots, but by an act called Ever-Green Blues.

I thought it was an interesting rendition of this tune--imagine the Rascals singing this song--and after I heard it, I figured that I would look for this single--

Lo and behold, I found it right away, it was fairly priced and came with a picture sleeve, so I bought it, and now, this 1967 single is in my collection.

I digitize everything so I can listen to these records in my car, and I have had so much fun doing so, in between work and the other obligations I have now that I am feeling so much better.

A couple of records have not been delivered yet, nor has a book I ordered, but they should all be coming to my home really soon.

With everything going on in our world today, everybody needs a respite from these dire situations, and my hobbies have always given me a place where I can go where I need to relax and have fun.

It doesn't make the bizarro world we live in get any better, but I would rather delve into my hobby than cover the more serious stuff any day.

And it makes me love this music even more.

I don't think kids today can possibly get the same pleasure that Baby Boomers do when they listen to their generation's music.

You can pick any record I have in my collection, and for just about each and every one of them, I have a story to tell ... and I just told you two stories about two of the newest entries in my collection.

You simply cannot do that with a sound file which you download/stream off of iTunes or some other such service.

Just as every picture tells a story, every record does, too, and let me tell you, I have 10,000 stories that I can tell, based on my record collection.

Sorry, an MP3 file is good for what it is, but it simply cannot duplicate the experience you get when you hold a real, honest to goodness vinyl record in your hands.

The kids today are missing this part of their lives, even though they don't realize what they are missing.

Some younger people are getting into vinyl records, so all is not lost with these young kids.

And that's a good thing ... maybe it is something so small, but something that can bring us all together.

Rant #3,346: First Of May

Let's celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month!

Let's find out the intrinsic ties between the Jewish population and our country!

What, never heard of this celebration?

You are not alone.

I don't mind that the other "months" get coverage; I do mind that this particular celebration is completely ignored by the media.

And I ask the same question: why is that?

And why is that with all the anti-Semitism simmering in this country?

Well, it is pretty obvious, wouldn't you agree?

The term "systemic racism" is used at the drop of a hat as a catch-all phrase for various ills the country has, but I have yet to hear "systemic anti-Semitism" ever uttered, but it does exist, in particular in the media, which constantly tries to "right wrongs" when it comes to others, but when it comes to Jews ...

Heck, when you have prominent Jewish Americans only using their Jewishness when it lines their pocketbooks, why should anyone care--or understand--the Jewish heritage?

And that media negligence makes them culpable in the rise of anti-Semitism in this country.

And yes, the entertainment industry, too.

You want a solid example ... 

The CBS Evening News last night did not provide a moment of coverage for Holocaust Remembrance Day.

However, it went on and on about the ceasefire that Hamas approved, one that is so one sided that there is no way that Israel can agree to it.

The show also continued showing closeups of doe-eyed Palestinian children suffering, a situation created by Hamas, their own ruling body.

The CBS Evening News has become increasingly one sided. Since that fateful October day, its anti-Israel and anti-Semitic rhetoric has only increased.

Anchor Norah O'Donnell must be held fully responsible for this situation.

I have been bringing up this increasingly virulent situation for years, and some of my fellow Jews have called me every name in the book for my beliefs. 

And believe me, I wish I was wrong. 

But unfortunately, everything I say is true, and it is festering right now, with no end in sight.

And I am sorry ... when the "plight" of Pacific Islanders is highlighted more prominently than the "plight" of the Jews in this country--in particular in the New York Metropolitan Area market, featuring the largest Jewish population in the world other than Israel itself--you know there is a major problem.

The problem isn't going away so fast, certainly not in the environment we are in now.

You have all of these vicious campus protests, and the anti-Semitism which is front and center in these protests is downplayed.

And when it is spoken about, it is lumped in with anti-Muslim or Islamophobia ... it has nothing to do with any of those failings.

And notice how the media refers to Hamas as "militants" now, rather than as "terrorists," which they had been acknowledged as being throughout the world.

The next thing is that they will be portrayed as a humanitarian organization ...

Dont laugh, that time is coming.

Now, how about Jewish American Heritage Month? 

Here is what I said about Jewish Anerican Heritage Month, in edited form, in Rant #3,128, May 9, 2023.

It bears worth repeating.

"To celebrate that great success we hare had—as well as the struggles we continue to have, as anti-Semitism is on a dramatic rise in this country—we have Jewish American Heritage Month, which started in 2006 and is this month, to put a spotlight on our accomplishments in this country, as well as the problems some still have with us being as successful as many of us are here.

Jews are clearly woven into the fabric of our country’s history, but some still refuse to acknowledge this fact.

The problem is that this annual celebration gets virtually no acknowledgement from the mainstream media, receives little-to-no coverage at all, paling in comparison to other such celebrations which dot the calendar throughout the year.

Why is that?

The reason is that Jews are not part of the government's eight Special Emphasis programs, which includes Asians, Blacks, Women. LGBTQ and others, meaning that the federal government does not consider Jews as an oppressed group.

With anti-Semitic acts on a steep rise every year, and with an increasing amount of hate speech directed at the Jewish population, this is, quite frankly, hard to believe, but true.

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, which is also this month, gets precedence and full coverage because this group is thought to be oppressed by our government and our country.

It is shameful, but it is true.

Not to minimize their pain, but we get bombarded this month by tributes, remembrances and what have you for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, but little to nothing about Jewish American Heritage Month, which is really striking for a variety of reasons.

Notice that the rise of anti-Semitism is real—so why the cover-up beyond what I just told you?

And don’t tell me that the lack of coverage for this month does not add to the rise in anti-Semitism that we are going through now, but I think that, unfortunately, my Jewish brethren are at least partly to blame for this invisibility.

Many of us cavalierly have blended themselves into the mainstream of society, and have no idea what anti-Semitism is, simply because they don’t really know who they are.

And many others know what anti-Semitism is, but choose to ignore its very existence.

This is just so wrong on both counts, but as a proud Jewish American, I, personally don’t ignore what is happening in this country right now as easily as others seemingly do.

To each his own, but when Jews are not considered to be oppressed anymore, yet anti-Semitic incidents are on the rise, there is something wrong here, something very wrong.

That Jewish people in this country have somehow persevered through all the hatred is to be commended, and almost completely ignoring Jewish American Heritage Month is a clear slap in the face to this group of people who have had such a major impact on our nation.

And yes, ignoring this month is also sort of under-the-radar anti-Semitism, which is probably the worst anti-Semitism that there is, because it clearly exists, but is completely ignored by the mainstream, the very faction that perpetuates its existence."

You can cover it up as much as you like. 

But if you are Jewish, you are Jewish.

Be proud of that fact.

Nothing more needs to be said.

Rant #3,345: Oh My My

With all that is going on, it kind of escaped my mind that on May 4, The Ranting and Raving Blog celebrated its 15th anniversary.

The well-worn story goes that I decided I needed an outlet to write about what I wanted to write about, and I created the blog for just that purpose.

Little did I realize the depth and breadth of the blog experience, and that so many people would read what I had to say during weekdays, either here at the blog site or on Facebook.

I have written on so many different subjects over 15 years and more than 3,300 posts, but there are always so many more things to write about.

Some topics are written about much more than others.

Lately, the rise of anti-Semitism in the country, and worldwide, has been spotlighted here over other topics, but honestly, if you go back through all of the blog entries, this subject has been written about since almost the beginning here.

It is a subject that I take seriously and personally, and I really wish more people--not just non-Jews, but also my fellow Jews--would take this subject more seriously.

If I can even nudge someone to open up their eyes on this subject, then I think I have done my job.

Another subject that has taken precedence during the past six months has been my physical health.

I went from someone who, very luckily, never really had to worry too much about my health to someone who could barely move from my bed.

My life changed in a millisecond, and it changed again in a millisecond when it happened for the second time.

I have described it all to you, and again, I have repeated this many times, but although I am so much better than I was six months ago, I still have at least seven more months to really get back to where I was.

There are no guarantees that I will get to that point, but if I continue to work hard, maybe I can actually get to that point and put it all behind me--

But I will never forget what happened ... all I have to do is look at the six-inch scar on my left leg, and that will bring me back to reality.

Not every post here is of such magnitude, and I do like to joke around here and there and talk about lighter subjects, such as my record collection.

Let me tell you, my hobbies have always gotten me through thick and thin, and my record collection got me through the psst six months--the loss of my car, my mother, my home, my mobility and my sanity, in no particular order.

I could always go to that collection for some solace, some relaxation--

Much like coming to this blog every weekday and writing, and writing, and writing some more.

When I have insomnia, I write.

When I feel a little down, I write.

When I feel happy, I write.

And that isn't going to change.

I might write myself into the ground, but if that happens, at least I will be doing something that I enjoy doing at my demise.

But I feel great right now, even with my bad leg, and I have no plans to leave the building just yet.

There is just so much more to say, and I like those of you reading what I have to say, coming with me for the ride.

You don't have to agree with everything I say, and that is fine.

Unless it gets repetitious or ridiculous, go ahead and disagree with me.

And if you agree, let me hear about it.

I do this blog for fun, I make no money from it, and while I don't have thousands of followers, that is fine with me.

It keeps it cozy.

So happy 15th anniversary to The Ranting and Raving Blog ...

And please come back for more good stuff tomorrow.

Rant #3,344: All You Need Is Love

I wanted to tone down my Rant for today.

I have spoken about some heavy topics this week, and I wanted to make it a lille bit lighter for today.

But first, the heavy stuff.

New York City has finally taken some action on the encampments pockmarking many city campuses, but I have noticed a pattern taking place that is very disturbing.

The current city administration refuses to admit that these seiges on school property were anti-Semitic in nature, stating that these encampments started peacefully, but ramped up because of outsiders. 

If you hear what Jewish students have said, the verbal and physical abuse began immediately. 

And also, by the way, none of the press conferences mentioned this physical and verbal violence as a reason that police were finally allowed to come in and restore order. 

It had to do with the destruction of property on campus, and the term "anti-Semitism" was never uttered during these press conferences.

I guess it just isn't that important ... except for those who experience it.

Now ...

"All You Need Is Love" ... and that is the way I am going to segue into the lighter portion of today's Rant.

Last Sunday was my birthday, and my family and I had over to our apartment a couple of our closest relatives for a little get together.

I received some nice gifts, including that Monkees jacket I told you about the other day.

I also received a gift card and some cash and some other nice things, so I had a great 67th birthday celebration.

As you know, I am very involved with my hobby, which is record collecting, and a lot of those gifts are going toward fortifying my collection.

I ordered lots of stuff online from eBay and Discogs, and most of it went for records put out by the Beatles from their heyday, 1964 to 1971.

I have an incredible amount of their recordings--both singles and LPs--but I don't have everything.

And while I am pretty confident that I won't ever be able to fill every hole in my Beatles collection, I can still find decent deals on many of their records, including those 45s that I am missing.

Before I ordered anything, I went through my entire Beatles 45 RPM collection, and I saw what I had and what I was missing.

One if the 45s I was missing was "All You Need Is Love" backed with "Baby You're a Rich Man," a single I could have sworn that I once had.

But I evidently don't have it, so I found a good price, and it will enter my collection when I receive it, reportedly next week.

I think thst it is so ironic that during this time of extreme turmoil from coast to coast, I am missing the one "thought" expressed in the title of the song that we should all consider right now.

I know it is pretty naive to say what I did but--

"All You Need Is Love" ...

What a concept.

Have a great weekend, and I will speak to you again on Monday.

Rant #3,343: Writing Wrongs

Three hundred arrests at Columbia University ... good. How many of these supposed "students" are actually being expelled?

But this baloney that the initial protests were "peaceful" is completely ridiculous.

According to news reports, Jewish students were being verbally and physically attacked just about from the beginning.

The police were only "allowed" to get involved because these thugs took over and vandalized a building on campus, and the Columbia president pretty much asked them to intercede.

Not a single mention of anti-Semitism through all the news conferences ... well Jewish students know exactly what they were put through by the anarchists, and they have asked the mayor to look into these anti-Israel protests.

The mayor and his flunkies deserve to be chastised, because they continue to claim thst these protests were "peaceful," but the Jewish students know better.

And yes, the protests have spread all over the country.

We have one that has sprung up here on Long Island at Stony Brook University, where encampments have seemingly risen from nowhere.

It is quite obvious that these protests are being financed by outside sources ... just look at the tents; they are all alike.

And you just know that professional protest mongers are pushing these terrorist groupies into an abyss that they cant escape from.

These pros know exactly what they are doing, coralling imbecile students in ways that will hurt them right now and into the future.

These pros are paid to further the agenda of whoever is paying them.

In fact, the NYPD has identified one gray-haired woman who is a regular rabble router who will participate at the drop of a hat, and another whose husband was deported for inciting such situations in the past.

The NYPD has announced that a significant percentage of those that were arrested are over 30 years of age, which says a lot.

And there are plenty of others, you can bet on that.

Any American has the right to protest, but these protests have turned violent and dangerous, filled with antisemitic and anti-Israel hate.

As I wrote about yesterday, there remains a ceasefire proposal on the table that is highly weighted toward Hamas' interests, and as I write this piece, the terrorist organization has yet to act on this, and simply might never do so.

Where do these protesters stand on the fact thst Hamas, who they idolize, continues to hold up a ceasefire thst these kids are demanding?

And what of the hostages, a group that the protesters continue to ignore in their demands?

And what about the dead bodies Hamas holds, carcasses of Israelis and others who were murdered in the conflict ... for what reason could they be holding these lifeless bodies, other than to further rile Jews, who normally bury their dead quickly?

Funny, the world has labeled Hamas as a terrorist organization, but they are worse than that: they are barbarians, following absolutely no rhyme or reason in their dealings with what is called the civilized world.

But how "civilized" is this world where it fails to collectively repudiate Hamas, instead putting the blame on Israel for their handling of the war against this terrorist organization?

Every civilized country in the world should have had Israel's back the very moment Hamas attacked the country ...

Incredibly, that didn't happen.

But it seemed much of the world ganged up on Israel, painted them as the villain, and made demands of them as they were, and continue to, fight a war for its very survival.

War is ugly.

This is not "McHale's Navy," "Gomer Pyle USMC," and is not the war portrayed in those World War II-era Abbott and Costello movies.

It is a brutal exercise, and no matter how carefully planned, there will be mistakes made. 

The Israel-Hamas War is no exception to any of this.

It is a true war of good vs. evil, but I do believe some people cannot discern who is good and who is evil here.

And these students, poisoned from birth with the Internet and social media, have lost the ability to think and make decisions on their own.

That is why these protest mongers proliferate, because these students have allowed these rabble rousers to think for them.

And where do they learn all of this hate from?

I think you can figure thst out yourselves.

And now there is a move to redefine exactly what "anti-Semitism" actually means.

Some are applauding this move as long overdue; others say it will stifle free speech.

Just like you are abusing your right to free speech when you scream "Fire" in a crowded venue, you are abusing your right to free speech when you yell "Heil Hitler!" In the same crowded venue.

Anyone with a head on his or her shoulders should realize that, but these students, acting as nothing more than automatons, can't process that concept.

Free speech and harassment are two very different things.

And these supposed students, attending some of the best and most prestigious learning institutions in the world, are adults, and they should know better.

But they don't, and that is a major problem that goes way beyond the encampments dotting college campuses across our country.

And now I heard that they are trying to get their anarchist and hateful professors involved, imploring them to not grade any finals until their demands are met.

Any professor that does this, as an employee of the university, should be fired on the spot, period.

End of story.

Rant #3,342: God Only Knows

So now these terrorist groupies have taken over a campus building, trespassing, breaking windows, bombarding themselves inside.

Finally, the school said that any students who are involved would be expelled, but the administration continues to do little to nothing to remove this human garbage from the campus.

Columbia University is private property, so the police cannot come in unless university officials ask them to get involved, something they have not yet done.

Everything remains at a standstill, but the longer the administration sits on their hands, the longer this will fester and the harder it will be to fully remove these groupies.

There was a press conference held where the mayor and other officials talked in circles about how outside forces were pushing the protests and the violence ... but all who spoke said that these had been "peaceful" protests until the outside agitators got involved--

Attacking Jewish students verbally and physically refutes whatever "peaceful" aspects of the protests these suits were soft-pedaling. 

And during this press conference, there was not a single, solitary mention of anti-Semitism, so now that the students have damaged school property, the issue of anti-Semitism has been pushed out of the spotlight ... if it ever was of utmost importance to school administrators and other officials to begin with.

And while all of this is happening, a truce that leans heavily toward Hamas' benefit sits without any reply from the terrorist organization.

What do these terrorist groupies have to say about that?

Now onto something else ...

As you know, I go the physical therapy for my injury twice a week, and this week, I went on Monday, and I still have to go on Thursday.

I have been going to this place since the first time I injured myself, and they are getting me into shape for the long run.

When I first began to go there for physical therapy, I had a couple of different therapists helping me, but in recent weeks, it pretty much settled on one woman, who has pushed me--and pushed me hard--during my sessions.

For my birthday, my wife bought me something unique, a Monkees jacket with the word "Monkees" on the front and small caricatures of Peter, Micky, Mike and Davy on the back.

I immediately put away my Yankees jacket, and until it gets warmer, the Monkees jacket will be my go-to jacket when I venture outside.

I wore it for the first time a little while after I received the gift on Sunday, and I did get a double take from one woman outside in the parking lot of the apartment complex we live in.

But back to physical therapy ...

Monday was a very warm day in my neck of the woods, and when I put on the jacket as we prepared to go to.physical therapy, my wife told me that it was warm outside, and I could leave the jacket at home.

It was warm, but I wore the jacket to physical therapy anyway.

As we entered physical therapy and I was getting ready for my session, the woman who is helping me made a mention of the jacket as I was doing the exercises that she assigned to me.

As the conversation picked up, it kind of veered off on a tangent, as I told her where I lived when I first began watching "The Monkees" TV show and buying their records way back in 1966.

"I lived in South Jamaica, Queens, back then," I said.

"South Jamaica ... where in South Jamaica?," she asked.

"Rochdale Village ... ever hear if it?," I asked.

She did a double take.

"Oh my ... I can't believe it ... I lived there to as a kid!," she stated.

We then started to compare notes as I was doing my exercises.

She is two years older than I am, and she lived there around the same time I was there, but I lived there a little bit longer than she did.

We went over all the different things there--the schools in particular--and I came up with a couple of names of "older-than-me" sisters and brothers of people i knew there.

She didn't know any of these people, but we started talking about some other Rochdale Village things of the past, like the community center.

She lived in section five, and i lived in section three, and I threw out a couple of more names to her, but nothing clicked as I did my exercises and then was iced down as the nearly two hour session moved toward its conclusion

As my wife said to me, "It's really a small world," and she is so right.

Rochdale Village was such a unique neighborhood, and certainly a great place to grow up in during the years I lived there.

It wasn't all good, there was plenty of bad, but I think I had a great childhood, and Rochdale Village remains a great part of my life, more than 50 years removed.

My mother often told me that wherever she went--on a vacation, on a cruise, to the mall or to the supermarket--she would always meet people from Rochdale Village.

I don't know if the latest proof of that axiom was found in physical therapy the other day, but God kind of works in strange ways.

I could have gotten anyone to watch over my physical therapy, but somehow, I matched up with this woman ...

Maybe it can simply be called serendipity at its best, but whatever it is, it is.

And it gave me a brief respite from that idiotic chaos at Columbia, involving young people who probably never can comprehend the magic of their old neighborhoods like I do with Rochdale Village.

And that is a shame.