By Sienna Beck / New York City I started writing haiku not that long ago. I owe it to the molar that stayed put for three years. From the tooth fairy, I received a stationery kit with all types of notepads. The biggest pad it came with had three lines and three sections, and I noticed it was perfect for haiku. I learned about haiku last year. There are posters outside my school library with descriptions of all types of poetry. But I sort of forgot that, but recently, the book Cat Kid Comic Club: Perspectives by Dav Pilkey revived my memory of haiku, and that memory stayed with me until the night of the tooth fairy's visit. I was wondering what to do with the paper with 3-lined sections and bam: instant haiku blast. I wrote one page, then the back, then more and more until I had a total of 22 haikus. I discovered I had a gift for poetry, and I've been writing haiku nonstop since! Haiku is a type of Japanese poetry based on syllables: five syllables, seven syllables, and then five syllables again. It can be a pain when you’re trying to convert a sentence into five, seven, or five syllables: like trying to convert “I really want a dog, but my mom says no” to seven syllables: “I want a dog. Mom says no.” Or to five syllables: “I want dog. Mom, no.” Most of the time, you can’t get the message through. But, well, that’s haiku! For my end-of-year Insider column, I have written two haikus for each month of the year. I’ve selected the highlights of each month and written a haiku for each. I hope you have happy holidays, and I look forward to writing for you in the New Year! January Bad, bad New Year’s Day. Willa got Covid-19. Don’t let me catch it. Daddy’s birthday! Yay! We made lots of cards and stuff. It’s a joyful day! February Valentine’s Day, yay! I got a lot of candy! I’m not sharing it. We went on vacay! We flew to Miami! Whoosh! It became real hot. March In March, I went to Orlando and Disney World. It was really great! We went on the rides (And ate a lot of snacks. Yum!) We had a great time! April April brings school break! Statue of Liberty, and I ran my first race! I was very fast. It wasn’t that big a deal. It was very short. May In May, I went to: Niagara Falls (it’s wet!) Mist turned to rainbows! Grandpa got a prize. The French Legion of Honor. I am proud of him. June Here’s something I did: I went to Rome in hot June. I had a great time! I walked so, so much. I climbed the St. Peter’s Dome. Also, school ended. July In July, I went To Greece and Turkey (Real fun!) We saw famous mosques. It was Mom’s birthday. We swam in volcanic pools. We ate fine seafood. August In August, I did A lemonade stand (Soooooo good!) And Olive turned 6. She had a party At the playground with her friends. The snacks were good, too. September September! School starts! Willa turned 8 and also We took vacations. We went to this place, Super-cool Colonial Williamsburg! Yay! October October is cool! I went to Philly. I saw Independence Hall. I turned 10 on the 10th of October. 10/10! I feel super old. November In November, I Celebrated Thanksgiving. Went to the parade! Yum, we ate good food. I played with all my cousins. It was a great day! December December- made it! Celebrated Hanukkah, Ate lots of sweets. Yum! We light hot candles For eight days on Hanukkah. We eat latkes too. Sienna Beck is a future author. She would like to become president when she is older. She lives in New York City (the best city in the world!) and spends her days ping-ponging between her two sisters, Willa and Olive.

By Lydia Hope Wilen / New York City Giving Credit Where Credit’s (Not) Due Chicken Soup and Other Folk Remedies by the Wilen sisters (my sister Joan and me) was published in 1984. The sequel, More Chicken Soup and Other Folk Remedies (we stayed up nights to come up with that title) was published in 1986. Later that year, our editor forwarded a letter sent to us in care of our publisher. It was from J. Walter Allen in Florida, crediting our books for his longevity. Get out the calculator. J. Walter Allen was born in 1892. He was at least 92 by the time he got our first Chicken Soup book. But who were we to argue with a nonagenarian? Instead, we thanked him for his confidence in our remedies. That was the start of a 10-year correspondence and a visit. Fan Fare Years ago, before social media changed the way things are done, there were fan clubs that would keep track of the comings and goings of celebrities, usually with a publicist’s assistance. When a celeb was expected to arrive at a city’s airport, his or her publicist notified the fan club president who would, in turn, gather the members at the airport to welcome the incoming star. What’s wrong with this picture? We had a fan coming into JFK Airport and the two celebrities went there to meet him. Clad in Plaid The plane landed and most of the passengers were walking towards the baggage-claim area. Having seen us on television many times, Walter knew what we looked like. Even so, we did what was done for us on our media tours. When we did a city a day, we’d get off a plane and be met by an escort, arranged by our publisher. We would recognize the escort because he or she would be holding up our book. And so, this time, each of us held up a copy of our Chicken Soup books, taking no chance of being missed. Sure enough, a big lad, clad in plaid, grabbed both of us in a bear hug. We later found out that he had been an amateur wrestler in London, when, as he put it, “Wrestling was wrestling.” On his head, he wore a plaid tam with a red pom-pom. Not that it matched his plaid tie, or the different plaid of his jacket, or his pair of pants in yet another nonmatching plaid. Walter Before the Altar We sat with our fan Walter in an airport lounge and we talked. Joany and I mostly listened as we became his fans. A couple of hours later, he boarded a plane for Switzerland. Before his departure, we learned that he was born in Switzerland and moved to London when he was a very young man. He worked in food services at hotels and restaurants. During his free time, he became a member of a dancing club, frequented by Swiss people. That’s where he met and married the love of his life, Johanna. Before his marriage, Walter had an opportunity to work on the maiden voyage of a British passenger liner, as part of an 885-member crew of temporary workers. The ship would take him to Cherbourg, France, then to Queenstown, Ireland, and the last stop before returning to England, would be New York…the USA. A sightseeing dream come true--with pay--for 20-year-old Walter. His Ship Had Sailed England in April of 1912. Walter needed to get to Southampton to board the ship. He couldn’t go out in the street and yell “Taxi!” It wasn’t like that then. He had to take a train from London. He missed the train that would have gotten him there on time. The train he was able to take arrived too late for Walter to report in at Berth 44 on the White Star Dock in Southampton. He missed the boat. Yup! The ship had sailed. Oh, did I mention? The ship was the Titanic. What were the Chances…? Walter was devastated, having missed a major opportunity… the maiden voyage of the Titanic. A few years later, he married Johanna and in 1919, they moved to Florida. After 63 years of wedded bliss, Johanna died in 1985. Walter continued to live a full, rich life, as active as ever. He was an artist, played the harmonica, wrote poetry, stories and letters...a lot of letters. He was an inventor; in 1987 he applied for a patent for an electric toenail grinder. In 1989 he was by far the most senior competitor in Florida’s Senior Olympics, which included his golf, shuffleboard and dancing events. He may have missed the boat, but he didn’t miss much else. He was a great participant in life. Our last letter from him was in November 1998. He died soon after at 106 years old, probably still crediting our Chicken Soup books. The Moral of the Story I think Walter would want to tell you not to dwell on what you’ve missed. Change your focus to what you have and how to use it, happily, creatively, productively and gratefully. If you have a “What Are The Chances...? story you would like to share, I’d love to know about it. Email it to me at editor@theinsider1.com. Don’t be shy! Lydia Hope Wilen had a successful collaboration with her late sister Joany as nonfiction bestselling authors (18 books), journalists, TV personalities, writers and talent coordinators on a Nickelodeon series hosted by Leonard Nimoy, Reading Rainbow episodes, skit writers for Dr. Ruth's TV show, Diet America Challenge on CBS, and writers of screenplays (optioned but not produced yet). Lydia is writing on her own now and has just completed an extraordinary book for young people and their parents. It will have them laughing and learning...once she gets an agent and it gets published.

Fred Plotkin, a pleasure activist and passionate Italy and culinary expert, speaks each Friday with leading people in the arts FRED PLOTKIN is one of America’s foremost experts on opera and has distinguished himself in many fields as a writer, speaker, consultant and as a compelling teacher. He is an expert on everything Italian, the person other so-called Italy experts turn to for definitive information.  Fred discovered the concept of "The Renaissance Man" as a small child and has devoted himself to pursuing that ideal as the central role of his life. In a “Public Lives” profile in The New York Times on August 30, 2002, Plotkin was described as "one of those New York word-of-mouth legends, known by the cognoscenti for his renaissance mastery of two seemingly separate disciplines: music and the food of Italy." In the same publication, on May 11, 2006, it was written that "Fred is a New Yorker, but has the soul of an Italian."

By John Rolfe / Red Hook, N.Y. Even though I bloviate here each week, I have no problem admitting when I’ve been proved wrong. In the case of what transpired in 2022, I’m very happy to do just that. Given all we have learned about Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election, the Jan. 6 Capitol siege, and ongoing efforts by far-right Republicans to place our electoral system at the mercy of their partisan state legislatures, I expected the midterm elections to be riddled with voter intimidation, chaos and violence. It’s a huge relief that they came off peacefully. There were only a few relatively minor incidents and a residual effort by ultra-Trumper Kari Lake to undo the results of her loss in Arizona’s race for governor. I attribute that good fortune to successful prosecutions of militia members, Jan. 6 participants, and the miscreants who plotted to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The legal crackdown likely gave such folks reasons to lie low. I also imagine that the GOP has gotten woke to the fact that their extreme approach to challenging unfavorable election results with boatloads of bull droppings doesn’t sit well with most Americans. Though the Orange Beast has hardly been slain, Trump has been taken down a peg politically. Legal cases against him (tax fraud, obstruction of justice, interfering with an election, illegal possession of classified documents) are proceeding. Still, it’s easy to feel skeptical that not much will come of them. I try to take comfort in things said on a recent edition of WAMC-FM’s daily Roundtable show by Albany County District Attorney David Soares. Addressing the frustration that many feel about the glacial pace at which U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and other prosecutors are moving in their investigations, Soares pointed out how painstaking such efforts must be in order to succeed with a conviction. To use his analogy, all the i’s must be dotted and t’s crossed when taking on someone with Trump’s power and almost unlimited funding (much of it provided by his ever-contributing supporters). “If you go after the King, you better not miss” is the old saying that Soares cited. That means making sure you have enough solid, credible evidence to prove your case beyond a reasonable doubt, especially to a jury that will likely contain at least one member who is even somewhat sympathetic to Trump. Soares also explained that prosecutors will likely pursue only cases or aspects of them that are as close to open-and-shut as possible. To do otherwise is to leave too much to chance. Trump’s possession of highly classified documents is one favorable case. The law clearly says it is illegal to possess such material in an unsecure location and without authorization. Either Trump did do such a thing or he didn’t. As the search of his Mar-a-Lago palace revealed, he obviously did. However, his attempt to overthrow the U.S. government is not as cut-and-dried. In our current polarized environment, millions of Americans feel Trump’s actions before and after losing the 2020 election were completely justified. Never mind that there is still no evidence to give his efforts a shred of legality. His party says the Capitol riot to stop certification of the vote was “legitimate political discourse” and MAGA nation clearly agrees. Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows’ texts to GOP leaders are certainly damning. The Jan. 6 Committee’s final report may be as well. The same with revelations in the sedition trials of Capitol riot participants. Even with all that, it could still be very hard to convince a jury that Trump’s actions rose to the level of intentional criminality. I agree with the common expectation that Trump will go the way of Al Capone: nailed for one crime (in Capone’s case, tax evasion) while a host of more serious allegations remain unpunished or unresolved. It’s also easy to feel that Trump’s penalties will be infuriatingly light. A federal judge recently declined to charge him with contempt of court for failing to fully comply with a grand jury subpoena to return classified documents. Prior to that, a Manhattan criminal court judge fined the Trump Organization $4,000 — you read that right, $4,000 — for defying subpoenas requiring them to provide requested evidence in a tax fraud case. Talk about chump change! Given the political backlash, quite possibly violent, that will occur if Trump is indicted, let alone convicted, it’s easy to see why prosecutors may try to walk a tightrope and have his deeds legally condemned while he and other perpetrators receive a stern tut-tut-tut. But it’s still a damned-if-you-do-and-damned-if-you-don’t deal. If Trump essentially skates, what does he or anyone else have to lose by conveniently ignoring the Constitution, thumbing their nose at subpoenas, and trying to void election results? In the meantime, I expect 2023 to be a year of nauseating political spectacles. The Republican-dominated House of Representatives will almost certainly be working to justify GOP support for the Jan. 6 insurrection while bombarding the country with inflammatory rhetoric and false claims. I’ll eat my hat in Macy’s window with great gusto if their promised investigations of the Biden Administration don’t yield the same results as the 13 federal or Republican probes of Hillary Clinton: bupkis. At this time next year, I’ll be more than glad to admit I was wrong about all of this … for any reason. I just wish I could see reasons to think I will be. John Rolfe is a former senior editor for Sports Illustrated for Kids, a longtime columnist for the Poughkeepsie Journal/USA Today Network, and author of The Goose in the Bathroom: Stirring Tales of Family Life. His school bus drivin’ blog “Hellions, Mayhem and Brake Failure” is parked on his website Celestialchuckle.com (https://celestialchuckle.com) with the meter running.

One film journalist’s stream-of-consciousness cinematic journey through the pandemic, Part 112 By Laurence Lerman / New York City There are less than two weeks to go before we say goodbye to 2022 and take the plunge into 2023. The past year has found us wiping the pandemic slumber from our eyes as we all fight to maintain our health and attempt to slip back into regular life outside of our homes (meaning a return to stores, restaurants, movie theaters, concert halls, houses of worship, and for some, the office). But we’re still excited to offer you the finest in Reel Streaming—meaning, a curated look at suggestions for celluloid streaming in the comfort of your home. Who are we fooling, here? We quite enjoy pressing play and watching a movie in the warmth of our living rooms as the winter chill (and snow!) moves in. I’m as excited to get back to movie theaters regularly as you are, the risk of Covid and the lure of streaming notwithstanding, but that’s something we’ll get to after the ball drops and 2023 begins. (We’re even waiting until January to see the new Avatar!) But before then, how about ringing out 2022 and bringing in 2023 with movies set on New Year’s Eve, the special night that straddles both years and inspires thoughts of the past annum and hope for the one that’s just beginning? Here are ten of them for you, ranging from black-and-white classics to blood-red horror entries--and everything in between! After the Thin Man (1936) Directed by W.S. Van Dyke The second entry in the beloved film series based on Dashiell Hammett's 1934 mystery novel finds well-oiled Nick and Nora (William Powell and Myrna Loy) attending Nora’s high society aunt and cousin’s New Year’s Eve party. But in between sipping cocktails at a fancy nightclub, bantering delightfully, and donning party hats to ring in the New Year, they must to solve the mysterious murder of cousin Selma’s no-goodnik husband Robert. Like all six films in the original franchise, this one is a delight. The Apartment (1960) Directed by Billy Wilder Wilder’s seminal romantic comedy-drama stars Jack Lemmon as a corporate climber who lends out his New York City apartment to senior co-workers to conduct their extramarital affairs. And wouldn’t you know that he falls for his office building’s elevator operator unaware that she’s having an affair with his boss (Fred MacMurray). Love, lust and professional standing all come to a head at—you guessed it—a climactic New Year’s Eve soirée! Rosemary’s Baby (1968) Directed by Roman Polanski The New Year’s Eve party at the end of Rosemary’s Baby finds NYC mommy Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow) meeting her newborn baby, who apparently has been sired by the Devil himself. “He has his father’s eyes,” declares witch coven leader Roman Castevet (Sidney Blackmoor), then roaring, “God is dead! Satan lives! The year is One!” Those Upper West Side luxury residences will get you every time… The Poseidon Adventure (1972) Directed by Ronald Neame For a group of passengers on the SS Poseidon, an aging luxury liner on her final voyage from New York City to Athens, a gala New Year’s Eve party turns into a fight for survival when the ship is overturned by a rogue tsunami. The stakes are high, as is the scenery-chewing drama delivered by the survivors, who include Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Roddy MacDowell and an Oscar-winning Shelley Winters as a Jewish nana with a killer breast stroke. Terror Train (1980) Directed by Roger Spottiswoode In his directorial debut, Hollywood mainstay Spottiswoode (Under Fire, Air American, Tomorrow Never Dies) helms former scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis and a group of students who are holding a New Year’s Eve costume party aboard a train. But wouldn’t you know that some of them don’t even make it to midnight as a costumed killer is making rounds on the choo-choo? All in, it’s an above-average slasher flick. When Harry Met Sally (1989) Directed by Rob Reiner Lots of Hollywood movies have a climactic scene set at a New Year’s Eve party—we could do an entire piece on just them! —but we’re got to keep our heads in the game with only a few this time around. Of course, we have to include the Eighties rom-com favorite, featuring Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan and the ringing in of a New Year that also serves as the declaration of their love for each other. “I’ll have what she’s having…” Four Rooms (1995) Directed by Alison Andres, Alexandre Rockwell, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino Critically drubbed upon its release, time has been good to this quartet of darkly comic short films loosely based on the short stories of Roald Dahl. It’s New Year’s Eve in Hollywood’s once-glamorous Hotel Mon Signor and the first night on the job for the joint’s new bellhop, Ted (Tim Roth). Each film is set in a different room and written and directed by a different filmmaker, all designed for maximum nuttiness and opportunities to leave Ted wide-eyed and slack-jawed. Tarantino’s contribution, “The Man from Hollywood,” set in the hotel’s penthouse, is the best of the bunch, but the film’s star power is its biggest selling point. The lively cast includes Antonio Banderas, Madonna, Marisa Tomei, David Proval, Jennifer Beals, Valeria Golino and Bruce Willis. Strange Days (1995) Directed by Kathryn Bigelow Set during the last two days of 1999, a Los Angeles dealer in illegal virtual reality recordings stumbles onto the truth behind the murder of a prostitute, leading to a dangerous uprising on the city’s streets and in its highrises at the turn-of-the-millennium New Year’s Eve celebration. Inspired in part by the 1992 L.A. riots that followed the Rodney King verdict, future Oscar-winner Bigelow’s trippy, polarizing cyber-thriller was a major box office bomb but has since become a cult favorite, probably more for its visual dazzle and technological prowess then its exploration of racism, abuse of power and voyeurism. Boogie Nights (1997) Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson In the history of adults-only cinema, the San Fernando Valley’s Golden Age of Porn in the Seventies gave way to the damaging excesses of the industry in the Eighties. In P.T. Anderson’s chronicle of the era, he offers a prescient end-of-the-Seventies New Year’s Eve celebration filled with sex, drugs, murder, suicide, and the rise of videotape. It’s an evening that foresees it all. New Year’s Day (1989) Directed by Henry Jaglom A recently divorced, middle-aged Hollywood director returns to his New York City sublet apartment on a snowy New Year’s morning where he discovers three offbeat young women who mistakenly believe that they have the place until the end of New Year’s Day. We’re sort of cheating by including this offbeat comedy-drama, as it takes place on the day following the big night, but as we haven’t made any resolutions about fudging out lists a bit, we’re asking you to forgive us. And have a Happy New Year! Laurence Lerman is a film journalist, former editor of Video Business--Variety's DVD trade publication--and husband to The Insider's own Gwen Cooper. Over the course of his career he has conducted one-on-one interviews with just about every major director working today, including Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Clint Eastwood, Kathryn Bigelow, Ridley Scott, Walter Hill, Spike Lee, and Werner Herzog, among numerous others. Once James Cameron specifically requested an interview with Laurence by name, which his wife still likes to brag about. Most recently, he is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of the online review site DiscDish.com.

A Poem by Dr. Barry Lubetkin / New York City I am not as old As you make me feel You exasperating demons of the digital age. Your youthfulness suffocates my wisdom As you cavort on TikTok With influencers, improvisers And imposters. Your fingers fly over the keys with unyielding dexterity. While my arthritis freezes me To a one-digit dance. You match and rematch And swipe with erotic abandon While I struggle to keep a friend or two Alive in my mind for another year. I delighted in Polaroids That after a one-minute pause Yielded a lifetime memory, While you Instagram the most intimate poses That spit on the concept Of intimacy. And you support your crew to Explore every crevice Of the social-media universe While I bake in the crowded Basement of Apple Waiting for a so-called Genius To explain for the third time How to cut and paste. But perhaps, just perhaps I’m not as old as you Make me feel. A lifetime of struggling for Authenticity Frees me to share my pain Openly Can you? Barry Lubetkin, Ph.D. is the co-director and co-founder of the Institute for Behavior Therapy in New York City. The Institute for Behavior Therapy is the oldest private cognitive behavior center in the United States.

By Andy Borowitz December 19, 2022 NEW YORK (The Borowitz Report)—Recognizing him for his “relentless contributions to the weariness of humanity,” Time has named Elon Musk the Most Exhausting Person of 2022. In bestowing the title on Musk, Time cited the Twitter C.E.O.’s “nonstop but fruitless efforts to fill the yawning chasm of his soul by seeking the attention of indifferent strangers.” In order to win the Most Exhausting crown, Musk bested a formidable list of contenders, including Kanye West, Kari Lake, and Senator Joe Manchin. Most impressive, he wrested the titled from Donald J. Trump, who had won the honor every year from 2016 to 2021. The Time editors’ decision drew no immediate response from Musk, who was preoccupied with a Twitter poll asking his followers what he should have for lunch. Andy Borowitz is a Times best-selling author and a comedian who has written for The New Yorker since 1998. He writes The Borowitz Report, a satirical column on the news.

By Bonnie Fishman / San Francisco Bay Area If there were ever a time of year you could call “cookie time,” it would be right about now. We have Hanukkah and Christmas going on this week and New Year's Eve next. Those delectable handheld sweets are served on all occasions. They come in every flavor, shape and color, depending upon what you are celebrating. Cookies are easy to transport to a party or office, give away as gifts, eat while you’re on the run, appease little kids with when they want a treat, and on and on and on. Versatile, shareable, decorative, and delicious. I always assumed cookies were an American invention because they are so very popular here. However, little did I know that they trace back to seventh century Persia, when cookies were actually a test run for cakes. They would bake a small amount to check on the flavor before baking a big cake. For centuries, cookies had a low moisture content, which extended their shelf life, making them a very portable snack. Now we see cookies that are gooey in the center made with lots of butter. They don’t stay fresh as long but give me a moist chocolate chip cookie any day over a dry biscuit. According to this wonderful article written about the history of cookies, “Sugar spread to Persia and then to the Eastern Mediterranean. With the Muslim invasion of Spain, then the Crusades and the developing spice trade, the cooking techniques and ingredients of Arabia spread into Northern Europe.” Cookies took off from there and eventually spread to America. As Americans became more mobile with the advent of the railroad, ingredients from different regions spread to kitchens near and far. Oranges, coconuts, and nuts from the South and West, for example, could travel all over. I love how cookie recipes change hands from friend to friend or go down through the generations of a family. Sometimes they’re clipped out of magazines, gleaned from the Internet, or plucked out of cookbooks. It doesn’t matter how you came across the recipes that become part of your recipe library; it’s comforting to the baker and the recipients to revisit those tried-and-true delicacies. Some people might say it wouldn’t be a holiday if we didn’t have grandma’s gingerbread cookies. In my case, my mother’s mother made poppyseed cookies from Russia. She never measured and none of us took notes so that legacy has been lost. I’ll have to attempt to re-create them someday. An old-fashioned fun holiday tradition is to do a cookie exchange with your co-workers, neighbors, or family. Say you have five participants. Everyone makes five dozen of their favorite cookie. Then, at the exchange, you get one dozen of everyone else’s cookies. Thus, you leave with five dozen but five different varieties. Also, exchange the recipes so you have more ideas for your cookie selections. Give it a go! When I owned Bonnie’s Patisserie and Bonnie’s Kitchen in suburban Detroit from 1980-2009, we sold lots of cookies, mostly large homestyle varieties: chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, and peanut butter being the best sellers. I never really wholesaled my products–we were too small an operation to do such large volume. That is, until one day in early August of 2008, when I got a call from the organizers of the PGA Golf Championship, inviting me to meet with the food director at Oakland Hills Country Club where the tournament would be played the following week. This club was walking distance to my store so it was very convenient. When I entered their office the director casually asked if we could supply 26,000 cookies for all of the spectators. I casually responded, “Sure. No problem.” I was dying inside! How were we going to produce that many? I ordered more butter, eggs, flour, sugar, and chocolate chips than I ever thought possible. I had to hire extra staff and enlist family members to help. The pastry chefs made the dough, we had people weighing out the cookies, panning them up, baking them off, boxing them, and delivering. The NBC local news crew even came out to film us in action. It was a great experience. Was it profitable? In and of itself it was; however, because we were so close to the golf tournament, traffic was rerouted for four days and our driveway was partially blocked. We had so few customers that week that the cookie sale also had to make up for our losses. My recipe today has great flavor and versatility to fit any occasion. I obtained this recipe from a woman whom I met when we were both teaching cooking classes back in 1979 in Berkeley, Calif. She was Italian and this recipe was from her Nona. What is unusual about the dough is that she sieved a hard-boiled egg yolk into the pastry, which makes for a more tender cookie. She taught me to roll out the dough to create “window” cookies: the bottom half is solid, spread with jam, and the top half has a cut-out to allow the jam to “peak” through the window. You will need to use a holiday cookie cutter of your choice. If you use a star, for example, have a small star cutter for the window. If you have a fluted round cookie, use a small fluted round cutter. You can exchange the toppings (sprinkles, jimmies, confectioners’ sugar, icing) and swap jams (raspberry, apricot, blueberry ) to suit your liking. Most of all, have fun with the possibilities and let us know here at The Insider what fabulous cookies you created for your holiday festivities. From my warm delicious kitchen to yours, have a healthy, joyful holiday season! Nona’s Italian Shortbread Cookies Yield: 18-24 2" window cookies 6 oz. butter, room temperature 1/2 c. + 2 Tbsp. sugar 2 1/4 c. flour 1 sieved hard-cooked egg yolk zest of 1/2 lemon 1 raw egg yolk 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice 1/2 tsp. vanilla preserves of your choice: raspberry, strawberry, apricot, blueberry toppings of your choice: sugar sprinkles, jimmies, colored icing, confectioners’ sugar dusting 1 egg white Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the flour, sieved egg yolk, and lemon zest. Combine until just blended. Scramble together the raw yolk, lemon juice, and vanilla. Add to the dough. Mix until just incorporated.  Form into a patty and wrap in cling film.  Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. Preheat oven to 350°.  Line 2-3 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Divide the dough into 2 pieces, as it is easier to work with a smaller amount.  Roll the dough out onto a floured surface to about 1/8” thickness. Using the cutter of your choice, cut an even number of each shape. Using a smaller cutter, cut out the center of half of the cookies. Place on the cookie sheets. Brush the egg white on the top cookies (the ones with the window).  Decorate with sugar sprinkles or jimmies. If you are using colored icing or confectioners’ sugar, decorate them after they are fully cooked. Bake cookies for 11-12 minutes or until firm.  Cool completely. Assembly: Spread the jam of your choice on the bottoms of the cookies, leaving the slightest margin to the edge so the preserves don’t squeeze out. Place the decorated tops on the bottoms. If using colored icing or confectioners’ sugar, decorate the tops before securing to the bottoms. Bonnie Fishman attended the Cordon Bleu Cookery School in London. Later, she owned and operated Bonnie’s Patisserie in Southfield, Mich. and Bonnie’s Kitchen and Catering in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. She has taught cooking for over 35 years and created hundreds of recipes. She is now living in Northern California.

Excerpt from YOU are PAWSOME! 75 Reasons Why Your Cats Love You, and Why Loving Them Back Makes You a Better Human You clean the litter box There’s no end to how feline-besotted the genuine cat lover is. So besotted that a bona fide devotee can find the positive spin on even the most negative aspects of cat care—the extra expense of a home-visiting pet-sitter when you travel (“Totally worth it!”); the always-dicey experience of pilling a cat (“Muffy looks so cute wrapped in a ‘kitty burrito!’”); and even cleaning up hairballs (“Bootsie and I both love the smell of Nature’s Miracle!”). But the one un-spinnable task associated with responsible feline caretaking is cleaning the litter box. Probably the best that can be said is that, under certain ideal circumstances—including use of a high-quality litter and making sure not too much time has passed since the last cleaning—it’s relatively painless. Then there are those other times. You know the ones I’m talking about. Those times when the store was out of your favorite litter, so you had to make do with some cheap substitute that doesn’t even pretend to cover up the odor, which probably explains why you waited a couple of days longer than you should have to clean it out… And now here it is, the middle of summer, 95 degrees outside and even hotter than that inside, the sweltering heat and cheap litter apparently having caused the odor coming from the litter box to mutate into some hideous, nearly tangible, practically paranormal entity that surely no cat—certainly not your cat, who’s so cute and so tiny!—could possibly be responsible for, and that no human could be expected to withstand for long. Suddenly you’re Marlon Brando at the end of Apocalypse Now as a suffocating dread rises in your chest and you find yourself frozen in place, helplessly repeating the only semi-coherent thought your mind is capable of forming: The horror! The horror! In the end, though, you roll up your sleeves, clothespin your nose, grab the scooper and a plastic bag, and head in there to do what you have to do like the brave, never-say-die soldier you are. And that’s because when the going gets tough, the tough get PAWSOME! You score weed for your cat You’ve never broken the law in your entire life. Never so much as claimed an even slightly questionable tax deduction. Never sped through an “orange” traffic light. Never carved your sweetheart’s name into a tree at the park or taken a chewed-up wad of gum out of your mouth and stuck it to the underside of a desk. When it comes to walking the straight-and-narrow, you could teach a Master Class. Which is what makes it all the more surprising to onlookers (although not, I can assure you, to your fellow cat lovers) when you oh-so-casually walk in with an ounce of that wacky feline weed nepeta cataria (otherwise known as garden-variety catnip), sprinkle some around the floor, and watch as your cat proceeds to get as high as a Georgia pine. PAWSOME! You spoil your cat rotten My husband isn’t a particularly complex or hard-to-understand person—an attribute that I note here with a great deal of approval. It is, in fact, one of the reasons I married him. Cats are difficult enough to understand; there’s no point in making things doubly hard by throwing an excessively complicated human housemate into the mix. Still, there are times when he manages to leave me completely befuddled. Like when he walks into the living room and finds me on the couch with a velvet cushion on my lap, resting atop which is my tripod cat, Clayton, sprawled on his back while I give him a thorough tummy rub, and he will say (my husband, that is) with a clear note of disapproval in his voice: “You spoil these cats rotten.” It's not the observation itself that leaves me so perplexed. Of course I spoil my cats rotten. That I do so is an inarguable fact. I spoil them absolutely and unapologetically, and if I have any single regret about it at all, it would only be that I’m not creative enough to come up with even more ways of spoiling them rotten-er. (Suggestions are always welcomed! @ me on Instagram!) It’s the disapproval in my husband’s tone that I can’t quite grok. I mean, what’s even the point of adopting a cat—particularly a rescue cat—if it isn’t to spoil them rotten??? Nevertheless, this self-evident observation is one that’s oft repeated in our home. “You’re spoiling them,” my husband informs me, when I come home from the pet store with an entire shopping bag filled with brand-new catnip toys. “I can’t believe how spoiled these cats are,” he says whenever I prepare little Thanksgiving or other holiday plates of food for the cats, so they can celebrate along with us. “These are the most ridiculously spoiled cats I’ve ever seen in my life,” he’ll insist while watching me cede half my pillow at night to a fuzzy sleeping companion. (Forgetting, perhaps, that the only other cats he’s ever spent much time with were the three cats I had when we first moved in together seventeen years ago—three cats who were, I can assure you, just as spoiled then as my current cats are today.) Sometimes I have to lean in and listen closely to hear his expressions of disapproval, like when I’m in the grocery store carefully evaluating varieties of Temptation treats in order to make sure I only bring home my cats’ preferred flavors, while my husband stands next to me shaking his head and muttering, “It is unbelievable how spoiled these cats are.” Occasionally I wonder what he thinks is the potential downside of spoiling our cats. Does he worry that I’m not raising them right? That I’m fostering feline narcissism? That when they go out into the world and have to cope with friends and spouses and bosses, they’ll be socially maladapted or have unrealistic perceptions of their own importance? What exactly is the harm? And does my husband honestly think I don’t know what’s what when I see him coming home with some fancy can of high-end tuna he knows they like, or when he slips Clayton little bits of the turkey from the sandwich he’s just made himself, or when—after he thinks I’ve fallen asleep next to him—he gives Fanny the long and intense late-night back-scratches she craves, while murmuring in her ear, Who’s my pretty girl? Who’s a pretty, pretty girl? The truth is, there are plenty of people in the world who are selfish or stingy or downright cruel. They’re the ones who tend to make the world a worse place to live in. But there are also a handful of us kicking around this big blue marble who take a profound pleasure in making others happy. And while the business of making other people happy (although unquestionably worthwhile!) can be immensely complicated, making a cat happy is usually a much simpler affair—one easily accomplished with plentiful chin scritches, a bagful of crunchy treats, and a few strategically placed cushions in sunlit spots around the house. Those of us who love cats live to serve. And that makes us PAWSOME! Author bio: Gwen Cooper is the New York Times bestselling author of the memoirs Homer's Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale, or How I Learned About Love and Life with a Blind Wonder Cat; Homer: The Ninth Life of a Blind Wonder Cat; My Life in a Cat House; and Spray Anything: More True Tales of Homer and the Gang, as well as the novel Love Saves the Day (narrated from a rescue cat's perspective) and PAWSOME! Head Bonks, Raspy Tongues, and 101 Reasons Why Cats Make Us So, So Happy--among numerous other titles. Her work has been published in more than two-dozen languages, and she is a frequent speaker at shelter fundraisers across the U.S. and Europe. Gwen lives in New Jersey with her husband, Laurence. She also lives with her two perfect cats--Clayton "the Tripod" and his litter-mate, Fanny--who aren't impressed with any of it. Click here to read an exclusive Insider interview with Gwen Cooper, author of YOU are PAWSOME!

The Insider: Hi Gwen! Gwen Cooper: Hello! The Insider: Thanks so much for talking with The Insider again today! We are thrilled to be publishing an excerpt this week from your new book, You are PAWSOME! Gwen Cooper: I'm thrilled to be able to contribute again! The Insider: As many of our readers know, you are a superstar in the world of cats and cat owners! Gwen Cooper: As my grandmother used to joke, I'm world-famous in Poland! The Insider: (Laugh.) No, you really are. Your book Homer's Odyssey about your blind cat, Homer, was a huge New York Times bestseller! How many Facebook followers do you have now on Homer's website? Gwen Cooper: Homer has around 890,000 on Facebook and another 50,000 on Instagram. The Insider: That's not kibble! How long have you been writing about cats and been active in the feline world? Gwen Cooper: It's been 12 years since Homer's Odyssey was published. The Insider: How many cat-themed books have your written? Gwen Cooper: Eight books, one scrapbook, and a dozen or so short stories published independently on Kindle. I just counted on my fingers to be sure! The Insider: Impressive! What inspired your new book? It's very witty! Gwen Cooper: It's a follow-up to my last book, The Book of PAWSOME: Head Bonks, Raspy Tongues, and 101 Reasons Why Cats Make Us So, So Happy. It was inspired by a big bestseller called The Book of AWESOME. I'd encourage your readers to check it out! The Insider: As the mom of two rescued cats, I can relate to so much in the new book! You even cover the dreaded topic of litterboxes in an amusing, Nora Ephronish way. How many cats do you currently have? Gwen Cooper: Two. Fanny and Clayton "the Tripod." They're litter mates. They'll be 11 in February. The Insider: Tell me about Clayton's nickname. Gwen Cooper: Clayton has a lot of nicknames, but "the Tripod" is more descriptive than familiar. He's a three-legged cat. The Insider: I know you've taken an important role in the area of special-needs cats. Could you please tell us about that? Gwen Cooper: I see my role as more supportive than anything else. There are so many people toiling away behind the scenes in rescue. I'm in a position to bring a little additional attention to their work and their needs, and so I do! The Insider: Would part of that be encouraging people to adopt special-needs cats? Gwen Cooper: Absolutely. The Insider: What about people who are uncomfortable adopting a special-needs cat, like a blind cat? Gwen Cooper: Although I'm a staunch advocate for special-needs animals, not every person or home is a good fit. You can adopt the picture-perfect kitten from your local rescue, and you're still a rescuer. There are no bad rescues. The Insider: It goes without saying that you are a big advocate of rescuing cats, right? Gwen Cooper: Our motto around here is "Adopt, don't shop." The Insider: What if someone says, "but I want a purebred cat"? Gwen Cooper: There are actually lots of breed-specific rescues for cats and dogs. The Insider: How can people find them? Gwen Cooper: Google and Petfinder would be your best bets. The Insider: You also get involved with making sure that cats are rescued in times of emergency. Can you please describe how other people can help? Gwen Cooper: We definitely do a lot of disaster assistance in Homer's community! Usually the best way to help is to make a financial donation to a local rescue group on the ground. I usually do Google News searches if my own network comes up short. The Insider: I'm always struck how the love of cats is worldwide. Your books have been translated into more than two dozen languages. Do you ever hear from foreign readers? Gwen Cooper: I hear from readers in other countries all the time! And I've been lucky to be invited to speak at overseas events, like Catfest London, which bring me together directly with some of my European readers. I've also met readers from Brazil and Argentina here in New York. The Insider: And what sorts of pro-cat activities have you gotten involved in here in the US? Gwen Cooper: I speak at a lot of shelters and shelter fundraisers. The Insider: That's great! Last question, which I'm sure you've been asked before: how do you feel about dogs? Gwen Cooper: I love dogs! I grew up with dogs, and dogs are still some of my favorite people! The Insider: An animal lover to the max! Thanks so much for spending time with us! Gwen Cooper: Thanks for having me back to The Insider! Click here to read an exclusive Insider excerpt from Gwen Cooper's new book, YOU are PAWSOME! 75 Reasons Why Your Cats Love You, and Why Loving Them Back Makes You a Better Human

By Jessie Seigel / Washington, D.C. The House Judiciary Committee felt the need to conduct a hearing last Thursday (Dec. 8) addressing recent ethical scandals at the Supreme Court. Good call. The leak in May of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion in Dobbs caused outsized outrage at the Court. The Court’s plan to overturn Roe v. Wade and eviscerate women’s constitutional right to an abortion had been prematurely outed. Chief Justice John Roberts indignantly decried the leak as a “singular and egregious breach of trust that is an affront to the court.” And Roberts directed the Marshal of the Supreme Court to launch an investigation into who had leaked it. In doing so, Roberts’ professed concern over the “betrayal of the confidences of the Court.” Why is it important to remind ourselves of Chief Justice Roberts’ noisy indignation over the Dobbs leak? Because when evangelical Rev. Robert Schenck told Politico in July that he had been informed of the 2014 decision authored by Justice Alito in another controversial case, Hobby Lobby, by a donor who dined with Alito and his wife weeks before the Court announced it—Roberts did nothing. (In Hobby Lobby the Court decided that corporations could, on religious grounds, refuse to provide health insurance covering contraception.) In fact, the Chief Justice knew about the allegation long before Schenck revealed it to the press. After Roberts opened the investigation into the Dobbs leak, Schenck sent a letter to Roberts in July, stating in part: "Considering there may be a severe penalty to be paid by whoever is responsible for the initial leak of the recent draft opinion [Dobbs], I thought this previous incident [the Hobby Lobby leak] might bear some consideration by you and others involved in the process." Where was Roberts’ indignation at the ethical transgression alleged in Schenck’s letter? Nowhere to be found. And what investigation did the Chief Justice launch in reaction to that allegation? None. Chief Justice Roberts apparently is only interested in hiding the Court’s blemishes. But trying to keep the court’s dirty linen from being aired in public makes it no less dirty. Given Roberts’ inaction, it has fallen to Congress to investigate the Schenck allegations. On Thursday (Dec. 8), Rev. Schenck, former head of the conservative evangelical group Faith & Action, testified under oath pursuant to a subpoena before the House Judiciary Committee. Schenk said that his foreknowledge of the Hobby Lobby ruling was the fruit of his influence campaign called “Operation Higher Court” in which he recruited wealthy couples to act as “stealth missionaries.” Their assignments: get close to the Court’s conservative justices. Schenck testified: “Our overarching goals were to gain insights into the conservative justices’ thinking and to shore up their resolve to render solid, unapologetic opinions, particularly against abortion.” The evangelical Reverend added, “I believe we pushed the boundaries of Christian ethics and compromised the high court’s promise to administer equal justice. But I’m also conscious we were never admonished for the type of work our missionaries did.” Justice Alito acknowledged in a statement issued by the Court that he and his wife have a social friendship with the donor and her husband that Schenk referenced, and had dinner with them. But Alito denied that he revealed to them in advance the 2014 Hobby Lobby decision. Backing Alito, Republicans on the Judiciary Committee have tried to dismiss Schenck’s testimony as an effort by Democrats to smear the Justice with unsupported hearsay. However, according to the Washington Post, Schenck’s contemporaneous emails and conversations indicate that he knew the case’s outcome in advance—and that his Operation Higher Court was a years-long effort for conservative activists to “ingratiate themselves with justices via donations to the Supreme Court Historical Society.” Alito’s confirmation or denial of the alleged leak is beside the point. An allegation that a Justice leaked a decision to individuals with a specific interest in the outcome warrants an investigation to determine whether or not the leak occurred. And certainly, the undue influence intent admitted by Schenck is more serious than a leak like that in Dobbs, which was presumably done by someone at the Court who disagreed with the decision and wanted to warn the public. The Supreme Court’s Questionable Ethics The coziness of certain justices with those who have interests adjudicated by the Court is hardly new. There is an ethics code binding lower-court judges that requires them to recuse themselves—to disqualify themselves from judging a case—if there is a potential of a conflict of interest or of a lack of impartiality. Supreme Court Justices are not bound by that code of conduct, but under federal statute, they are prohibited from hearing cases in which their spouses have an “interest that could be substantially affected by the outcome of the proceeding.” The statute also states they are to disqualify themselves in any proceeding in which their “impartiality might reasonably be questioned.” However, there is notably no enforcement mechanism. Chief Justice Roberts has stated that justices refer to the law but make their own ethical calls. Given the propensity of some current justices—Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas in particular—to ignore that law and apply instead their view that the ends they personally desire justify all means, justices should not be assumed capable of making their own ethical calls in good faith. Speaking to the famously right-wing Federalist Society in 2015, Alito said of stare decisis, the legal expression for precedent: “It is a Latin phrase. It means to leave things decided when it suits our purposes.” He went on to say, “It’s not difficult for a judge to make the stare decisis inquiry come out however the judge wants it to come out.” These are not the words of an ethical judge with a with a particular judicial philosophy, but rather, capture the cynical approach of a political partisan. As far back as 2008, Justice Thomas attended and gave a speech to a private conference of major conservative donors sponsored by the billionaire industrialist Koch brothers in Palm Springs, Calif. Thomas’s expenses for the conference were paid for by the Federalist Society. Such connections should have resulted in Thomas recusing himself from the Supreme Court’s consideration of Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission. But Thomas participated and was part of the majority that struck down restrictions on political spending by corporations. In 2011, Alito and Thomas flaunted their partisanship by attending fundraisers organized by billionaire GOP donor Charles Koch to coordinate arch-conservative political strategy. Justice Thomas’s wife, Ginni Thomas, was busily involved in promoting the overthrow of the 2020 election. Both the ethics law addressing conflict of interest and that concerning a spouse with an interest in the outcome of a case very clearly necessitated Thomas’ recusal from participation in the Donald Trump-related January 6, 2021 insurrection cases that came before the Court. But Thomas not only declined to recuse himself, his was the sole dissent from the decision to grant the January 6 House Committee access to Trump’s White House records. These records contained text messages between Ginni Thomas and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, in which she urged the overturn of the 2020 election. Justice Thomas continues to this day to thumb his nose at ethical norms. In Moore v. Harper, argued before the Supreme Court just last week, state and national Republicans advanced, under their contrived independent state legislature theory, that state legislatures have the exclusive power to run federal elections. The Supreme Court’s adoption of this theory would permit state legislatures to overturn the results of democratically determined elections, with no role for oversight by state courts. Partisan state legislatures would have sole power over voting laws, congressional redistricting, and perhaps even the selection of presidential electors as well as certification of election winners. If this theory is embraced by the Court, it will be another nail in the coffin of democracy. According to Harvard Law School professor Laurence Tribe, Thomas’s spouse, Ginni, as an active participant in an attempt to use something like the independent state legislature theory, had an interest in this case, necessitating a Thomas recusal. But, as usual, Thomas did not recuse himself. So much for honorable self-determination on questions of ethics. In an address at Notre Dame in the fall of 2021, Alito complained about criticism of the Court’s over-reliance on the “shadow docket” (unsigned orders that the Court issues without full briefing or argument): “The catchy and sinister term ‘shadow docket’ has been used to portray the Court as having been captured by a dangerous cabal that resorts to sneaky and improper methods.” Alito’s words unwittingly revealed a truth about his own compromised judicial ethics as well as those of Justice Thomas. Is There a Cure for the Court’s Ethical Malady? The odds of fixing the Court’s ethics problem are not good. Impeachment is impractical and would likely be seen as an extreme measure and portrayed as partisan. Adding ethical justices to counterbalance the power of the ethical miscreants—if it could be accomplished—would be a quick fix. And perhaps in democracy’s current crisis such a fix is warranted. It does, however, have the downside that Republicans would likely add additional right-wing justices of their own if or when the Republicans again gain control of the Senate. New York Rep. Mondaire Jones, a leader on Supreme Court reform, was joined by other Democratic Representatives in proposing the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency (SCERT) Act, which would establish a binding code of conduct for the Supreme Court. And, in a letter to the Democratic Congressional leadership, the legislation’s proponents urged inclusion of the Act in upcoming must-pass legislation before the end of this congressional term. This proposed law would require justices to follow the same disclosure standards regarding gifts, travel and income as members of Congress; establish enforceable recusal criteria aimed at the Court’s recent ethics scandals; require parties before the Court to disclose lobbying and expenditures in support of a justice’s nomination, confirmation or appointment; and require parties filing amicus (friend of the court) briefs to disclose their major source of funding. These measures would go a long way toward reestablishing the Supreme Court’s propriety. One problem, though. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the land, the final legal arbiter. Who would be responsible for enforcing this “binding” code of ethics? Harvard Law’s Lawrence Tribe told MSNBC that the ethics laws currently on the books “and anything else anyone has come up with” cannot be enforced directly. Tribe said, “The Chief Justice can’t enforce it. It’s very unlikely that the Justice Department could enforce it.” Tribe proposed that, instead, legislation be focused on those “outside the Justices’ chambers who are exerting improper influence.” In Tribe’s view, this would entail requiring their families and friends to report all of their outside sources of income and influence. Added Tribe, “Anyone who meets with a justice should be under an obligation, enforceable by criminal law, to at least report every such meeting.” Tribe’s idea is a good one. It is a pity that there is not enough time between now and the Republican takeover of the House for such legislation to be written and passed. But when, in the future, there is some opportunity, that law will hopefully be pointed directly at those who wine and dine justices like Alito and Thomas. Political columnist Jessie Seigel had a long career as a government attorney in which she honed her analytic skills. She has also twice received an Artist’s Fellowship from the Washington, D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities for her fiction, and has been a finalist for a number of literary awards. In addition, Seigel is an associate editor at the Potomac Review, a reviewer for The Washington Independent Review of Books, and a dabbler in political cartoons at Daily Kos. Of this balance in her work between the analytic and the imaginative, Seigel jokes, “I guess my right and left brains are well-balanced.” More on and from Seigel can be found at The Adventurous Writer, https://www.jessieseigel.com.

By Judi Markowitz / Detroit Oak Parkers are in a league of their own. I’m talking about those who attended Oak Park High School from 1967 to 1970–the Baby Boomers. We may not see each other for years, but when attending a high school reunion or meeting up after a long lapse in time, the world stands still, and we connect. It’s special, it’s powerful and many relationships have weathered the test of time. I know these facts to be true — I grew up in Oak Park, Mich. Oak Park High School was a pinnacle of education during these years. The school nurtured its students and produced many professionals in the fields of law, medicine, business, education, music and, of course, the arts. One of these success stories is Todd Weinstein, a photographer, who represents the best of this generation. He was raised in Oak Park. I recently attended an exhibit of Todd’s work at the Janice Charach Gallery in West Bloomfield, Mich. “Stories of Influence In Search of One’s Own Voice” is a 50-year retrospective celebrating mentors and influences that have shaped Todd’s career. His exhibit, which will be traveling soon, is a salute and an expression of gratitude to those who helped mold his vocation — and there were many. Stay tuned—more about that later. Music took hold of Todd’s life when he was a teenager. He became a roadie for the bands Everlon Nevermore, the Shy Guys, and Saint Hammer. In addition, Todd’s father operated a nonalcoholic teenage nightclub called The Mummp. Bob Seger, Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, Stoney and the Jagged Edge, the Shy Guys, Scott Richards Case, along with other well-known bands performed there. At age 15 Todd oversaw the light shows and his interest in the arts was heightened. But in 1968, the year before Todd was to graduate high school, he had different ideas about formal education. When he turned 16 and qualified for his driver’s license, instead of heading down Oak Park Boulevard to school, his car was headed to Detroit — Plum Street, to be exact. This is where the musicians, artists, and poets hung out. Poet and political activist John Sinclair was on the scene and Todd felt part of that vibe. However, when his absences from school started to rack up, Todd’s counselor, Mr. Waite, called him into his office. He bluntly explained that if Todd stayed the course with missing so much school, graduation would be a lost cause. Being young, Todd insisted that Plum Street was a valuable education, and school was boring. His counselor wasn’t having it. Using some persuasion, Mr. Waite suggested that he enroll in a photography class. Todd was hesitant but agreed. It was history in the making, but Todd didn’t know it yet. The photography teacher was young, only a few years older than Todd. Miss K. had a master’s degree and knew how to engage and connect with her students. There was a negative left in the dark room sink that no one claimed. Miss K. wanted Todd to finish the work. From a negative to a photograph, this endeavor earned Todd a Junior Scholastic Award. Todd then took the next step and began taking pictures for the school yearbook. It was the springboard to his future. After graduation, Todd attended the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit. In 1969, Todd and a group of other students who became Todd’s mentors–Larry Malkus, George Gruel, and David Griffith–organized “Ten Eyes in Washington,” which documented protests of the Viet Nam War and featured 15 of Todd’s photographs. It premiered at The Detroit Library in 1970 with the curatorial assistance of Dorothy Mante. Todd moved on to Creem, a music magazine, and became its photographer. A high point came when Todd and the art director, Charlie Auringer, photographed Mick Jagger at a concert. Todd also photographed Grand Funk Railroad for Creem’s cover. Then another job opened, and Todd began to work in a color lab in downtown Detroit. He moved on to the studio of Dick James, a renowned photographer. Todd refers to James as “a super photographer,” and says that James gave him the confidence he needed early on in his career. James shared his knowledge with Todd about being a professional photographer and stressed that a person must bring their best efforts to the project at hand. Todd’s passion took him to New York in 1970. With few resources and big dreams, he slowly connected with the people who would mold his career. The path wasn’t laid out, it wasn’t straight and there were many detours along the way. Todd took on odd jobs just for the opportunity to meet the right people in the photography profession. But Todd still needed to supplement his income, so he worked at night at the West Village Gaslight Cafe. Here, Denny Brown, a native Detroiter, and the manager of the folk music club, became a mentor to Todd. Denny, along with Owain Phyfe, influenced Todd with their music. These experiences led to his first photography assistant position with Mel Dixon. He worked on special projects, learning how to work in a studio setting. This was the perfect match for Todd. While working with Mel Dixon, Todd met Harvey Lloyd. After showing his portfolio to Lloyd, Todd was hired with the stipulation of only being paid when there were assignments scheduled. The remainder of his time would be spent studying the works of Alexey Brodovitch while listening to his tapes from The Design Laboratory. Here Todd learned about multi-media sight and sound image making. At this time Lloyd was given a huge commission in Europe for TWA and took his young assistant along for an experience of a lifetime. When Todd was 20, he traveled to England, Greece, Spain, Italy, France and Portugal. He kept track of the hundreds of rolls of film and learned production on the job. Then another break came when Todd was introduced to Ernst Haas in the 1970’s. Haas was an Austrian-born photojournalist and a pioneer of color photography at a time when it was considered inferior to black and white photography. Todd worked as his assistant for 14 years. Ernst photographed the natural elements in society and Todd found a kindred spirit in style. Their relationship grew throughout the years. Todd helped Haas with his photographic workshops and commercial assignments. Todd says, “Ernst Haas’s teachings were about learning to see and inspirational critique, and to be mindful of things around you when photographing.” They had a close bond, and this continued until Haas’s death in 1986. Haas also wrote the introduction to one of Todd’s books stating, “To capture, within a moment, the essence of [New York] tragic comedy needs a heart, a soul, and a well-reacting trigger finger…The pictures of Todd Weinstein prove he possesses these.” Todd’s roots were long and deep within the Oak Park community, which was primarily Jewish. Most of us knew Holocaust survivors—we had seen their tattoos. They were our neighbors, parents of our friends, and relatives. Their stories were not broadcast, and we knew few of the details. We didn’t have the vaguest idea about the horrors they had encountered. His interest in the Holocaust started in 1963 when he was called a "kike" at the Oak Park skating rink. Todd’s curiosity about that era later turned into a reality when he traveled to Washington D.C. in 1983 to hear the stories of numerous survivors who had been separated from family and friends. Surprisingly, Todd saw the parents of a childhood friend, David Wiener, there. He was invited to stay at their hotel, in their room, and hear their tortured testimonials. Todd has been studying the Holocaust since 1983 and photographed emerging Jewish life in Germany in 1995. He was invited by the German government to be an artist-in-residence. He then took a year (1995-1996) to capture the various commemorations around Germany celebrating the 50 years since the end of WWII and the liberation of the concentration camps, Todd’s show, “Darkness into Light: Reemergence of the Jewish Culture in Germany” was a solo photo project that continued to grow for the next six years. He also worked in Poland and Israel. While at Buchenwald, he photographed children of both survivors and perpetrators. Gallery of photographs by Todd Weinstein (below) This experience led to a project by Todd entitled “The 36 Unknown.” Todd photographed abstract images of faces he saw hiding in the shadows and light of varying locations from Cracow and Auschwitz. Thirty-six is a Talmudic reference to the Tzadikim (Hebrew for righteous ones). According to the Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) it is believed that the world requires a minimum of 36 righteous individuals to uphold humanity. Since 1999, “The 36” has been on exhibit in Detroit, New York, Vienna, and Germany. The exhibit contains nearly 70 of Todd’s photos, along with the work of other photographers, mentors, teachers, and friends who have inspired him. Each frame contains two images, and the viewer is left to compare, contrast, or contemplate the differences —simply put — juxtaposition. A one-time stroll around the exhibit is simply not enough! Upon entering the gallery, I was immediately drawn to the photo that sparked Todd’s career. It was from his photography class in 1968. He learned the technique of cropping from Miss K and his passion was cemented. This photo became the cover for brochure of Todd’s exhibit. The pictures are vibrant and superbly display the breadth and depth of Todd’s work over the past 50 years. Photography has taken him all over the globe and the viewer is privileged to enter his world. It is evident that Todd forged a path that was not easy and his persistence to learn and grow in this competitive field paid dividends beyond compare. Inspiration from his “Oak Park Crew” is saluted throughout the gallery. Pictures of childhood friends, family and memorabilia from past decades are highlighted as having played a role along Todd’s career path. Most of these friends are still nearby, but sadly, some passed away far too young. Fellow Oak Parkers Jeff Marx, Marty Lewis and Danny Miller all motivated Todd with their individual talents. Their legacy and memory are intact thanks to this exhibit. Jeff Marx and Marty Lewis played a key role in Todd’s life with their musical gifts. Todd photographed many of the CD covers for Jeff. He was a jazz musician who played the saxophone and there is a monitor at the exhibit honoring his craft. Marty was a record producer, engineer, and mixer. Todd displayed a photograph of Lewis with his upright bass on top of a building at the University of Michigan. Danny Miller was always energized when on stage. A picture of Danny on a motorcycle lingers from his youth. These friends will never be forgotten, and their memories are a blessing. Another inspirational figure in Todd’s life is Larry Ravitz, a childhood friend. A monitor shows an oil painting by Larry in full view, creating an image before our eyes. There are other original pieces of Larry’s work surrounding the display. The color schemes are brilliant. Memorabilia has its place in the gallery as well. The Jewish News is on display and provides insight into Todd’s early projects as well as his 2014 exhibit at The Holocaust Museum in Farmington Hills, Mich. There are also several books of Todd’s published photos which grace the show. His high school yearbook is there, along with a report card from Hebrew school to illustrate his journey. Todd’s exhibit is one of humility and gratitude — it’s a private tour of Todd’s professional life. The retrospective speaks volumes to each person whose influence nurtured Todd’s soul. The exhibit is dedicated to his grandfather, Joseph Sucan, who made the frames for his first photographs. Todd’s parents and family were extremely supportive throughout his journey. There is a section in the brochure Todd designed for the exhibit that gives special thanks —Todd has proudly proclaimed “Mom and Dad, I did it!” From Oak Park to New York and everywhere in between, Todd kept the enduring power of love and appreciation for everyone who helped him along the way. Judi Markowitz is a retired high school English teacher of 34 years. She primarily taught 12th grade and had the pleasure of her three sons gracing her classes. In addition, she taught debate, forensics, and Detroit film. Judi has four adult children and seven wonderful grandchildren. She is married to Jeffrey Markowitz, whom she met in high school. Judi grew up in Oak Park, Mich. which had a stellar school district, with excellent teachers. The city provided activities for all–and there were even sidewalks. Judi moved to Huntington Woods as an adult, which is a half mile from her childhood home. She wanted the same experience for her children as she had growing up, and Huntington Woods provided that. The View from Four Foot Two is Judi’s first book.