LChaim May 2016

MAY 2016

SD REP TURNS 40!

SAN DIEGO REPERTORY THEATRE CELEBRATES 40 YEARS IN SAN DIEGO

A WHIPPED CREAM LIFE Herb Alpert and Lani Hall serve sweet sounds

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L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • MAY 2016

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M ay 2 0 1 6 • w w w. l c h a i m m a g a z i n e .c o m

L’Chaim 10 A Thousand Words A pastoral romance for Shevous

COVER 14 SD Rep Turns 40 San Diego REPeratory theatre celebrates 40 STORY

30

years in San Diego

Food 22 Bollywood Style

Chicken Breast | Chettinad Curry & Cauliflower

Features 24 The BDS Movement in CA

Opponents move from campuses to state capitals

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26 The Sousa Mendez Story

Seniors 30 The Whipped Cream Life Herb Alpert and Lani Hall

32 Serving is Receiving

Taking care of San Diego’s seniors

36 A Conversation with Barbara Bry

Columns

6 My Comic Relief 8 Of the Book 37 Mazel & Mishagoss

PUBLISHERS Diane Benaroya & Laurie Miller EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Alanna Maya CREATIVE DIRECTOR Laurie Miller

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RANDOM RANTS l BY SALOMON MAYA

my

“Prince revolutionized music. He made it okay for kids to be unique, out of the box, quirky, weird … me.”

comic relief

I

was in high school and I was pissed.

Upset at the fact that I wasn’t graduating one year later. And why you may ask?

Well then I would be able to party like its 1999. Unfortunately I was class of 1998, and well, we didn’t have a catchy tune like that.

I wanted that to be our anthem, a symbol of our crossing into adulthood. No more high school dances or football games I couldn’t go to because they were on Friday nights and well of course … Shabbat.

One day, while going through our vinyl, I saw a smaller than usual record. Seven inch records (also called “45s”) are referred to by their playback speed of 45 rpm and their standard diameter of 7 inches. Because of their smaller size, 7 inch records have a fairly limited capacity. This is why they’re traditionally used for single releases.

The song on this single was “Little Red

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L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • MAY 2016

Corvette.”

I played it and it blew my mind.

Now of course “Little Red Corvette” starts off like most ‘80s tunes of that era.

A melodic synth goes high and low as a heartbeat like drum line echoes softly in the background. Then Prince starts singing. I guess I should have known by the way you parked your car sideways that it wouldn’t last see you’re the kinda person that believes in makin’ out once, love ‘em and leave ‘em fast.

Holy shit! Welcome to puberty! These lyrics weren’t your normal he likes a girl and she likes a boy lyrics. Oh no these lyrics were mom did you hear what this man said?

And mom would just change the channel on the radio type of lyrics. Prince was a visionary artist, and he evoked every sense of the word art. As we’re surrounded by

pseudo-artists today … the One Directions and Brittney Spears of the world, never will there ever be another Prince. For God’s sake he changed his name to a symbol and it stuck! I remember people just referred to him as The Artist … how rock n roll is that!

On April 21, 2016 the world lost that artist. Just as we were getting over the loss of Bowie, it seemed heaven needed another singer. I wrote this article the day Prince passed and had heard that his flight had to make an emergency landing a couple days prior. On that day I thought to myself, wow it would suck if Prince died. I never thought my premonition would come true. And now we sit here, one less artist in a world starving for art.

Prince revolutionized music. He made it okay for kids to be unique, out of the box, quirky, weird … me. If someone in high school bullied you for liking something the cool kids didn’t like, well you just pressed play on “1999,” “Purple Rain” or even “Little Red Corvette” and then suddenly you weren’t just okay … you were cool … because you listened to Prince.

And now he is at rest from whatever ailment caused him to depart this world way too soon. And it leaves this world to continue on, enduring his legacy of living each day as if it were the last. Because in his immortal words … the entire grieving world is now “gathered here today to get through this thing called life” without Prince.

SALOMON MAYA IS A LOCAL ACTOR AND PLAYWRIGHT. FOLLOW HIM ON TWITTER @SALOMAYA.

PHOTO BY NICOLAS GENIN, VIA FLICKR/CREATIVE COMMONS

Death of a Symbol

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TORAH l BY RABBI DANIEL BORTZ

of the

“Akiva thought to himself: If tiny drops of water - through continuous effort can penetrate this boulder, surely some Torah wisdom can penetrate my mind.”

book Bonfire Song

O

n May 25/26, Jewish communities worldwide will celebrate the holiday known as Lag Ba’omer, usually with bonfire and song. Where does it come from?

Approximately 2,000 years ago in the land of Israel, there lived a Jewish man named Akiva. Akiva worked for one of Israel’s richest men, Kalba Savua. Akiva labored wisely and honestly, with great alacrity, amassing much wealth for his boss and gaining much esteem in his eyes.

Kalba Savua had a daughter named Rachel who also took notice of Akiva’s great qualities. However, Rachel saw more in him, and asked that he explore Jewish studies. As much as he liked Rachel, he knew nothing of Judaism and didn’t believe he could ever conquer the vast ocean of Torah Wisdom, especially at the age of 40.

One afternoon, Akiva took a stroll in the forest and happened upon a small stream with a large boulder next to it.

A gentle but methodical drip of water was hitting the top of the rock, and had over the years made an indent in it.

Akiva thought to himself: If tiny drops of water - through continuous effort - can penetrate this boulder, surely some Torah wisdom can penetrate my mind.

Akiva and Rachel married, and he set out

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L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • MAY 2016

to learn. Starting with the Alef-Bet, Rabbi Akiva eventually became arguably the most outstanding Torah scholar in Jewish history, amassing 24,000 of the world’s greatest students. He attributed all of his students’ knowledge to his wife Rachel’s vision and encouragement.

Sadly, we are told that as wise as his students were, they didn’t practice proper respect to one another’s opinion, and passed away because of it. The day that this plague ceased and that we celebrate was on Lag Ba’omer. After this tragic episode, Rabbi Akiva brought together five outstanding scholars to pass on the Torah’s oral tradition, which would be transcribed into the monumental work of the Mishnah.

One of these five disciples was Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, author of the mystical foundational work of Kabbalah, the Zohar.

He was so dedicated to his teacher that he would risk his life to learn with Akiva even when imprisoned by the Romans, and himself had to flee persecution after criticizing the empire, hiding in a cave with his son for 13 years.

The last day of his life fell on Lag Ba’omer, and is recorded in the Zohar. A fire surrounded his home to block the unworthy, and surrounded by his closest disciples, Rabbi Shimon expounded on some of the

deepest secrets of Judaism. He was then buried in Meron, near Safed in northern Israel. More than half a million visitors visit his gravesite every year on Lag Ba’omer, often making bonfires to commemorate his last day.

Much of the Torah understanding we have today, including the Lag Ba’omer holiday, is thanks to a 40 year old farmer named Akiva who decided anything was possible. One letter, one word, one verse, one page at a time. Like a gentle drop on a rock, consistently working every moment to improve until you reach your goal.

On Lag Ba’omer, we learn from Akiva that that it’s never too late for us, and that we can accomplish anything we set our minds to.

We learn from his students the importance of loving one another and respecting each other. And we learn from Rabbi Shimon the deep and meaningful secrets Torah has to offer, illuminating our lives with morality and wisdom.

Happy Lag Ba’omer!

RABBI DANIEL BORTZ IS THE DIRECTOR OF JTEEN SAN DIEGO, JTEENSD.COM. FOR INFORMATION ON CLASSES, CONTACT HIM AT DANIELBORTZ@GMAIL.COM.

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L’CHAIM l BY SHOLEM ALEICHEM TRANSLATED BY CURT LEVIANT

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L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • MAY 2016

L’CHAIM

A THOUSAND

WORDS A PASTORAL ROMANCE FOR SHEVUOS:

A SHOLEM ALEICHEM STORY, TRANSLATED FOR L’CHAIM MAGAZINE BY CURT LEVIANT “Hurry, Buzie, hurry!” I tell Buzie a day before Shevuos, taking her by the hand as we quickly run uphill. She’s a year older than me, is Buzie, perhaps two, and together we’re not even twenty. “Time doesn’t stand still, little silly. First we have to cross this hill and a stream spanned by planks that we call the Bridge. And only then comes the true Paradise ! That’s where my estates begin.”

“Your estates?”

“I mean the meadow. A huge meadow that stretches on and on. It’s covered with a green blanket. Dotted with golden specks and sprinkled with scarlet buds. And how sweet it smells —the finest spices in the world. And there I have an endless forest.

And a little hill of my own where I sit. If I wish, I sit down. If I wish, I can rise up by means of the Holy Name and soar like an eagle above the clouds, over meadows and woods, over deserts and seas, until I come to the other side of the Hills of Darkness.”

“And from there,” Buzie interrupts me, “you walk for seven miles until you come to a little stream. You swim across it and count seven times seven…”

“Then a little old man with a long beard appears …”

“Who asks you: ‘What is your wish?’”

“And I say to him: ‘Bring me to the princess.’”

Buzie tears her hand from mine and begins to run up the hill. I run after her. She

doesn’t answer. She’s angry. She hates the princess. Buzie likes all my stories but not the one about the princess.

I had an older brother, Benny. He drowned. He left a water mill, a young widow, two horses, and a baby. The mill was abandoned, the horses sold, the widow remarried somewhere far away, and the baby was brought to us.

That was Buzie.

Everyone thinks of us as brother and sister. She calls my father Papa. My mother she calls Mama. And we live like a brother and a sister. And we love each other like a brother and a sister.

Like a brother and a sister? Then why is Buzie so shy with me?

One day the two of us were all alone in the house. It was getting dark. Father had gone to shul to say Kaddish for my brother Benny, and Mama had gone out for matches.

Buzie and I were huddled in a corner and I was telling her stories. Buzie loves when I tell her stories. Nice stories from cheder, stories of a thousand and one nights. She draws very close to me, her hand in mine.

“Tell me, Shimek, tell me more.”

Softly the night descends. Slowly the shadows climb up the walls; they tremble, creep on the ground, and disperse. We can barely see each other. But I feel her hand trembling, and I hear her little heart pounding, and I see her eyes shining in the dark. Suddenly, she tears her hand from

mine.

“What’s the matter, Buzie?”

“It’s not allowed.”

“What’s not allowed?”

“Holding hands.”

“Why? Who told you that?”

“I just know it myself.”

“Are we strangers? Aren’t we brother and sister?”

“Ah! If only we were brother and sister!”

Buzie declares slowly and in her words I hear the language of the Song of Songs: “Oh, would that you were my brother— why aren’t you my brother?”

It’s always like that. When I talk about Buzie, I recall the Song of Songs.

So where were we? Erev Shevuos. Buzie looks at me with her big wistful eyes and says: “Shimek! Look at that sky!”

“I see the sky. I feel the warm breeze. I hear the birds tweeting and soaring over our heads. That’s our sky, our breeze, our birds — everything is ours! Give me your hand, Buzie!”

No. She doesn’t give me her hand. She’s shy. Why is Buzie shy with me? Why is she blushing?

Buzie runs ahead and it seems to me she’s speaking to me in the language of the Song of Songs: “Come, my beloved, let us walk in the meadow. Let us see if the vine has flowered, if its blossoms have opened, if the pomegranates are in bloom.”

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11

L’CHAIM Just then we’re at the little plank-bridge.

The stream flows, the frogs croak, the boards of the plank-bridge shake and sway, and Buzie trembles.

“Oh, Buzie ... What are you scared of, little silly? I’ll hold you, and you—me. See? That’s it! That’s the way!”

Done with the little plank-bridge.

And since we have our arms around each other, we continue like this, the two of us alone through this Paradise. Buzie holds on to me very tightly. She doesn’t say a word.

But it seems she’s telling me in the language of the Song of Songs: “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.”

The meadow is broad and wide. It stretches on and on. It’s covered with a green blanket. Dotted with golden specks and sprinkled with scarlet buds. And the sweet smells—the finest spices in the world!

And we walk with our arms around each other, all alone, just the two of us in this Paradise.

“Shimek,” Buzie says to me and looks me straight in the eyes and draws even closer to me. “When will we begin to gather greens for Shevuos?”

“The day is long enough, little silly!” I tell her, and I feel I’m on fire. I don’t know where to look first: at the yarmulke of the blue sky or at the green blanket of the wide meadow.

Or should I look into Buzie’s big beautiful eyes, as deep as the sky and wistful as the night? A deep anxiety lies hidden in them, a silent sorrow. She carries a great pain in her heart. A resentment toward her mother who took a new husband and left her forever— as if she were a stranger.

In the house it’s forbidden to mention her mother’s name, as if Buzie never had a mother. My mother is her mother. My father, her father. And they love her as if she were their own child. They fret over her, they indulge her every whim. Buzie had said that she’d like to go gather greens for Shevuos with me (actually, my idea).

My parents are concerned our going alone outside of the shtetl to gather greens for Shevuos. I know what’s bothering them.

Perhaps twenty times my father tells me, and then my mother too, that there’s a little plank- bridge there beneath which runs a body of water—a stream, a stream, a stream…

Buzie and I have long forgotten the plankbridge, the water, the stream. We amble along over the wide expanse of meadow 12

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • MAY 2016

under the wide expanse of sky. We run across the green field, roll and tumble in the fragrant grass. We get up, then roll and tumble again and again, and we still haven’t begun to gather greens for Shevuos. I lead Buzie across the length and breadth of the meadow and brag about my estates.

“See these trees? See this sand? See that little hill?”

“Is this all yours?” Buzie asks me, and her eyes laugh.

It annoys me that she laughs. She always laughs at me. Offended, I turn away from her for a while. Buzie sees that I’m upset.

She comes to me, gazes right into my eyes, takes both of my hands in hers and says, “Shimek!” At once my anger flees and all is forgotten. And I take her by the hand and lead her to my little hill, where I always sit, every year. If I wish, I sit down. If I wish, I rise up by means of the Holy Name and soar like an eagle above the clouds, over meadows and woods, over deserts and seas…

There, on the little hill, we sit, Buzie and I (we still haven’t gathered any greens for Shevuos), telling stories. I tell her about what will happen some day when both of us are grown up and married. Then, by means of the Holy Name, we’ll rise up above the clouds and travel all over the world. First, we’ll go to all the lands that Alexander the Great visited. And then to the Land of Israel.

There we’ll roam on all the mountains of spices and see all the vineyards. We’ll stuff our pockets with carobs and figs, olives and dates, and then we’ll fly even farther and farther. And everywhere we go we’ll play little tricks on people, because after all no one will be able to see us.

“No one?” Buzie asks, seizing my hands.

“No one! We’ll see everyone, but no one will see us.”

“In that case, Shimek, do me a favor.”

But I know what she wants even before she speaks. She wants us to fly to the place where her mother remarried. To play a trick on her stepfather.

“Why not?” I tell Buzie. “With pleasure.

You can depend on me, little silly. I’ll fix them so they’ll never forget me.”

“Not them, but him. Only him,” Buzie pleads with me. But I begin to seethe and fume. The nerve of the woman! Getting married to another man and then taking off to the blazes knows where and abandoning a baby and not even writing a letter! Is such

a thing possible? Did you ever hear of such an outrage?

But then I regret my angry outburst, and I eat my heart out. But it’s too late. Buzie has hidden her face in her hands. Is she crying?

I’m so furious at myself I could tear myself in pieces. Why did I have to touch her raw nerve—her mother? I call myself all kinds of nasty names. I draw nearer to her. I take her hand. “Buzie. Buzie!” And I want to tell her in the words of the Song of Songs: “Let me see thy countenance – show me your face; and let me hear thy voice—say something to me.”

Suddenly—how did Mama and Father get here?

Father’s silver-rimmed glasses glint from the distance. The silver threads of his silver beard are blowing in the breeze. And from afar Mama is waving her kerchief to us.

Both of us, Buzie and 1, remained sitting like statues. What are our parents doing here?

They have come here to find out how we are. To see if, God forbid, something awful might have befallen us. After all—a little plank-bridge, a body of water, a stream, a stream, a stream…

Strange parents!

“And where are your greens?’

“What greens?’

“The greens you were supposed to gather for Shevuos.”

Buzie and I, look at each other. . I understand her eyes. I know her glance.

And it seems to me that I hear her saying in the language of the Song of Songs: “Oh, would that you were my brother – how I wish you were my brother! Why aren’t you my brother?”

“Well, somehow or other we’ll manage to get some greens for Shevuos,” Father says with a little smile and the silver threads of his silver beard shine in the bright rays of the golden sun. “Main thing, thank God, the children are well and nothing happened to them, God forbid.”

“God be praised,” Mama answers, wiping her red, perspiring face with her kerchief.

And both of them are delighted, literally beaming with joy.

What strange parents!

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COVER STORY l BY NIKKI SALVO

40 YEARS PHOTOS COURTESY SAN DIEGO REPERATORY THEATRE

OF REPRESENTING DIVERSITY

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L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • MAY 2016

COVER STORY

T

he San Diego Repertory Theatre (The REP) is dedicated to bringing creativity and culture to audiences.

Now celebrating its 40th year, The REP is more innovative than ever. In addition to its regular season of productions, special events, community partnerships and series like Amigos del REP, Kuumba Fest and the Lipinsky Family San Diego Jewish Arts Festival have made the REP a destination for all ages.

As downtown San Diego’s resident professional theatre, The REP operates year-round with shows on three stages and in its art galleries, producing more than 300 events and performances a year at the Lyceum Theatre, located in Horton Plaza.

The $3.2 million renovation underway at The REP, set for completion in January 2017, is just one of the elements of the theater’s exciting future. In its upcoming 41st season, The REP will host a number of features, among them a Pulitzer Prize-winning play, four world premieres and five productions that celebrate diversity and inclusion.

The REP is currently in its spring season, and its latest piece, “Rapture, Blister, Burn,” a Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy written

by Gina Gionfriddo and directed by REP cofounder Sam Woodhouse, running through May 15, is one example of the theatre’s reputation for representing multiple races, genders, and religions.

Engaging our city’s diverse populace is clearly at the heart of everything at The REP, and its goal is to “promote a more inclusive community through vivid works that nourish progressive political and social values and celebrate the multiple voices of our region,” according to its mission statement.

Co-founder and Artistic Director Sam Woodhouse says in a press release, “We are devoted to and provoked by new work that speaks directly to and about the diverse peoples of our Southern California bi-national region, gives voice to the underrepresented and uses comedy to promote an enlightened, progressive and political dialogue.”

Illustrating this beautifully is the recent announcement that playwright Herbert Siguenza will be working with The REP through June 2019 as part of the National Playwright Residency Program. Siguenza is an accomplished actor and a founding member of the popular Latino ensemble Culture Clash. He is also the creator of REP favorites “Steal Heaven,” “El Henry,” and “A Weekend with Pablo Picasso,” wherein he plays Picasso himself and paints onstage in the style of the great Spanish artist. His next

“We are devoted to and provoked by new work … that gives voice to the underrepresented and uses comedy to promote an enlightened, progressive and political dialogue,” Woodhouse says. original play, “Manifest Destinitis,” will open The REP’s 41st season in September, and an award from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will support his residency as he continues to collaborate with the theatre and further establish himself as a playwright.

“Herbert is the ideal playwright for us because we share many passions, commitments, agendas and dreams,” Woodhouse went on to say in the statement.

“We know Herbert’s work very well and

Herbert knows our staff, audience, region and artistic collaborators very well. Our top priority will be to assist and support Herbert in the development of his own new work, while inviting [him] to imbed himself in our theatre and our city. We want him to be a full-fledged member of our family.”

Siguenza himself describes the REP as one big family, and says he is happy to be back. He spent two years there, from 2012-13, during his mentorship under Woodhouse, and says, “It will feel like home again.” He says he appreciates the theatre’s mission and says it understands the importance of doing Latino plays in a city so close to the Mexican border. “It’s a responsibility, not tokenism,” he says. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

He is excited to return to The REP, to “... land and pick up where [he] left off” with his production of “Manifest Destinitis,” an adaptation of Moliere’s “The Imaginary Invalid.” He says his new play, “...takes a look at early California when [it] was Mexican territory, before California became part of the United States.” He explains how, when California, among other states, was signed off to the U.S. at the end of the Mexican-American War as part of the Guadalupe Treaty, it changed the political climate and power structure of the area.

“I like to show Latinos in another context. These were Latinos that were already here, already in power, and were getting threatened by the foreigner.”

These concepts, he notes, are relevant to today’s political discussions where race and immigration are concerned, and his use of political satire allows him to shed light on these issues.

“It’s just a cycle,” Siguenza says. When he wrote “El Henry” (produced by the REP in 2014), an adaptation of “Henry the IV,” set in San Diego in 2035, he wanted to examine the other side of that debate, depicting a society in which there are no more “Gringos,” or Americans. Of this imagined future, Siguenza says, “In a sense, California, and these territories that we once lost, in my mind, will be reclaimed eventually, with WWW.LCHAIMMAGAZINE.COM

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COVER STORY

Jai Rodriguez (center) stars in “In the Heights” in 2013.

the sheer numbers of Latinos populating these states. Demographically, the West will be Latino in 50 years, and I find that really fascinating, while other people find it horrifying. I love that dichotomy.”

Siguenza calls political satire is his “forte,” and says he believes everything a society goes through is based on historic events that affect the future; a “reaction” to past situations in history. He utilizes these themes in all of his plays -- he likes to “reverse the shoe,” as he puts it, so “people can see the other side of things.”

He considers Latinos the “audience of the future” and feels a strong need to relate to them. He points out that the youth today may find theatre “boring” and he would like to be a part of bridging the gap, involving new audiences and helping make theatergoing a more desirable and exhilarating experience for the younger generation, Latino youth included.

His current partnership with the theatre, 16

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • MAY 2016

Amigos del REP, consists of a series of readings, held once a month, allowing Latino actors to get training and showcase their talent, first-time directors to gain experience, as well as providing exposure for the works. He began Amigos, he says, “... to show the community, and San Diego REP, that there [are] a lot of good plays out there, written by Latinos, with Latinos starring in [them].” He takes pride in the fact that these readings have been a hit with audiences, and that some of the readings have been picked up as plays produced by The REP because they had great impact as a reading.

Siguenza says he is one of the writers that has benefitted from the program and says, ”It has been a win-win situation for the community, for actors, and for the San Diego REP...It is one of the most gratifying projects I have worked on.” He points out that “...it’s really the people’s enthusiasm and participation that has made it happen.”

Audience engagement, and gaining new

audience members, is a huge focus of The REP, and a big part of Larry Alldredge’s job as Managing Director. A longtime subscriber, he was attracted to employment at the theatre for its progressive values. He refers to Woodhouse as “a great partner,” and comments on the director’s ability to “keep it fresh” 40 years into The REP’s existence. He points to Woodhouse’s willingness to take on challenges such as “directing in the round,” as he does in “Rapture, Blister, Burn,” and calls him not only “...one of the best directors in town,” but the ultimate decision-maker with regard to what appears onstage at The REP, one who “sets the vision” and is known nationwide for running an inclusive theatre. In fact, the organization is the second most prolific in the country when it comes to production of Latino playwrights (#1 is a strictly Latinobased theatre).

One of the ways The REP has been able to connect with the local community

COVER STORY

and beyond is through its production of “HONKY,” a comedy that ran in a previous season, that Alldredge describes as an avenue for conversation about racial issues, its theme is the essence of “why it’s hard to talk about race,” and he mentions using productions like these to open up the discussion for how to solve “some of the equality problems” the public faces. Plays such as these are what Alldredge calls The REP’s “signature pieces.”

“HONKY” received national attention when it was produced for television with “Onstage in America” and broadcast on PBS. Exposure like this is what helps encourage theatergoing as a popular pastime and reinforces the accessible nature of what is developed at The REP. One of Woodhouse’s intentions when he founded the theatre in 1976, says Alldredge, was to produce contemporary works by living artists. At that time many theatres were doing shows by non-living playwrights; Woodhouse made it a priority to be progressive, to make the experience of seeing plays fun and exciting.

In planning for the future, Alldredge mentions Siguenza’s upcoming Artist in Residence position and says that “... providing that creative space for one of the country’s preeminent artists has been a dream of [The REP’s].” He says the hope is for a continuation of Latino playwrights and artists to have an outlet for their work and give the community exposure to it.

Another source for enticing new audience members can come from supplementary programs, what The REP calls “engagement events,” like REP Your Pride Night, or Chai Night at The REP (sponsored by L’CHAIM Magazine), that involve patrons in supporting organizations like the San Diego Human Dignity Foundation and the Jewish National Fund. These typically take place before or after a performance and tickets sold benefit the various local charities, and are a way to educate and entertain at the same time.

Dajahn Blevins, who runs the REP’s Kuumba Fest, likes to use the term “edutainment” when describing his work and contribution to the theatre. Kuumba Fest, held every February, is San Diego’s

longest running and premier celebration of African-American expression, culture and heritage. Blevins has produced the event for the past 25 years, and the last four years have seen the program venture out into the community, with performances in local parks.

The Fest is a three-day show that includes African dance, a youth play, a speech competition and the comedy show “Late Night Live @ the Lyceum.” Showcasing African-American playwrights in the festival has given Blevins a chance to provide role models for its young members.

The idea behind Kuumba Fest is connecting young people to positive African-American images and teaching behavior modification to at-risk kids through performing arts. A role is created based on the actual behavior or competency needed, Blevins explains, and through that portrayal, the student will learn the desired behavior, or value.

Most of the participants, urban youth displaying early self-destructive behaviors, have been referred to the program through the County of San Diego, city schools and the police department, when traditional interventions have proven ineffective.

“Whatever their issues [are], we … work it out through theatre,” says Blevins.

Blevins says all Kuumba Fest’s kids have turned their lives around as a result of the program and have been able to avoid gang activity and teen pregnancy, improve their grades and get internships and jobs. He estimates that 90% of them have ended up mentoring new members.

He is proud to say that he is now working with the third generation of his show’s players (when participants move on, they are responsible for replacing themselves with someone else who wants to join), and enjoys “utilizing creativity” (the very definition of the Swahili word “kuumba,” one of the principles of Kwanzaa) to make a difference.

Blevins credits Woodhouse for helping make this program a success. “Sam’s vision is empowerment, and he uses the arts to instigate change,” he says. “Never has there been a director to open up his

CHAI NIGHT AT THE REP!

L’CHAIM Magazine is proud to be the sponsor of Chai Nights at the San Diego Repertory Theatre.

Chai Nights connect non-profit organizations, L’CHAIM and the Rep. On Chai night, 25% of ticket sales to that night’s show are donated to a designated non-profit. Ticketholders are also invited to the post-show hangout on stage, complete with kosher wine and light refreshments.

Chai Night began in February and paired “Outside Mullingar” with Jewish Family Service. In March, The Salk Institute was matched with “Bucky.”

This month, on May 11, L’CHAIM is sponsoring a performance of “Rapture, Blister, Burn” where Chai Night proceeds will go toward the Jewish National Fund. Please join us, along with JNF and the cast and crew.

To learn more about Chai Nights or to partner with L’CHAIM and the San Diego REP, email Diane Benaroya at dianeb@lchaimmagazine.com.

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COVER STORY

Sam Woodhouse (right) in rehearsal

[theatre] to the inner city and has stuck with it annually.” According to Blevins, there are now 18 Kuumba Fests throughout the country modeling themselves after The REP’s, all due to Woodhouse and his commitment to supporting the goals of the program.

Woodhouse “really pushes” the idea that “there’s really only one race -- the human race,” as Blevins puts it, adding, “That made him so revolutionary in this city.”

It is clear this is one of the central principles through which The REP operates, and the Lipinsky Family San Diego Jewish Arts Festival is a fine example of that.

“The essence of the Festival is to celebrate Jewish history, thought, and traditions expressed in art, and to encourage the development of more … Jewish work,” Todd Salovey, Associate Artistic Director, and Artistic Director of the Festival, says.

“We love taking accomplished artists of all backgrounds and encouraging them to explore Jewish themes.”

Running from May 27 to July 17, this year will be the Festival’s 23rd in existence. The Fest started with one day of performances, and has grown tremendously over that time; this year features three full productions and 12 different events at eight venues.

Highlights include Hershey Felder starring in “Maestro” at The REP, Rosina 18

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • MAY 2016

Reynolds in “Golda’s Balcony” (which Salovey directs) at New Village Arts and Teatro Punto y Coma’s World Premiere of “Gridlock,” written by one of Siguenza’s AMIGOS Core Leader and L’CHAIM columnists, Salomon Maya.

The Festival also features such annual touchstones as the Klezmer Summit and “Women of Valor.” This year the Klezmer Summit will spotlight a mingling of Jewish music and Bluegrass called “Jewgrass.”

Salovey’s play for The REP’s upcoming season, “The Dybbuk Wedding for Hannah and Sam” began as part of The Festival.

“Gridlock” started out as a staged reading in last year’s Jewish Arts Festival, and will be fully performed this year, he says. (Be sure to check out sdrep.org for the entire program.)

Salovey says he loves seeing the energy, pride and excited conversation in all the venues after the shows. “It’s thrilling to provide so much joy,” he says.

He is pleased to be a part of an organization that is constantly developing new work, and says that The REP has commissioned more than 50 World Premieres.

“I think of the Festival as a place that nurtures artists to explore meaningful Jewish themes in high quality art,” says Salovey. “I am so proud that it’s been the birthplace of so much great art, theatre,

music and dance. I am also proud that it has birthed so many flourishing collaborations across cultures, styles and forms.”

The REP’s upcoming Ruby Reunion will celebrate 40 years of these accomplishments.

Alldredge describes the upcoming anniversary party as a “birthday bash,” unlike a traditional sit-down fundraising gala. It will be held June 12 in the Shiley Special Events Suite at the San Diego Central Library downtown, where guests will gather to experience live music by Gilbert Castellanos and Friends, pop-up performances, food and drink from local restaurants and much more. The event will recognize the accomplishments of The REP and pay tribute to Sam Woodhouse, the extraordinary man behind it all.

NIKKI SALVO IS FREELANCE WRITER WHO HAS HAD HER WORK PUBLISHED IN NUMEROUS LOCAL MAGAZINES. SHE HOLDS A B.A. IN JOURNALISM FROM SDSU. SHE ALSO WORKS FULLTIME AT THE CLINIQUE COUNTER AT BLOOMINGDALE’S FASHION VALLEY AND DOES FREELANCE MAKEUP ARTISTRY. SHE LIVES IN THE EAST VILLAGE WITH HER BOYFRIEND AND THEIR 7 MONTHOLD SON, JUDE. SHE CAN BE REACHED AT NICHOLE.SALVO@GMAIL.COM.

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BADASS KOSHER l BY MICHAEL GARDINER

Bollywood Style

CHICKEN BREAST | CHETTINAD CURRY | ROAST CAULIFLOWER

F

or many Jews the term “Diaspora” brings to mind images of the Golden Age in Spain and subsequent expulsion following the Alhambra Decree of 1492, the pogroms of Eastern Europe and the establishment of vibrant communities in the United States. India is definitely not the first place that comes to mind for most. And yet Jews have been on the sub-continent for a very long time.

The earliest wave of Jewish immigration to India was to the city of Cochin, Kerala, in the South of India. Some date that first wave back to 562 BCE though other accounts place it in 70 CE following the fall 22

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • MAY 2016

of the Second Temple. A separate group of Indian Jews, the Bene Israel, are said to have descended from one of the Lost Tribes of Israel. Another group of Indian Jews emigrated from Baghdad. And there were various other waves of Jewish immigration to India.

Southern India was a significant focus of Jewish immigration. In addition to the Cochin Jews, British traders of Spanish and Portuguese descent settled in Madras (now called Chennai). They arrived in the 17th Century as traders and rose to prominence in business. Once a thriving population there are now, supposedly, only two Jews

left in Chennai.

Indeed, most of the Jews extent in India in 1948 emigrated to Israel or the United States. Ironically, in the late 20th Century two vestigial groups of Indian Jews – the Bnai Menashe and Bene Ephraim – returned to the practice of Judaism after centuries, if not millennia in the wilderness. Even with them the numbers are small.

Indeed, on a recent trip to Cochin, Kerala my parents found the Paradesi Synagogue.

It is the only “functioning” Synagogue amongst the six remaining such buildings.

Upon arrival they were told by one of the Synagogue’s caretakers that there were only five remaining Jews in Cochin. With my

BADASS KOSHER parents and a British tourist couple that still would have been insufficient to constitute a minion.

One significant difference between the experience of Indian Jews and that of Jews elsewhere in the diaspora is the relative lack of anti-Semitism to which Indian Jews were subjected at the hands of the majority population Hindus. Perhaps as a result of this Indian Jews have historically engaged in a fair amount of cultural assimilation.

The Bene Israel, for example, were barely recognizable as Jews when they were “discovered” by David Rahabi, a Cochin Jew, in the 18th or 19th Century.

While practicing Indian Jews, of course, kept kosher, that may have been less of a separator in India than elsewhere. After all, vegetarianism is prevalent amongst Indians and the many Hindus do not eat pork. With that in mind, many of Chennai’s Jews might well have eaten a meal with a flavor profile much like the following Chettinad-based dish.

Cooking the chicken breast sous vide gives it a profound juiciness. A quick sear after the sous vide offers textural contrast and caramelization. However there is nothing wrong with roasting the chicken breast. Either way, perhaps the dish will call to mind a different image of the diaspora in the future.

7 arbol (or other similar) dried red chilies 4 cloves garlic 1 cup coconut milk plus an additional ½ cup if desired

FOR THE CHETTINAD CURRY

1 - 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil (or other neutral oil) 10 curry leaves (or 2 tablespoons dried ground) 1 large onion, diced 1 large tomato, diced ½ teaspoon ground turmeric ½ teaspoon red chili (or cayenne pepper) Salt to taste ½ teaspoon sugar

FOR THE CAULIFLOWER

2 tablespoons olive oil 1 teaspoon coriander seeds 1 teaspoon cumin seeds 1 teaspoon Madras curry powder 1 teaspoon turmeric powder 1 large head cauliflower, cored, broken into 1-inch florets Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE GARNISH

4 garlic chives (optional)

CHICKEN BREAST | CHETTINAD CURRY | ROAST CAULIFLOWER Serves 4

FOR THE CHICKEN

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder 2 teaspoons garam masala 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder 1 teaspoon Kosher salt 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon red vinegar 2 tablespoons grapeseed (or other neutral) oil 1 pound boneless Chicken thigh

FOR THE SPICE PATE FOR THE CURRY

1 tablespoon coriander seeds 1 teaspoon fennel seeds 1 teaspoon cumin seeds ½ teaspoon whole peppercorns 4 cloves A 3 inch piece of cinnamon 1 whole star anise

1. MAKE THE CHICKEN MARINADE.

Preheat your sous vide setup (if using) to 145° Fahrenheit. If roasting, preheat your oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Combine all of the chicken ingredients except the chicken in a mixing bowl and mix thoroughly. Place the chicken in the marinade and, using your hands, mix the marinade with the chicken to thoroughly coat the later.

2. IF COOKING THE CHICKEN SOUS VIDE.

Place the marinated chicken in food grade plastic bags, and vacuum to close using the pulse setting of your vacuum. Sous vide the chicken breasts for two hours at 145° Fahrenheit.

for the spice paste one by one, until fragrant.

Let cool, then transfer to a spice grinder and grind to a powder. Add the powder along with the garlic and coconut milk to the bowl of a Vitamix or other high speed blender (or a food processor) and process to a smooth, wet paste.

5. MAKE THE CHETTINAD CURRY.

Work on the curry and the cauliflower simultaneously. Place the oil in a pan over a medium heat. When hot, add the curry leaves and fry for about 30 seconds. Add the diced onion and continue cooking until they start to brown, fry together for about 5 - 7 minutes, until the onion starts to brown around the edges. Add the tomatoes and sauté for a few more minutes, until the tomatoes have softened. Add the ground spice paste, turmeric, chili powder and sugar and continue cooking until the raw smell from the spices disappears, about another four to five minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning by adding salt, sugar or both. Strain the curry through a fine mesh sieve.

6. SEAR THE CHICKEN.

If you cooked the chicken sous vide and you would like a caramelized surface, remove the breasts from a bag and sear them on the presentation side.

7. MAKE THE CAULIFLOWER.

Meanwhile, Stir oil, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, curry, and turmeric in a large bowl to combine. Add cauliflower and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat cauliflower evenly. Arrange in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet. Roast until cauliflower is brown around edges and crisp-tender, 10–15 minutes.

8. MAKE THE GARNISH.

Cut the garlic chives leaving the bulb and 2-3 inches of stem. Blanch them in boiling water.

9. PLATE THE DISH.

3. IF ROASTING THE CHICKEN

Remove the chicken from the marinade and roast it in the oven for or 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken breasts. When done, boost the temperature to 450° Fahrenheit.

4. MAKE THE SPICE PASTE.

Slice the chicken breasts on the bias into approximately ½ inch chunks. Spoon some of the curry sauce down one side of the plate. Fan three chunks of chicken out over the top of the plate and drape a garlic chive over them. Arrange 2-3 florets in a tight grouping at the bottom of the plate.

In a hot heavy pan, toast the whole spices WWW.LCHAIMMAGAZINE.COM

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The California State Capitol in Sacramento.

CALIFORNIA IS NEXT BDS opponents move from campuses to state capitols

C

lose observers of the anti-Israel Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement have long kept a weather eye on California. But that attention has mostly focused on university campuses, including the prominent 10-school University of California system.

Now, the Golden State is the latest 24

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • MAY 2016

battleground in a nationwide effort to draft and pass anti-BDS laws in U.S. state capitols, and pro-Israel advocates hope that success on the state-government level will curb the boycott movement’s momentum on campus.

At a Los Angeles conference on fighting BDS that was hosted earlier this month by the pro-Israel education group StandWithUs,

California Assemblyman Travis Allen had a message for the movement’s proponents: “Boycotting a trade partner of ours doesn’t make sense.”

A Republican from Huntington Beach, Allen has styled himself as an early adopter of a trend now sweeping state legislatures to bar companies that boycott Israel from

PHOTO COURTESY STEVEN PAVLOV VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

FEATURE STORY l BY EITAN AROM | jns.org

FEATURE STORY

contracting with state governments. That trend inspired not one, but two bills that have been introduced in the California Assembly since January, the first by Allen and another by Assemblyman Richard Bloom, a Santa Monica Democrat.

Allen has since become a co-author of Bloom’s bill—which, unlike Allen’s similar measure, enjoys the support of the California Jewish Legislative Caucus.

Bloom’s measure, Assembly Bill (AB) 2844, won approval on April 12 from the Accountability and Administrative Review Committee, the first of two legislative committees set to review it.

“I am very pleased that others have now joined in support of the effort, and it looks like we will now get a substantive law that will affirmatively state that California won’t support the boycott of Israel,” Allen said in an interview.

The bill was not without its opponents.

Cristina Garcia, a Democrat from southeastern Los Angeles County who chairs the accountability committee, recommended rejecting the measure.

But the support of the committee’s three Republicans put the bill over the top, and it passed in a 5-1 vote, with three Democrats abstaining.

“With unanimous Republican support, I am extremely confident that the current efforts to pass AB 2844 will be successful,” Allen said.

Allen has touted the wide and diverse support for legislative efforts to combat BDS, including from members of Congress and Israeli Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein.

As calls to alienate Israel or its government have grown louder, anti-boycott activists have looked to state capitols to provide businesses with the political cover to reject those calls.

In addition to the state contractor bill, Allen authored another piece of legislation that would prevent state pension funds— worth hundreds of billions of dollars—from investing in companies that boycott Israel.

If California passes any of the bills, it would become the eighth U.S. state to formally legislate against BDS, according to Peggy Shapiro, the Midwest director

for StandWithUs. So far, Illinois, South Carolina, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Arizona, and Florida have passed such laws, she said. Florida and Arizona have passed laws applying both to contractors and state pension funds, while the other states have done one or the other.

State legislation has become an increasingly important part of the antiBDS arsenal, Shapiro said. StandWithUs has found “smart, willing, cooperative partners” in state capitols, working “hand in glove, reaching out to legislators, educating them about the destructive goals of BDS,” she said.

Pro-Israel groups started advocating for such legislation after the European Union (EU) began discussing labeling laws for products from Judea and Samaria. Last November, the EU decided to make such labels mandatory for some goods, removing their “Made in Israel” labels.

The increasing popularity of legislative tactics to fight BDS has corresponded with a somewhat disappointing year for campus advocates of Israeli government policy, as student resolutions seen as unfavorable have passed at an increasing number of schools.

In the past, the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law (LDB), a group dedicated to protecting Jewish civil and human rights, was able to keep a list of campuses where pro-BDS resolutions were likely to crop up.

“We’re now at the point where, sad to say, the BDS movement has saturated the country to the extent that it is no longer so predictable—you can no longer focus on a discrete number of campuses,” LDB President Kenneth L. Marcus said at the StandWithUs conference.

Part of the idea behind moving the battleground to state legislatures is to find more favorable turf for the anti-BDS message, said pro-Israel activist Noah Pollak, executive director of the Emergency Committee for Israel, who has supported the nationwide legislative effort.

“You don’t want to fight on your enemy’s terrain,” Pollak said, speaking alongside Assemblyman Allen at the conference. The

“enemy,” he said, “picked out campuses for a reason.”

Victories in state legislatures could subsequently spread to college campuses, said Pollak.

According to Pollak, legislating against BDS tells its proponents, “While you were doing your campus antics, the grownups were in the state legislatures passing laws that make your cause improbable.”

The laws are meant to dent the morale of BDS advocates, who enjoy a number of advantages on campus, he said.

Among those advantages, the Palestinian narrative of Israeli “oppression” and “racism” holds a certain intrinsic pull for some minority communities, allowing groups like Students for Justice in Palestine to build diverse coalitions around their cause.

Roz Rothstein, the CEO of StandWithUs, admitted that when it comes to building diverse coalitions, “we’re very bad at that.”

“The other side is doing it to a fault— that’s all they do,” she said.

According to Estee Chandler, the founder of the Los Angeles chapter of the pro-BDS organization Jewish Voice for Peace, the anti-BDS bills are unconstitutional and part of a sustained effort to shield Israel from being held accountable for decades of “occupation” and “human rights abuses.”

She calls the bills a “misleading attempt to squelch the BDS movement, which has only grown exponentially in spite of years of efforts to oppose it both on and off of college and university campuses.”

Chagrined by the state of play among student governments, some in the anti-BDS camp are hoping one group of allies—state legislators—will make the diverse coalition on the other side obsolete.

Besides, the bills have the advantage of putting Jewish organizations in a position where they don’t normally find themselves: on the offensive.

“We’re always on the defensive; we’re always responding to pro-BDS activists,” said Jacob Millner, a senior analyst at The Israel Project, a non-partisan policy and education group. “This is something we can do where we can be proactive.”

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FEATURE STORY l BY KAREN MCDONOUGH l jns.org

DID YOU HEAR THE ONE ABOUT...

HOW A SOUTHERN BAPTIST AND A PORTUGUESE HOLOCAUST HERO CAME TOGETHER

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L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • MAY 2016

FEATURE STORY

O

n the surface, it seems unlikely that an American composer—let alone a Southern Baptist from Alabama — would write a musical treatment about a largely unknown Holocaust hero.

But for musical composer Neely Bruce, creating an oratorio depicting the life of Aristides de Sousa Mendes, a Portuguese diplomat who rescued thousands of Jews from the Nazis during World War II, was a dive into history, politics, and musical exploration.

Bruce, who was raised a Southern Baptist, considered converting to Judaism after a cousin married a Jew, and he was further exposed to the culture and theology.

Though he didn’t, his strong interest in Judaism remained.

What pulled him to the project though was the political backstory. “This wasn’t just one man doing a good thing. He was defying his government, which was not on the right side of history,” Bruce said. Some of Bruce’s previous work includes a Bill of Rights musical and a Bubonic Plague rock opera.

RIGHTEOUS AMONG THE NATIONS New York City’s Center for Jewish History is hosting a Sousa Mendes exhibition, “Portugal, The Last Hope: Sousa Mendes’ Visas for Freedom,” from April 7-Sept. 9, 2016. It’s likely that many who visit will learn about this unsung Holocaust hero for the first time, despite his recognition by Yad Vashem — the State of Israel’s official Holocaust memorial and research institute — as “Righteous Among the Nations,” the highest Israeli honor given to non-Jews who stood up to Nazi genocide. In fact, Sousa Mendes saved far more people than Oskar Schindler, the German factory owner who rescued 1,200 Jews by employing them in his factory, and whose story is depicted in Steven Spielberg’s movie Schindler’s List.

Sousa Mendes was Catholic, but a descendant of the “conversos” — Jews who were forced to convert to Christianity some 500 years earlier during the Spanish

Inquisition. He was the Portuguese consul stationed in Bordeaux, France, with his wife and 12 children at the outbreak of World War II. With Hitler’s invasion of France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands in May 1940, thousands of Jewish refugees were forced to flee south, escaping the Nazi march. Their last hope was going through Portugal. That June, Sousa Mendes issued thousands of lifesaving visas to Jewish and non-Jewish refugees against his government’s directive, dubbed “Circular 14,” which made it illegal for Holocaust refugees to pass through Portugal. For his heroic act, Sousa Mendes was harshly punished by his government.

His story is the subject of the documentary film Disobedience: The Sousa Mendes Story, a book written by one of his sons, and Bruce’s oratorio, Circular 14: The Apotheosis of Aristides, which recently premiered at Los Angeles’s American Jewish University and will be performed at other locations in the United States. Sousa Mendes Foundation President Olivia Mattis, a Ph.D. musicologist and Bruce’s colleague, commissioned the oratorio marking the 50th anniversary of the “Righteous” designation. “[Presenting history through music] is an effective way to capture audiences who might not otherwise have heard the story,” Mattis said.

ESCAPING THE NAZIS Daniel Matuzewitz was 7 years old in Brussels when the Nazis invaded in 1940.

His family left by train while his father, who was in the leather business, stayed behind to pay off his debts. The family planned to rendezvous in Paris, but when that city was bombed on June 3, the ensuing chaos made meeting up difficult. Eventually, the family reunited and took a train to Bordeaux, France, where Daniel’s father met Rabbi Chaim Kruger, a Polish Jew who migrated to Brussels in the 1920s. He, too, was trying to flee with his wife and five children.

Kruger told the Matuzewitzs to go to the Portuguese Consulate for the required visa

to leave.

Only a month earlier in Bordeaux, Kruger met Sousa Mendes, who gave the rabbi and his family safe refuge inside the consul’s personal living quarters, and the two forged a friendship.

By the time the Matuzewitzs got to the Consulate, thousands of refugees amassed outside, spilling over into a makeshift tent city in the nearby Parc des Quinconces. The refugees needed three visas—a French exit visa, a destination visa (the Portuguese visa Sousa Mendes provided), and a Spanish transit visa to pass through that country.

Sousa Mendes was faced with the heartwrenching moral dilemma of obeying his country’s law or helping desperate refugees destined for death. In a June 13, 1940 letter, Sousa Mendes wrote that the situation in Bordeaux was “horrible,” and he was “in bed suffering a nervous breakdown,” Mattis said. Sometime around this date, he decided to save them all and issued thousands of visas. But when the refugees got to the French/Spanish border on June 21, Spanish authorities refused to let them enter, creating a huge bottleneck. Sousa Mendes arrived there, and after arguing with the border guards, he lifted the gate himself allowing the people to cross. The crossings went on until the end of June, when the border was sealed.

The Matuzewitzs then took a train to the Portuguese border. Upon arrival, Portuguese officials decided which Jews would be allowed to sail to other countries and which ones had to stay, assigned to “fixed residences” in certain villages. In these temporary quarters, their passports were taken, they were issued identification cards and they were barred from leaving.

Eventually, by 1942, all of the refugees got passage out.

Among the lucky ones, the Matuzewitzs were permitted to sail to Brazil, where they stayed for a year before arriving in the U.S. in 1941. Upon entering, their family name was Americanized and shortened to Mattis.

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FEATURE STORY

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE SOUSA MENDES FOUNDATION

A performance of Neely Bruce’s oratorio, “Circular 14: The Apotheosis of Aristides,” named after Aristides de Sousa Mendes’s issuing of thousands of lifesaving visas to Jewish and non-Jewish refugees against the Portuguese government’s “Circular 14,” which made it illegal for Holocaust refugees to pass through Portugal.

SEVERELY PUNISHED While researching Sousa Mendes’ story for his oratorio, Bruce learned the Portuguese dictator António de Oliveira Salazar, in power at that time, had a personal vendetta against Sousa Mendes and condemned him harsher the Portuguese legal system. The diplomat was fined $10,000, a relatively minor punishment, for violating Circular 14.

But Salazar stripped him of his job and his social stature, and he was prevented from earning a living to support his children, who were eventually sent away to live with various Catholic families in North America.

(Sousa Mendes had 14 kids, two of whom died young, with his first wife, and a 15th child with his second wife after the war.)

The family estate and their possessions were taken, and he died penniless in 1954.

His last wish was for his children to clear his name.

Many of those children ended up in the U.S., including his son, Sebastian, who wrote his father’s plight in the 1951 book, “Flight Through Hell”—which presents the story as fiction, to protect his father from further persecution.

A few years later, his daughter, Joana, started a vigorous letter-writing campaign to clear her father’s name. She appealed to the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society and Israeli prime minister David Ben-Gurion, who ordered 20 trees planted in Israel in Sousa Mendes’s memory in 1962.

In 1966, he was posthumously awarded 28

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • MAY 2016

the “Righteous” honor by Yad Vashem.

His descendants then turned towards their homeland, where further clearing the Sousa Mendes name meant Portuguese government intervention.

His son, John Paul Abranches, petitioned Lisbon to reopen the case and honor his father as a hero. With help from northern California’s Jewish community, where Abranches lived, and several Jewish U.S. Congressmen, the Portuguese parliament exonerated Sousa Mendes in 1988 and ordered reparations for the family. The descendants, who never received the money directly, used the funds to start the Portuguese foundation, Fundaçao Aristides de Sousa Mendes, to reacquire their ancestral home to create a permanent memorial.

RECONNECTING WITH THE PAST In 2010, Mattis’s father, Daniel, was watching French-language TV when he randomly caught the documentary on Sousa Mendes, recognizing him as the man who saved his family, the Matuzewitzs, 70 years earlier. He was shocked to learn the diplomat suffered and lost everything.

Equally stunned was his daughter, Olivia, who started searching for Sousa Mendes descendants and connected with several of his children on Facebook.

“I never knew he was punished and exiled for saving people like my dad and his family,” she said. “It stopped me dead

in my tracks.”

She realized that partnering with family members to form the U.S.-based Sousa Mendes Foundation could help preserve this part of Holocaust history. A grant allowed the foundation to document the visa recipients’ personal stories, which are mostly still held within families and not part of written Holocaust remembrance.

More recently, they turned to a crowdfunding campaign that raised $40,000 in six weeks to continue interviewing aging visa recipients before they die and their stories are lost.

“Olivia has brought all of the elements of this puzzle together—the descendants, the visa recipients, and the people interested in the history,” Daniel Mattis, now 83, said.

In its effort to preserve Holocaust history, the foundation website, sousamendesfoundation.org, allows visitors to search for visa recipients by name, by country, by ship, or by the Portuguese region where they lived. Fundraising efforts include plans to help make the Sousa Mendes ancestral home in Cabanas de Viriato, Portugal, into a museum. The foundation also funded a traveling artifacts exhibit, the oratorio, and a graphic novel for youngsters to learn about Sousa Mendes’s actions.

“It’s incumbent on the entire Jewish community,” said Mattis, “to remember those who saved our lives.”

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SENIORS l BY MIMI POLLACK

A WHIPPED CREAM LIFE Herb Alpert and Lani Hall Serve Up Sweet Sounds

H

erb Alpert and Lani Hall do not rest on their laurels. At 81 and 71, respectively, they are still going strong and sound as fresh as ever. As a child in Mexico City in the 1960s, I remember my older siblings listening to Herb Alpert and the Tijuana’s Brass’s album, The Lonely Bull. I loved his distinctive trumpet and signature sound. That sound could later be heard in various commercials, on the show The Dating Game, and the movie Casino Royale. His music had a great influence on pop culture in the 1960s and 1970s.

Because of his early success with his band, Tijuana Brass, and their album, The Lonely Bull, many people thought he was

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L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • MAY 2016

a handsome, musical, Mexican bullfighter.

However, he was born in Los Angeles and grew up in the Fairfax area. This American born Jew has had a multicultural life, embracing all faiths and genres of music.

Alpert’s musical accomplishments include five Number One albums and 28 albums total on the Billboard chart, nine Grammy Awards, 14 platinum albums, and 15 gold albums. His latest Grammy is from his 2014 album, Stepping Out. He continues to make music and his latest album; Come Fly with Me was released in September 2015.

He is not only a talented musician, but also a savvy businessman who co-founded

A&M Records in 1962 with Jerry Moss. They discovered Sergio Mendes and Brasil ’66, and that group went on to be their opening act. A&M Records produced albums for The Carpenters, Carol King, Stan Getz, and Cat Stevens, to name a few. Alpert and Moss had a good ear for producing hit albums. They also distributed for George Harrison’s Dark Horse label during Harrison’s solo career.

They sold the company in 1989. In 2006, Alpert and Moss were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in recognition of their accomplishments. In 2013, Alpert was awarded The National Medal of Arts.

Hall is also an accomplished musician.

When Sergio Mendes and Brasil ’66’s first

SENIORS

album came out, she was the lead singer of the group.

That is how she met Alpert and later became his wife.

Although she was a Jewish girl from Chicago, she sang in flawless Portuguese, and of course, English.

Years passed and later, Hall became a successful Latin American recording artist from the late 1970’s to the early 1990’s, singing in Spanish. She also performed duets with many famous Latin American singers. She won a Grammy in 1985 for best Latin Pop Performance for the song, Es Facil Amar, on which Alpert also played trumpet. She was beloved in Mexico.

Today these two senior citizens stay young by touring the country and giving lively performances with their talented backup band, who are also fine musicians in their own right. They sound as if time never passed, and they are still passionate about their music.

During a recent concert at The Belly Up, Alpert mentioned that he really liked performing there. The show was a medley of Alpert’s old hits and some songs from his two most recent albums, along with Hall’s hits from her days with Sergio Mendes. Hall sang a rousing rendition of O Pato, and classic hits by famous Brazilian composer, Antonio Carlos Jobim. Other songs included Mas Que Nada and One Note Samba. Albert performed a medley of his classic hits, such as The Lonely Bull and This Guy’s in Love With You. They had an easy presence on stage and were accompanied by three great musicians, including an exceptional piano player and singer, San Diego’s own Bill Cantos; Hussain Jiffry, from Sri Lanka, who played a unique six string bass; and an amazing Michael Shapiro on drums.

Besides the music, Alpert has also been a painter for four decades and a sculptor for three. His work has been shown in galleries around the United States and in Europe. Hall has written her first book, Emotional Memoirs and Short Stories. They both do a lot of charity work because they believe in giving back. The Herb Alpert Foundation has donated to various educational and arts programs over the years and is dedicated to serving young people to enable them to reach their highest potential; nurturing a capacity for empathy, compassion, tolerance and mutual respect, admirable goals from a couple who continue to inspire and create timeless art. Though they have been married for 42 years, the couple continues to inspire each other and share their passions for the arts and giving back.

MIMI POLLACK IS A LONG TIME COMMUNITY COLLEGE ESL TEACHER, AND HAS WORKED WITH STUDENTS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD. SHE IS FLUENT IN THREE LANGUAGES. SHE IS THE GRANDDAUGHTER OF RUSSIAN AND ISRAELI IMMIGRANTS WHO WAS BORN IN CHICAGO, BUT GREW UP IN MEXICO CITY. SIX YEARS AGO, SHE BEGAN A SECOND CAREER AS A LOCAL WRITER. SHE HAS DONE EXTENSIVE TRAVELING, BUT HAS CALLED SAN DIEGO HOME FOR THE LAST 30 YEARS. SHE IS AN AVID ANIMAL LOVER.

DO YOU STILL NEED YOUR AB TRUST?

By Daniel J. Wilson Attorney with Robinson and Wilson, A Law Corp.

Most married people no longer need to worry about federal estate tax because of changes to federal laws in the last few years. Several big developments in the law have made AB trusts—the most common kind of trusts for married couples—much less desirable or needed.

The amount that is exempt from federal estate tax has increased enormously. For deaths in 2016, each person can give leave $5.45 million without owing tax. This exemption amount rises each year to adjust for inflation. Married people can combine their exemption amounts and leave up to $10.9 million without having to pay a federal estate tax – this is known as “Portability”. If your estate is under this amount, the original purpose of setting up an AB Trust may not be necessary anymore.

If you are married and you have not reviewed your trust since 2010, it may be time to review your estate plan and trust to determine whether you still have an AB Trust. If you and your spouse have an AB trust, you should discuss with your attorney whether you should still keep that type of trust or whether you should simplify the trust. An AB trust has some significant costs and be unnecessarily restrictive for the surviving spouse. For more information, email danielwilson@trustlaw.us or call (858) 485-1990.

Daniel J. Wilson, attorney at law, graduated from the University of San Diego, School of Law with a Juris Doctor (JD). Upon completion of his JD degree, Daniel obtained his Master of Laws in Taxation (LL.M. Taxation) from the University of San Diego. Daniel is active in many professional associations, including: Probate Bench-Bar Committee, Member, San Diego County Bar Association, North County Estate Planning Council, and the San Diego North County Bar Association. Daniel practices in the areas of Estate, Gift, Income, and Property Tax planning and Probate and Trust Administration.

Danielwilson@trustlaw.us | 858.485.1990 WWW.LCHAIMMAGAZINE.COM

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SENIORS l BY DEBORAH VIETOR

SERVING IS RECEIVING SAN DIEGO SENIORS

B

y 2030 there will be 92 million seniors living in the United States and in San Diego County just under $1 million.

Currently there are approximately 550,000 seniors in San Diego. Serving Seniors, a nonprofit group in San Diego County, has partnered with other likeminded organizations to serve many of these seniors through an interdisciplinary team approach. Created in 1970, Serving Seniors recently celebrated their 46th anniversary.

Paul Downey is the CEO of Serving Seniors and is also the elected Chair of the California Commission on aging and affects input regarding legislation through the government on aging. He lectures regularly at San Diego State and UCSD regarding aging issues. Although he began volunteering with the organization 30 years ago while employed as the Press Secretary for the San Diego Mayor’s office, he became the CEO 21 years ago.

The Gary and Mary West Senior Wellness Center in downtown San Diego is one 32

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • MAY 2016

of the partnerships that Serving Seniors nourishes, and was created so that hundreds of meals could be served to seniors daily.

Over 600,000 meals are provided to lower income seniors per year, with Serving Seniors being the largest provider of meals to seniors in San Diego County. Additional services provided include healthcare, housing, food and transportation. Mental health services are provided in addition to social services, including Social Security assistance, elder law, elder abuse assistance, and case management. In addition there are 10 locations to serve seniors throughout the county. Activities at the center include computer classes with a computer lab and cyber café, dance and arts and crafts.

There is a game room for playing checkers, dominoes and other games.

Whether serving meals or participating in an activity, volunteering at the center can provide a most rewarding experience, and the community is encouraged to volunteer any time.

Sharp Healthcare also partners with Serving Seniors to provide medical and psychiatric care to seniors. Serving Seniors has three full-time nurses on staff, with Sharp providing outstation medical and nursing care two days per week. The organizations work together to provide seniors with services to assist them with issues such as depression, diabetes, nutrition, medication and connecting with a primary care physician.

Recently, Serving Seniors has added a dental center called the Gary and Mary West Senior Dental Center. The center is scheduled to open June 4th with 4 dental chairs, a full time dentist, dental assistants and state of the art equipment. Volunteer dentists and hygienists are welcome to apply. The center has received national and international acclaim. Programs and services are primarily funded through grants and private donations.

“We are proud of our collaboration and work with 30 organizations including

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LA JOLLA COMMUNITY CENTER Sharp Healthcare, the Consumer Center, San Diego State University, UCSD. and Elder Law,” Downey said. “In exchange for free space, they offer free services to Serving Seniors. This helps the seniors to continue as healthy, productive members of the community. In 2015 we received $1.1 million dollars in collaborative services including dental.”

Potiker Family Senior Residence is a housing facility through the organization with 200 units downtown. City Heights has another facility with 150 units for seniors on the poverty line where many seniors exist on under $800 per month. When asked what the requirements were for seniors to receive services, Paul replied that individuals need to be 60 years old and that the primary focus is placed on seniors with the most challenging life situations.

In April, Serving Seniors held their annual fundraiser at the Kona Kai Resort and it was most successful. The event included a silent auction, live auction, dinner, presentation and compelling stories from seniors who have benefited from many of the services and are most grateful. In addition, smaller venues for fundraising are held throughout the year as the growing need develops for senior services with much needed funding.

According to Paul, “We are grateful for our donors, but we need more. People are welcome to receive a tour and serve lunch any day of the week. We are literally saving lives and changing lives. If I was having a bad day, all I have to do is take a walk and see grateful seniors.”

There are many ways to participate in assisting Serving Seniors, including donating through the Jewish Community Foundation. For more information about volunteering, serving as an advocate or donating, visit the website at www.serving seniors.org, or visit the Gary and Mary Senior Wellness Center at 1525 Fourth Avenue, San Diego.

Ruth Yansick is the CEO for the La Jolla Community Center. She is a retired entrepreneur and won “Teacher of the Year” in the Chicago Public School System. Ruth holds two Master’s Degrees and is currently a Trustee at the La Jolla Town Council. She is also involved in the La Jolla Rotary Club.

“The La Jolla Community Center is an oasis for active adults,” Yansick says.

“Our mission is to promote lifelong learning, wellness and friendship.”

The LJCC has reinvented the traditional senior center, becoming a vital part of active adults and seniors’ lives. Over 1,200 community members are served monthly through the center. Members are welcomed from across San Diego.

The LJCC showcases the work of 65 fine artists and the art is rotated every other month. The art is for sale and individuals are encouraged to tour the 7,000 square foot center. Through generous donations, the center has been significantly renovated and enhanced to accommodate programs and services for seniors and active adults. Formerly the Riford Center, many facets of the building have been remodeled including the courtyard, restrooms, classrooms, entrance and lobby. The Kiwanis Great Room and Las Patronas Room are equipped with state of the art Audio/Visual equipment.

Due to generous donations, the center is able to provide free membership and classes to low income seniors and continue programs, introduce new classes and dinner dances. Opera Wednesdays, iPad/iPhone classes and the Fourth Friday Jazz Series are just some programs enjoyed by members.

Additional programs offered at the LJCC include: jewelry making; art classes; photography; readers theater; fine art gallery; Spanish, French & Italian classes; writing workshops; bridge classes; Zumba; Yoga; Pilates; Tai Chi; opera nights; jazz series; wine tastings; annual luncheons and special events. Services provided by the LJCC include transportation for seniors, big picture planning, elder law & advocacy and senior living/assistance information.

“Not only has our membership grown to nearly 800, but our programs have been expanded and elevated,” Executive Director Nancy Walters said, expressing her enthusiasm for the Center. “This is not your typical senior center. Hosting opera nights, jazz series, music and art appreciation, without losing track of providing valuable resources and services for our members is what we have been able to do well.”

The La Jolla Community Center continues to grow through community donations, and relies on membership and activity fees and grants. The Center does not receive government funding and is able to sustain itself through the support of the City and private donations.

To join as an individual or corporate member, donate, sign up for classes or events, visit the website at www. ljcommunitycenter.org. The La Jolla Community Center is located at 6811 La Jolla Boulevard.

WWW.LCHAIMMAGAZINE.COM

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INDEPENDENCE HALL: The State of Israel is Born

T

he date was Friday, May 14, 1948, one day before the British Mandate was to expire. The place was the main hall at the Tel Aviv Art Museum on Rothschild Boulevard. The dignitaries’ table and podium were at center stage. Behind it, two national flags adorned a panel of light-blue fabric. Between the flags hung an imposing portrait of Zionist visionary Theodor Herzl, and works of Jewish art lined the walls.

Outside, a celebratory crowd had gathered in eager anticipation despite efforts to keep the proceedings a secret. Invitations had been sent out by messenger that morning instructing the invited guests to arrive at 3:30 p.m., but word had leaked out and the street began to swell with people. With the arrival of David Ben-Gurion, a hush fell over Rothschild Boulevard as everyone waited to hear the live broadcast by Israel Radio—its first ever—of the dramatic and historical ceremony that was about to take place inside.

At exactly 4 p.m. Ben-Gurion, who at the time was executive head of the World Zionist Organization and chairman of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, banged the gavel and told the audience, “I shall now read to you the scroll of the Establishment of the State, which has passed its first reading by the National Council.” He then read aloud the declaration and ended with the words, “Let us accept the Foundation Scroll of the Jewish State by rising.” He called upon Rabbi Yehuda Fishman-Maimon to recite the Shehecheyanu, a Jewish blessing of thanksgiving, and then members of the Council and Executive signed the scroll. The proceedings concluded with the singing of Hatikvah. In all, the meeting took 32 minutes and was over in time for Shabbat.

“With that ceremony, Ben-Gurion put an

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L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • MAY 2016

end to the exile of 2,000 years,” said Felicita Jakoel, senior tour guide at Independence Hall, the former site of the Tel Aviv Art Museum. The room in which Israel’s future first Prime Minister conducted the ceremony has been left intact and is open to the public. “He created a Jewish home by opening the gates for all the Jews in the world. We should never forget that this happened three years after the end of the Holocaust.”

Ben-Gurion’s grandson Dr. Moshe Ben Eliezer, a baby in 1948, says his grandfather understood that the opportunity to create a state might never come again, and despite the threat of impending war, the fears of many of his comrades, and pressure from the Americans not to declare, Ben-Gurion acted. “He marked his target, and the rest followed. It was his way of thinking, which to me is the quality of a great and unique leader,” Ben Eliezer said.

In fact, the decision to establish a state was not Ben-Gurion’s alone. In a meeting on May 12 at the Jewish National Fund offices in Tel Aviv, the Jewish National Council took the decision to declare by a vote of six to five. Says Ben Eliezer: “Yes, there were others. But Ben-Gurion was the leader. And in reality he founded the state before it was recognized by the United Nations. He built the entire substructure and foundation for its future.”

The house that eventually became Independence Hall was constructed as the home of Meir Dizengoff and his wife, Zina, who were one of 66 families to begin a new neighborhood outside Jaffa in 1909.

JNF gave the guarantee for a bank loan taken out by these families to build their new neighborhood, which soon grew into a thriving city with Dizengoff as its first

mayor. After his wife’s death, Dizengoff donated the house to the city and in 1936 it became the art museum. In 1978 it was rededicated as Independence Hall.

“To me, it has a certain reverence, and I can picture my grandfather standing there in front of the microphone,” said Ben Eliezer, who heads the executive board at Ben Gurion House in Tel Aviv, the Prime Minister’s former residence and now also a museum. “But Independence Hall is not only the place where the State of Israel was declared. It is also where the scroll was signed. That scroll is the democratic foundation upon which the State was laid and to which it must remain committed.”

To learn more about how JNF is helping build modern-day Israel, visit jnf.org or contact JNF San Diego Director Amy Hart at ahart@jnf.org or 858.824.9178 x988.

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SENIORS l BY SHARON RAPOPORT

BARBARA BRY Bringing Experience and Mentschkeit to District 1 B

arbara Bry is, above all, a delightful woman. However, her warm and gracious demeanor is by no way to be confused with frailty. She is, after all, the powerhouse who created ProFlowers. com, a very active community leader and a contender for City Council District 1.

District 1 encompasses Carmel Valley, La Jolla, and University City, which are called home by a large portion of the Jewish community of San Diego. In our interview, we explored Bry´s take on everything from mini-hotels, the drought and the way her Jewish roots have informed her successful career.

L’CHAIM MAGAZINE: HOW HAS YOUR JEWISH BACKGROUND INFORMED YOUR PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL TRAJECTORY? BARBARA BRY: I was brought up in a Jewish

family outside of Philadelphia, with Jewish values of Tikkun Olam and Tzedaka, and I think those have informed my whole life in terms that I have always been involved in the general community and the Jewish community, and it has been an important part of who I am.

L’CHAIM: YOU ARE A JOURNALIST AND AN ENTREPRENEUR. IN WHAT WAYS WILL THOSE EXPERIENCES HELP YOU SERVE THE CITY BETTER? BB: I think the combination of the two is

very useful. As a journalist you learn how to ask questions, to research, to listen, to 36

L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • MAY 2016

probe. Those skill sets are very useful for a City Council member. Also, as a journalist, sometimes it´s hard to get the information you want, and you don´t take no for an answer. You keep pushing and pushing until you get what you need. The same is true for an entrepreneur. I´ve been on the founding team of two companies which did things which were very disruptive at the time…

L’CHAIM: HOW DO YOU PLAN TO CONSERVE WATER AND STILL KEEP SAN DIEGO BEAUTIFUL? BB: Twenty years ago in San Diego, we

used as much water as we use today, and there are many more people now living in San Diego, so we have been doing a good job in conserving our usage overall. We can do a lot as individuals [by implementing measures to conserve in our households].

On a larger scale, the City and the County can do a better job to recapture rainwater with rain barrels. The City is also working on a program – which I support, to recycle wastewater and turn it into clean drinking water, by utilizing proven technologies which have been used in Israel and other countries.

L’CHAIM: SENIORS ARE LIVING LONGER AND NEED MORE RESOURCES. HOW DO YOU PLAN ON COVERING THEIR NEEDS? BB:Many seniors today are not comfortable

with technology, yet they need it. So one of my priorities is to make sure seniors

know where to go to get these skills. Our public libraries are doing a good job on offering free classes. At the Jewish Women´s Foundation [where Bry served as Chair at the time of printing], we have founded two programs, one at the JCC and Jewish Family Services to teach technology to seniors, which I am very proud of.

L’CHAIM: THERE´S A LOT OF TALK OF RENT HIKES. HOW DO YOU PROPOSE SAN DIEGO DEAL WITH ITS EXPENSIVE HOUSING ISSUE? BB: Rents are going up because we don´t

have a lot of supply. I have a few different ideas to expand affordable housing opportunities in San Diego… One of the issues that really concern me are minihotels There are probably around 6,000 homes in San Diego that are rented two nights here, a week there (throughout the year), and are not available for permanent San Diegans to rent or own. The City should enforce the existing city code to prohibit permanent whole-house, short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods.

Bry´s campaign slogan, “She Means Business” really seems to encompass what she´s all about.

We learned a lot from this intelligent woman who doesn´t seem to shy away from difficult challenges, but on the contrary, embraces them.

To learn more about Barbara Bry visit www. barbarabry.com.

BY STEPHANIE LEWIS l HUMOR

mazel &

mishagoss Frazzled, Funny, Frequent Flyers

I

’m embarking on my first trip to Israel and terrified to fly, but rather than focusing on that strange whirring sound ending with a loud thump I detect from the engine, I’ll scrutinize my seatmates. You don’t hear anything, right? Good; neither do I. Presenting the passenger parade:

THE AIR PREPARER: He’s the MacGyver at 40,000 miles. Need a bandage, cough syrup, earplugs or screwdriver? He’s your man.

THE

AIR

ARMCHAIRER: She makes a

beeline to her seat so she can beat you out.

Giving you an evil glare as you stagger innocently down the aisle, you notice her elbows hogging both armrests. Do you dare claim what’s rightfully yours?

THE AIR BARER: Is this a 747 or a hot yoga

class? She’s so scantily dressed, her mother would make her put on a trench coat. Oh wait, that might be even more provocative!

THE AIR SCARER: Makes your peanuts

and pretzel packages stand on end with their tales of terror. On another flight they were recently on, the pilot released the luggage to lighten the load. Another time he dropped all their fuel and ultimately all the passengers as well. But the most horrific flight of all was when they ran out of diet coke. Gasp.

THE AIR PRAYER: This individual should

never sit next to an Air Scarer. Their lips move silently, but if you look closely you can see they’re mouthing the Shema — 85 times.

THE AIR MARRYER: No sooner does the

pilot point out the famous mountain range when he directs your attention to a passenger seated over the wing going down on bended knee. Will she say yes? Maybe he couldn’t do this on the ground because he’s counting on the diamond looking bigger under the little cabin book light?

THE AIR DAYCARER: She has not just one,

not just two, but three kids and she’s brought enough provisions to put a preschool to shame. Hey! Will she share a handful of cheerios and that etch-a-sketch with your own cranky child? No she will not, Silly — next time, fly more prepared.

THE AIR PAIRER: Two lifelong friends going

during arts n’ crafts hour.

THE AIR COMPARER: “Jet Blue has more

leg room than this cracker jack plane. Did you know United baked cookies on a flight once? Virgin Airlines wouldn’t hire flight attendants as ugly as these?”

THE AIR DESPAIRER: Petrified to fly and

you’ve got the nail marks in your arm to prove it. What’s that noise? Do you see that little gremlin hacking away with an ax on the fiery wing?

THE AIR SHARER: You’ve seen their grandkids, know their favorite scene from Ten Commandments and split a corned beef on rye with them.

on a gal-pal vacation chatting about their college days with you seated in between them. Why didn’t they book seats right next to one another? Because one needs a window and one needs an aisle and talking over you is a stimulating challenge.

Just read your book and mind your own business, okay?

THE AIR DARER: Boldly scampers to the bathroom, even if the “Fasten Seatbelt” sign just came on.

THE AIR ERROR: This guy flies planes for a

woman, scrutinizing passengers, wheels turning. Hyper aware of subtle mannerisms, taking notes to write about it in L’CHAIM magazine. Nah, never happens!

hobby and he’s gonna run down the list of all the mistakes they’re making. Think you can do it better? Get in that cockpit and take control!

THE AIR SWEARER: Salty vocabulary is

an understatement and if he’s seated next to The Air DayCarer, he better watch his language — she’s gonna have her kids paste his mouth shut with their glue-sticks

THE AIR NONFOOT WEARER: They have to let their toes breathe. But do we have to breathe their toes?

THE AIR STARER AND AWARER: Very nosy

STEPHANIE D. LEWIS IS A REGULAR WRITER FOR THE HUFFINGTON POST AND PENS A HUMOR BLOG AT ONCEUPONYOURPRIME.COM. FOLLOW HER ON TWITTER @MISSMENOPAUSE.

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