The Avrum Rosensweig Show

Episode 35 - Robert Pal: Triumphing over Adversity. On Becoming an ADHD Coach

Episode 35 of HatRadio! features Robert Pal, an ADHD Coach as my guest. Robert is generously giving away his online course - taking charge of your ADHD - for FREE, simply for listening to this show. You can secure the course until the end of September and then study it when ever you like. To get the course go to his website - robertpal.com and click 'online course' at the top of the homepage.  Once you've done that the site will walk you through the rest. At some point you'll be asked for a coupon number to receive it for free. Input 90219 and you're ready to go.

Thanks Robert. Good luck to all!

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No doubt, you've been faced by an overwhelming challenge in life, one you weren't sure you'd prevail over. Well, Robert Pal was you at the turn of the millennium and he looked fear, financial destruction, and defeat straight in the eye. It was an iffy time.  In episode 35 of HatRadio! at the 1:00:21 mark, you'll hear Robert's story about a substantial jewelry business he had built, which allowed for a beautiful life with his family, and a very decent living. Then one lovely day, Revenue Canada (called that at the time) arrived at his company's doorstep. They challenged Robert on an archaic statue, and a prolonged 4-year battle with this government body ensued. 

You know the day when that phone call comes, or the email arrives, the one you've been dreading, or perhaps hoping would pull you out of the muck? Well, Robert got exactly that, and he discovered....he'd lost. This entrepreneur who had always run a clean shop, had no choice but to declare bankruptcy.

What do you do on days like that? Crawl into bed? Worse - consider ending things.  Robert, got into his car, sped along the highway at too high of a speed in disbelief and sadness....and then......images of his two little girls, twins popped into his head. He slowed the Lexus down, went home, picked up his 3-year old’s and offered them a day of their own, wherever they'd like to go. They chose the CNN Tower. Robert had a stark realization of what was really important in life. 

Life had changed for Robert Pal, as it does for all of us. Over time this dismal time in his life, what seemed like a defeat, proved to be a victory.  

Listen to Episode 35 of HatRadio! a show about you and me, an hour and a half schmooze about responding to tremendous adversity, standing tall and and committing to LIFE!  

At 22:35, listen to a tool Robert shares called the GRATITUDE VISIT. He did so with his cousin Ronny. It's fascinating and something you may want to do with an individual in your life whose been good to you. 

At 41:40, hear my schmooze with Robert about age,as we're both about to turn 60. He is developing a plan for his 60th decade, where he wants to go, what he wants to do. Again, a compelling idea and positive approach to life.

1:29:00, learn about the FUCK-YOU ALL tool. This motivated Robert. It could do for you too.

Everyone has those awful times in life, the part of our personal narrative that makes us wonder about our very existence. Robert did in the form of bankruptcy, a total change of life, and the need to redefine himself. Out of all of that craziness, this very thoughtful and pensive fellow became an ADHD coach. He decided to help others through his experience. You'll hear all about his encouraging journey in Episode 35.

Grow through Robert Pal's life. Identify with his struggle and his win!  Enhance your life and that of your family's through this marvelously positive schmooze. 

HatRadio! The show that schmoozes.  

 

Episode 34 - Christian Pritchard: A British-Canadian-Italian Joyful Chef and Human Being

While I was doing the interview with Christian Pritchard, I heard a lot of what he said. I also missed some it. Why? Because I was thinking about the next question. That is an occupational hazard of any interviewer, something we look to correct. But following the actual interview itself, I listened to the show in its entirety to determine what i should edit out. It was then I heard Christian clearly on HatRadio!, and the frequent gems he espoused on HatRadio! It was then I embraced my guest fully and appreciated him to the fullest.

So what did I hear? I heard that Christian is seriously committed to life, love, his family, cooking, music and his other passions. He is a man, with boyish tendencies. He therefore spoke in  mature terms, except when he didn't. It was then the high volume of his 47 year-old voice increased and he essentially roled around in that proverbial playground, acting and talking silly, the way many guys do, including myself.

As a man, Christian talked about his appreciation for his parents and how it made him proud to be the son of CFNY's (a once iconic station in northern Toronto) first program director, and a friend of Frank Zappa. The man side of him was completely comfortable telling me he cried, sobbed, last year upon hearing about some questionable health issues. Christian became quite serious, and somewhat misty eyed when he relayed the point, that his son, 11, still holds his Dad's hand.

And of course the boy side of this chef and entertainer shared with us, the content of the birthday card he sent to his Mom stating, 'your tits are sagging'. The boy side of Christian comes out too when he failed  the Jewish food quiz i gave him. He failed miserably!

Christian is not politically correct, and that is why he made such a beautiful guest.

He's one of those guys we want to be, at least that very free side of him. At some point in the show, Christian said without hesitancy after being asked if he had to work on becoming Italian in order to do his current job well (working for Aurora Foods, an Italian food distributor):  "I know who I am". In other words, 'no', he didn't end up adjusting his very WASP accent or utilizing that Italian sort of street grunt we'd hear from Rocky or Tony Montana in Scar face.  Christian said he already talks with his hands so that wasn't a stretch. 

Episode 34 is compelling because it's an in-depth story of a decent man who lives in Brooklyn, Ontario, and is a highly accomplished culinary pro,  is truly in love with his accordion-playing wife and has a blast with her. It's a moving episode, especially at times when he spoke about his fatherhood, the fact he is a 'dance-Dad', and his belief that he is a great dad, with a lot to learn. 

We schmoozed about food and more specifically the four fundamental ingredients needed to make great Italian food. And we shared information about the many regions of Italy where locals straddling one area can be very jealous and angry at others living in another region, claiming to have the best pizza. We talked about his bass playing, and the contest he's about to be part of, going up against an Italian mother to determine who can cook better.

We covered a ton of ground. Fortunately both he and I seem to be ADHD, so the frenetic nature of the show worked well. 

So when I listened to the show, I discovered, my guest, Christian Pritchard, is a very decent fellow, someone i could hang out. I quite liked him, felt his warmth and delighted in his sense of humor. 

Have a listen to Episdode 34 with Christian Pritchard, a good man who enjoys life (like food people do) and more so, experiences love in a very beautiful and special way. 

HatRadio! The show that schmoozes.

 

Episode 33 - Devora Mason: A Beautiful Citizen of Our World

Devora Mason is regular folk. Not that her way is mundane or even average, quite the opposite. Devora is colorful and fancy. She's one of 7.7 billion people in this world who travel through life  working arduously on growth, try to raise their children to be upstanding citizens and who struggle to make a decent living so she can afford to make thing right for all those she support.

That's Devora...with a healthy smidgeon of 'unique'. 

Episode 33 is a schmooze with my niece, Devora Mason who is a beautiful and vivacious personality with a beaming smile- a Rosensweig smile.  It became clear to me, after a few years of not really hanging out with her, that Devora has evolved into a wise forty-something woman with cogent thoughts and opinions. 3:12 She has adopted our family's way, and that is to smile and say hello to people, strangers, she meets along the road, something anathema to Israeli culture. So that's Devora!

Devora lives in Efrat, a town near Jerusalem. Terrorist attacks are perpetrated regularly along the road outside of Efrat where her children travel to get to school and work. My niece has five children, four boys and a girl - the boys are religious, her daughter is not.

1:17:41 Devora is a single Mom. You can imagine the worry. 1:19:07 Devora makes a prayer before making a big decision for her children.  Listen to the interview at 51:44 where Devora talks about her life in the context of raising her kids, and how she just knows pain and suffering will come her way, so she does everything to minimize it. That is very Israeli. Not a single Israeli ducks the pain of living in the Middle East and being surrounded by enemies.

Devora's life is dynamic. 7:42 Shes speaks extensively at the beginning of the show about her love for her parents, Jack and Etti (my sister), and how special they are, allowing their children to grow up according to their nature. At the 10:43 mark Devora schmoozes about her sister who is a Breslower Chasid - a person who adheres to the very strict and conservative lifestyle of previous generations. When her sister and children visit, the I-pads goes away and the TV stay off. No movies. And Devora loves her to bits as she loves all her five siblings.

Devora Mason, my guest on episode 33, is friends with Jews of all denominations, Christians, Muslims and people of all backgrounds. She seems to thrive off the diversity in her life. When I asked her if she's religious (all our family grew up that way), she responded, "I'm spiritual", and shares with me her trek to 55:57 become a yoga instructor. 

Devora adores Israel. Listen to the 24:24 mark of the show when she describes her work running an innovation centre inside the Tower of David Museum. Every day she'd go to work, go to her office in one one of the towers that King Herod built. She'd go up to the balcony and have a 360 degree view of Jerusalem. 

Devora has difficulties with Israel. She has no expectations of making a lot of money as that simply won't happen. She says there is a lot of hardship in Israel/Jerusalem 27:43, and she's frustrated with the government 42:34 and says the people are really directing the country and the government is out of step. "I feel the country is the people today, not because of the leaders but inspite of them." 

1:22:16 "My focus in life is to reach bliss."  This is Devora Mason, a multi-faceted woman, a citizen of our very complex and simple world, working hard to understand herself, to raise her children, frequently challenged by the many pitfalls of life.

Beautifully and appropriately, my Devora completes the schmooze at 1:33:11 singing the classic Yiddish song, "Ofyn Pripetchick', followed by 'The Picnic Song', this in memory of her Boobie (grandmother), and in honor of the life she leads.

Listening to the show, and writing this blurb I feel so lucky Devora is my niece. She truly is a gem of a human being, someone to emulate and one of us regular folk.

Hatradio! The show that schmoozes. 

 

 

 

 

Episode 32 - Doctor Saul Kendal: An 83 Year-Old Dentist, a Friend & a Courageous Man!

Episode 32 features Dr. Saul Kendal, an octogenarian who has been practicing dentistry for fifty-nine years. He's my dentist and when we began the interview on Tuesday, August 13th, I was partially drooling from my mouth as it had been frozen, so Saul could put a crown in my tooth. I love this man and couldn't wait to release the interview to my listeners.  

Saul was born in Toronto. He was an only child. His parents were Louie and Annie. He was athletic and  played basketball (a guard) for his high-school, Harbord Collegiate. Saul excelled at rebounding because he was a big kid. His Dad, was a barber and told a story of how one day while working in a hospital cutting patients hair, he entered a room and found a man sleeping. He figured, 'okay, I'll cut his hair anyway'. And he did. Upon exiting the room a nurse asked him what he was doing. He resonded 'I was cutting the patients hair while he slept.".  The nurse responded, "he's not sleeping. He's dead!" Oy!!!  Saul loves that story. Me too! 

38:00 In this interview, Saul dad was what was called a felsher/barber, a part time 'doctor'/barber. It's an old time thing.  With that in mind, Saul and I schmoozed about a Yiddish folk remedy his dad practiced called bankus (cupping). Louie would heat up glass cups and place on his customers back, to alleviate pain and help with their conditions. They'd create a suction of sorts. "Did it really help," I asked. Saul answered, "They seemed to think it helped them". There is something even more intense than bankus -- ge'hakta bankas. Oy! Check them out around the 40:39:00 minute mark.  By the way, the red in the pole outside a barber represents bloodletting. Also oy! 

Early on the show Saul talks about his six decades as a dentist, giving us good insight into that doctor we all hate going to. 14:08 He loves the job and says it's a respected profession but adds that people don't like coming to the dentist. The first thing many of his patients tell him is that. Saul says, "it's not that they don't like us, but they don't like what we do." And he adds, "why should they?" This clearly adds to the stress of being a dentist. Thinking about it it's true. I dread going to the dentist. How must our dentist feel knowing that? At 15:32 Saul talks about his wife's sister's son, who is responsible for Saul's worst experience ever as a dentist. Have a listen. 

The tough part about my schmooze with Saul started at the 48:00 minute mark. Saul and his dear wife, Yetta, are parents to five children, two of whom have passed away. I knew, if I was going to do an interview with my dear friend we'd have to talk about the death of Darren and Neil. It's heartbreaking to hear about the car accident Darren was in on August 19, 1982. Saul identified his body, saw a chip on his front took, kissed him on the forehead and said, "good-bye". Saul then said without me asking, "Avrum, you go on with your life.The pain never goes away". 

Later on, 53:20, we talked about Saul's son, Neil, who died on May 20, 2014. Neil was Susan's husband, a dad, and he was Saul's partner in the Dentist office. They worked together for thirty years and at 54:05 Saul says with great pride, "we never had an argument". Every day, Saul goes into the office and sees Neil's scribbly script on patient's charts. "Brings back memories."  

"I never had a strong relationship with God, but after 'Darren' and after 'Neil', I lost it for sure."  Saul doesn't pray. But Yetta wants him to go to shul (synagogue) on the High Holidays, so he does. 

I asked Saul, after the death of his second son, what he was thinking. He said, "why us. Why did it happen to us. 55:16 We're not bad people. " Listen at 57:20 when Saul tells a story about going to a psychic, and telling her about a redbird that appeared at their house for about a month after Neil's death, and would repeatedly wack its beak against their window. The psychic said it was Neil. 

Episode 32 is a story about a couageous man, a dentist of six decades, a dad who stood tall while faced with extreme adversary.  The interview with Saul is highly inspirational. He reminds us you have to keep on living. And he does, together with his beautiful wife Yetta, his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren - - they should all live long lives. Saul is funny, a storyteller and he is all about friendship. I am grateful to Saul for doing this interview and  showing us he is still joyful. I commend him for his courage to talk about the tough stuff.

Have a listen folks, This man really is a gift to all of us! Hatradio! The show that schmoozes. 

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Thank you to Howard Pasternack for his handy work on Audacity.com and ability to do magic in post-production. Thank you too to my old bud, David Nefesh, who lends an intro and extro to each episode through his original score, the HatRadio! song! 

Credit for music in commercial:
"Slow Burn" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Episode 31 - Miriam Borden: A Yiddishist, Third Generation Survivor & A Baker!

Welcome to Episode 31 of Hatradio!  My guest is Miriam Borden, a vivacious person, full of verve and a zest for life. Miriam is Lynda Kraar's daughter, whom I schmoozed with on Episode 11. You'll notice the two share a certain melody in their speak and a certain speed to their delivery, generally reserved for those who think a lot. Like mother, like daughter.

I so enjoyed this schmooze. It was full of sun! Full of light! 

And indeed, Miriam is a thinker. She is Ph.d student. Her major is Yiddish and throughout the show we speak about her passion for this medieval, 9th century Jewish language, including some of the quirky, uncomfortable, but to-the-point sayings. Check this one out: in response to the question of 'how are things' --  mi shlukt yiddin (1:03:35), Jews are being attacked (with a little shrug). Interestingly, Miriam laughs a lot and she laughed at this expression. Why? I think it has to do with her deep love for the Jewish people, and Judaism, which she calls "very rich", and an acceptance of our plight in history. Despite the fact Jews have been so persecuted, we've managed to develop an entire culture, a certain intellect and a major spiritual body of work.

Miriam gets that!  

At the 24:50 mark of the show, Miriam responds to the question: 'Why Yiddish?'. She says, "I study Yiddish because it yet another way to inhabit my Jewishness.  I study Yiddish for exactly the same reason I studied Gemarah (Talmud)....history...and that I love Jews...it's all part and parcel of the same landscape. It's the same reason I want to educate my kids in a Jewish way." Interestingly, she's married to a non-Jew. I asked her how that works? Miriam answered freely. 

Herring! At 52:28, I asked Miriam what her relationship is to herring, as she wrote a 2,000 word article, front page for the Canadian Jewish News (CJN). Well, apparently, the article started out as a joke with friends, and eventually Miriam was encouraged to offer it up to the CJN. In the article, and in this interview, we learn about  'herring anti-Semitism'; schmaltz herring versus marinated herring; and of course, the many centuries of this small fish as part of the Jewish menu.

Miriam speaks a lot about food. And she's a baker with some special and sweet insight into the character of air kicklach otherwise known as 'nothings',  and tsimis,  a traditional Jewish sweet stew. It's fascinating how she ties these foods into the Jewish pscyhe.   

1:00:56:  Miriam talks about being third generation Holocaust Survivor. She accepts the responsibility that comes with it especially as Survivors are dying off. Miriam says we are now the "keepers of that knowledge. We are the living legacy of 'those people' ". Listen to her wonderfully crafted description of her relationship with her Boobie and Zaidy, which was very special and a tad wonky.  When asked what she would do to continue the discussion about the Holocaust, she responded, "I  think I'm doing it." 

1:06:57:  A 5-minute play I wrote called: "Whether to to Save or Not, Jews in our Barn, in the town of Auschwitz'. I did so, in response to the question of: 'would you be a righteous Jew/Gentile?'. Miriam and I voiced the play. Howard Pasternack, produced the show afterward, brilliantly!!! Listen to this podcast-theatre about the quandary of rescuing a life at the peril of one's own life, the lives of one's children.  

Miriam was a wonderful interview. She was because of her celebration of life, her laughter, her full embrace of her Jewishness and her life. In episode 31, we learn about Miriam's deep love for her family, her husband and really for all person-kind. And she is having fun.

Enjoy this show. It is truly inspiring, thoughtful and full of meaning.  Lynda did a great job with her daughter. Miriam did a splendid job with her Mom. I have hope in our existence, our world, because of their effervescence and commitment to the beautiful spirit that lies within all of us.

Well done, Miriam! And thank you for a fine schmooze. 

Hatradio! The show that schmoozes. 

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Thank you David Nefesh for the Hatradio! song, and to Howard Pasternack for his brilliant post-production stuff. The make the show very special. 

Music from https://filmmusic.io
"Measured Paces" and "Despair and Triumph" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Credit for music in commercial:
"Slow Burn" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Episode 30 - Irwin Elman: The Man Who Lives to Give Children a Voice!

"A hundred children, a hundred individuals who are people - not people to be, not people of tomorrow, but people now, right now -- today." - Janusz Korczak

On Tuesday, July 30th at 5 pm, Irwin Elman and I sat down to have a schmooze on Hatradio! I have always been intrigued by Irwin, the former Provincial (Ontario) Advocate for Children and Youth, because of his self-professed nutty professor character, his passion for Janusz Korczak (director of an orphanage in Warsaw Ghetto, who went to his death with 'his' orphans), and his deeply authentic, and unusually passionate commitment to children and youth of Ontario, especially those on Native Reserves, in group homes and foster care.

Throughout out talk, Irwin told stories about his decade as 'the' chief advocate of Canada's most populated province, Ontario. At around the 9:40 minute mark of the show, Irwin, a Jew from Quebec, discussed his visit to Japan to see group-homes which house up to 100 children. A staff member there said to him, "oh, you're Jewish? You must know Janusz Korczak?". Irwin had never heard of Korczak despite having been ensconced in the world of teaching, learning and child care. Immediately he set about learning about this man,considered by Europeans as the 'Father of children's rights'.

As his career progressed, Irwin recognized he was doing similar things with the children of Ontario as Korczak had done in Poland with his orphans. As an example Irwin launched a newsletter run by the  kids for the kids, just as Korczak had done. He encouraged the children on Reserves and those in group-homes (who saw themselves as being in 'storage') to speak loudly, to manage their own voice, to make adults hear them, just as Korczak had done. Eventually, he printed up well over 1000 books  written by a 'Korczak orphan' and distribute it to all his staff and those affiliated with his work. 

At the 16:20 mark of our schmooze, Irwin tells about his upbringing, by parents who believed in the concept of repairing the world. Irwin's Mom told him, "you are not allowed to hate anyone".  Even when he talks about his the Federal Minister who was responsible for closing the 'Advocacy office without explanation', Irwin expressed without hesitancy, "I am angry at her", but he never hated her (despite the fact he heard about the office closing through his staff who had heard a report on CBC radio). Nor does he hate adults who are responsible for the suffering of children. 

At 1:42:50 of the interview, Irwin continued his story-telling answers to my questions. He said, "I've struggled to figure out why does it (the situation of the children he deals with) not make me sad." He answered his own question stating, "I'm an actor in the world so I'm doing my part.......I also believe in them (the children). They're okay. And if they're not okay, they can be okay....and I know that all the thousands of children who worked through our office, including children on the Native reserves,  had created change to the province of Ontario...they had influenced the way children's voices are thought about." 

In Episode 30, Irwin Elman repeated over and over, just like Korczak did, that it's not possible to legislate love however "you can legislate the condition in which love can flourish". This was told to him by one of his youth. Irwin added, if Korczak could give the children a voice in a ghetto in Poland during the war, why can't we do the same in an industrialized nation like Canada, in peace time. 

This is a dynamic interview with a regular guy, who is challenged by doing laundry at home (he didn't know there were rules). Irwin would go where the children were if they wanted to meet him. He stayed on the Attawapiskat Reserve for a week, where child/youth suicide had become a crisis. And Irwin knows first hand, better than anyone, the needs of children and youth in our Ontario.

Listen to: 

The thimble story at a group-home in Coboconk, Ontario, at 57:30 

Mr. Kleky story, and how one person can make a difference in a person's life, at 1:08:27

Irwin's reference to himself as 'a kite', at 1:48:55

The Korczak story, 'the cake tasted like love', at 1:54:00

Once again, I was deeply honored to share this time with Irwin Elman, who has accomplished a lot to date, in his lifetime. He told me he doesn't experience self-pride when he reviews his career at the provinces number one advocate, but instead looks at the kids and what they have done. That's impressive. Have a listen to episode 30 and be inspired, deeply. If you're not, let me know and we'll return the hour and a fifty minutes to you.  Hatradio! The show that schmoozes! 

                                   "We Can do this" - Irwin Elman

 _________________________________________________________________________________ Credit to Howard Pasternack for his post-producation work as well as to David Nefesh, for the Hatradio! song. Hear David's musical genius at:  https://www.reverbnation.com/davidnefesh

Credit for music in commercial:
Slow Burn Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Episode 29 - Rachel Mamann: The Superstar Kindergarten Teacher

“True teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross; then, having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create their
own." ― Nikos Kazantzakis

She lives in a pretty regular neighborhood. It's nice. She's in her mid-forties and is a Moroccan Jew. Her husband, Sasha, is a lovely fellow, an only child, a protector, originally from Serbia. She herself comes from an enormous family who "love hard". Really hard. They loved me hard.

She's someones daughter. She's many people's friend and her name is Rachel Mamann. The thing is, she is a superstar kindergarten teacher. That's what I say.  And I do because I've known Rachel for a long time and I've learned how she thinks, how she behaves. She is what we would call, 'out of the box'. I remember how my old, dear friend once had a sick tropical fish and she plopped a Tylenol into the aquarium. The fish got better. I tried that years later. My fish died. 

Rachel whispers in conversation, to get your attention, but more so to create peace. She comes from loud. She said in this interview, "I always want more friends." And then added that the idea of managing friendships is nonsense because friendships are not to be managed.

Like a kindergarten student's own perception of life, Rachel describes her love for Sasha, like the sky. "It's like the ocean".  You mean it's vast?  She smiled, a beautiful smile. And I detected tears of appreciation in her eyes. 

"I don't generally have to work loving someone." - Rachel Mamann

I believe Rachel is one of those teachers we'll talk about. I say this because her approach to teaching four, five and six year old children is organic. It is routed in love. I said to her, "you know how to love". Her response: "I was loved". I pushed the point and Rachel responded: "there's a lot to love". 

Rachel closes the door of her classrooms and dances with the children. If someone won't dance, "then we all hurt. It's like family". If one child in her classroom hurts another one, they form a circle, and talk it out.  It's what the Natives have taught us. Restorative justice.  

Rachel stated in episode 29 of Hatradio!, "We really, really, really need to know how incredible their (the children's) minds are. We dumb things down and that is wrong. I make an effort to not do that." She says that when the school year is over, and she and the students part, "it is horrible".

I said "horrible". She said "yes". I asked her if I could join her class. I don't care that I have to go back to kindergarten. She smiled and said, "join us". I might.

Rachel concludes: "I hope I taught (my students) to be mindful of others. To care about themselves and others."  I believe she has. 

I loved doing this interview with my old friend. Hopefully you'll enjoy listening. It is very special. Let me know your thoughts at info@hatradio.ca. 

Rachel Mamman, the superstar teacher on Hatradio! The show that schmoozes.  

“One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.” 
― Malala Yousafzai, I am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood up for Education and Was shot by the Taliban.

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Thank you to David Nefesh for the show's intro song and extro. And thanks as well to Howard Pasternack for her post-production work. They make the show something special!

Music in Commercial:
"Slow Burn" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) 
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Episode 28 Vac & Danny: A Show on The Vomit of Poverty & The Elegance of Survival

Welcome to Episode 28 of Hatradio! . This show is different than the others as I recorded it one on the road, in a low-cost housing environment. I did so I could have the chance to speak to two very charming, humorous and intelligent fellows, deeply impoverished, physically busted and essentially surviving from day to day. 

Here's what you'll learn throughout the show: The room was small and quickly filled up with smoke. Strangely, after having quit smoking close to thirty years ago, I wanted a cigarette. In my mind, I asked for one.

The two men, Vac Verikaitis and Danny Saroff are in their sixties. They are well-spoken, highly intelligent, funny as  hell, well-read and engaging. At one point Danny drew upon Greek mythology to make his point about the beauty of horses (and his love of horse-racing). 

Danny has been homeless on-and-off over the years. Vac got really close prior to securing a room in this building where mental health illness is abound, and curdling nightly screams jolt tenants awake. Throughout our schmooze both my guests drank beer and smoked. Danny has had lung cancer, two strokes and is an alcoholic. Vac has had heart challenges, numerous muscle injuries and recent surgeries and is an alchoholic. But regardless, they imbibed and dragged on smokes while we talked.

I'm not standing in judgement of Danny and Vac. Not at all. I know how smokes and drink can be a friend when you're suffering badly and family and friends aren't around. I have my own addictions. But clearly these habits, while part of their survival mode, are reflective of a certain hopelessness with comes with poverty. Poverty is expensive and knowing resources just won't come, pushes you down, over and over again.  Would you smoke or drink in their shoes? Damn right.

Vac was a semi-professional soccer goalie. He was a superlative Formula-1 journalist and is an award winning documentarian. My handsome Lithuanian friend from way back, speaks four or so languages and is an awesome cook. Danny, was a cab driver who made pretty good cash, and had two accomplished lovers whom he lived with, one of whom was a high-profile journalist with a Canadian newspaper. He looks younger than his sixty-six years, speaks intelligently and cogently about his atheism, passion for the ponies (which includes an appreciation of the smell of horse shit. I get that), excitement of Kentucky Derby day over Christmas and an acceptance of not being liked by everyone. "I wouldn't be doing some right, if everyone liked me," Danny said.

Both of them use a walker. Their gait is careful.

 

There were some technical problems during the show and you'll notice the interview stops abruptly. Equipment malfunction. That's bullshit. It was my ineptness. But you know, that was okay, because it just added to the rawness and unbridled nature of my schmooze with Danny and Vac. But I felt badly when the computer shut off, and I Vac was in the middle of an important soliloquy in which he rarely said 'um'. His eyes lowered knowing his voice had to stop. 

Not sure why exactly, but there was a certain comfort I felt in their environment, more so than what i often feel in rich opulent homes I've been in; a particular safeness I experienced with these fellows who spend their days surviving. Vac and Danny have no airs about them. There was no falseness in that diminutive room (except perhaps for what I missed). What ever exited my friend's mouths, was fine.  There masks had left them many years prior - no strengths to keep them on or simply no reason.  I felt a type of authenticity myself. Their's was somewhat infectious. But I've always felt this. My Dad translated that into having 'bad friends'. Dads! 

So that's what you'll hear in Episode 28 of Hatradio! Joy and melancholy. Intelligence and street. Coughing, hacking and elegance. What you might illicit from this show is that Vac and Danny were once little boys, someone's children, who grew into men battered by poverty, a system that can rip the kishkas out of you, but who did so with huge doses of style and peonage. 

Take out of this show, that those indigent guys and women you see leaning against a wall to brace themselves from falling, might explain Neitzsche better than Professor Grossbaum could or certainly more astutely than those idiots who go around physically bashing homeless in the head, because of their disgusting demons.

Know that Vac and Danny will share a beer with you (not sure if their last one), when people with affluence might horde their suds;  that within poverty is a clarity about life, a generosity of spirit sometimes couched in vomit, but that sloughs off that layer of 'I'll be who you want me to be'.

Is this simple to get, or even to explain? No. But I know something important happened in that room. Listen closely. Tell me what you hear from Vac and Danny. Tell me what truth you uncover from my time with two very complex and simple guys on a hot, muggy day in downtown Toronto. 

Hatradio! It's the show that schmoozes.    

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Yisha ko'ach (yiddish for 'well done') to Howard Pasternack for his post-production work, accomplished like a true engineer. Thank you too, to David 'Middleman' Nefesh for the Hatradio! song. Have a listen to David on Youtube......man has a voice like an angel. 

Credit for music in commercial:
Slow Burn Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Episode 27 Benjamin Shinewald: A Worldly Winnipeger Destined to be a Forklift Driver

Welcome to Episode 27 of Hatradio! with our guest, Benjamin (Benjy) Shinewald. 

A question I always ask myself when I write these blurbs is, why did I bring this particular person on Hatradio! I'm not willy-nilly about my choice of guests. Not at all! I am very particular in fact, as I want to interview folks who are articulate and can express their narrative in a cogent fashion. I delight in schmoozing with a man or woman who has a colorful past. And mostly I enjoy nice people who are thoughtful and by definition, inspiring.

All of that being said, Benjy was an obvious choice 0as a guest because he is a fine person who is highly inspiring. He has a sweet disposition and from what I know about him through the time we worked together at Ve'ahavta (Benjy is on the board), and when he was the CEO of Canadian Jewish Congress, Benjy has always displayed generosity of spirit - a trait that is paramount to the strengthening of our world.

A good example of that, is Benjy's thoughts on his memorial article in the Canadian Jewish News having to do with his Jewish school teacher, the late Mr. Berger. Benjy didn't eulogize the man as if he was a superstar or a hero. Instead he recognized the passion his teacher had for the kids and for learning and turned that into something organically epic, small town big. He reminded us that our teachers, often lead us intellectually and ethically, quietly, stick in hand, in a way that can impact on us forever. And we can imagine Mr. Berger's leadership. And that image parks itself on a shelf somewhere, deep down in our soul.

That generosity of spirit is a big deal in our day and age, in fact at any time in history. It's the niceness, the decency, the caring for others that allows our world to edge forward ever so slightly, a step at a time. Listen to this show. Be conscious of Benjy's compliments for his family (especially his 106 year-old grandma), his colleagues and the kind words he directs toward me. It's subtle but incredibly important.

We like people like that. Mostly, they are the ones we want to make our friends.

The other thing that compelled me to ask Benjy to be a guest is that he is bright. The man has developed his intellect. Not so much like a Talmudic scholar, but more so like a well-read neighbor, with a fertile curiosity and a drive to know and uncover. You'll detect this in our guest a number of times when he replies to a question, "I haven't really thought of this", or "Good question, Avrum". It's clear from these short retorts, that Benjy did not come Hatradio! to simply toss out answers to stuff. He's not fluffy. Benjy was there to share with us truths he'd arrived at or postulations he'd mulled about, or to say, "I don't know". We had an honest, thoughtful dialogue, one which I believe will compel the listener to consider alternatives. 

 

There's a lot more to the interview like: Benjy's many trips abroad and visits to synagogues in far away lands like Beijing, where he saw a mother-of-pearl inlaid ark; like his no-holds-barred challenge to Jewish leadership for being somewhat namby-pamby in its response to anti-Semitism; like his 9-year old wonderment and magical thinking, as to why his tie-wearing Dad, the boss, didn't ride the forklift at his work all day instead of administering systems from his office. And yes, we're privy too, to Benjamin's work on the Privy Council and his toil today bringing green to buildings in Canada and around the world. 

I chose Benjamin Schinewald as a guest on Episode 27 of Hatradio! because there are aspects of his character that I'd like to emulate, and suspect others would as well. Again, this father of two girls, is a decent sort full of love for all personkind, caring and he's bright with the nuts to be contentious. And yes, Benjy is a tad off balance just like the rest of us.  But that just adds to the layers of excitement in our schmooze.

Enjoy! It's a good show. I liked doing it with Benjy. Please share it with others and be in touch with any questions or suggestions for guests at info@hatradio.ca. 

Hatradio! The show that schmoozes (with regular folk).

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Thanks to David Nefesh for the Hatradio! blues song. A pat on the back to Howard Pasternack for his post- production, like deletions of coughs and finger tapping on the Hatradio! table, and goofy things I said that I'm too embarrassed to share with you. :) 

Credit for music in commercial:
Slow Burn Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Episode 26 - Aaron Lightstone: His Metronome is a Dying Person's Heart

This show includes live, moving, beautiful Yiddish music including 'Shein Vi Di Levone' - 'Beautiful Like the Moon' at 58:00 minutes. Be inspired. Share it!)

Learn about 'Quickenings' through music, when a person with dementia comes out of themselves. Fascinating!  

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Welcome to Episode 26 with Aaron Lightstone. For some reason I am feeling an overwhelming sense of joy and awe because of this schmooze. These feelings started when I booked Aaron, a friend of twenty years, to do the show, and were strong throughout the interview and afterward. I believe the reason my response is so powerful is because..... 

Aaron Lightstone is mostly a music therapist at heart. For about 50 minutes of this 80 minute episode, Aaron talks about playing music for people who are dying. Think about that. A person is leaving this earth and their loved ones asks a man who is well-trained as a therapist, is highly proficient on the guitar and who can sing, to join the most private inner sanctums a family can create where the soul of a family member is slowly escaping them and beginning to rise toward the heavens. And Aaron does join them. And he is entirely present through his music, throughout the divine journey starting on earth, that man/woman are taking. What an honor.

While in the room, Aaron plays music the individual loves. He tells us in this interview, how he listens for the dying man's or woman's breathe and he plays according to its rhythm.  My God! His metronome is the person's heart beat.

Sometimes Aaron plays and sings Yiddish songs and other times, improvised notes and chords built upon eastern music.

- LISTEN TO THE IMPROVISED MUSIC. CLOSE YOUR EYES. IMAGINE, BEING IN THAT ROOM. 

- LISTEN TO AARON'S RENDITION OF TWO BEAUTIFUL YIDDISH SONGS HE PLAYED FOR A WOMAN WITH ADVANCED DEMENTIA. DURING THIS EPISODE.  THIS BEAUTIFUL MAN HAS A STIRRING VOICE AND IS SIMPLY MAGNIFICENT AT BRINGING OUT THE SOUL OF JEWISH SONG. IMAGINE WHAT THE ELDERLY WOMAN FELT WHEN HE WAS PERFORMING JUST FOR HER.     

Episode 26 of Hatradio! is spiritual in nature. Listening to it is like hanging out in the forest surrounded by nature's brilliance. Near the second half of the show, Aaron tells us about a band he helped create made up of members with severe physical ailments such as cystic fibrosis. It is called Bliss I-Band. Their instruments? The I-pad. How do some play their instrument? Well Samantha, a member, moves her head and buttons on her the headrest on her wheelchair sends a message to her I-Pad and she plays.

Listen to this Youtube video. 'Heart of Gold' by Neil Young...perhaps one of the coolest jam ever, just like the leaves on a tree. 

(https://youtu.be/F07j_oGbhRc - watch this video on Youtube about the Bliss I-Band) 

Near the end of the show, Aaron and I schmoozed about Jaffa Road, a fusion band he formed in which he plays the oud, guitar and is a composer of many of its songs. Under Aaron’s leadership Jaffa Road has toured widely in North America, won a Canadian Folk Music Award (CFMA), the John Lennon Songwriting contest, and has 2 JUNO Award nominations.

So, I think I love this interview so much because I felt I was with an individual who is a regular guy who performs acts of kindness and who repairs the world a lot, through his music. I want to do what he does. I want to emulate his kindness. I believe, simply put, this shows personifies what Hatradio! is setting out to do....to inspire through regular folks. 

What a wonderful world we share.   Hatradio!  The show that schmoozes (with regular folks). 

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Thank you Howard Pasternack for your post-production work. I love my Thursday nights with you. Well done to David Nefesh, a fine singer/songwriter, for his HATRADIO! song. You start and finish the show. You're our holy book-ends Dave! :) 


Credit for music in commercial: 
Slow Burn Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/