The Avrum Rosensweig Show

Episode 25 -- Greg Rogers: Brash, Compassionate...a Man with a Walrus Penis Collection

Greg Rogers is from Fredericton, New Brunswick. He has an accent from Eastern Canada. He stands about 6 feet and has longish white hair with wicked sideburns. The thing about Greg is, he's as brash and straightforward as you want people to be with no qualms about calling anyone out, especially himself. 

My old friend, 62 years old, who helped me when Ve'ahavta was established as the executive director of Na Me Res (Native Men's Residence), told me in the interview about his walrus penis collection. He told me the first term he learned in Inuktituk which directed as his wife to be, "pull down your pants".  He told me a story of a 'zaidy' (Yiddish for grandfather), whose family lived in his building out east, who used to take all the kids in the neighborhood out in his Cadillac on Sunday. And Greg said, one day something went wrong in the house and he (Greg) called the Zaidy, 'you dirty Jew'.  He said, "that's how i thanked him for taking us out. I'm ashamed of myself." 

The man does not follow convention when it comes to schmoozing. He says what's on his mind, exactly in the way he hears stuff in his head. That is refreshing because so many of us are just so full of shit and believe our own fiction.  

And the thing about Greg is (and he denies this) he is a highly compassionate human being having spent most of his working-life managing non-profits, usually assisting the homeless. He and his wife adopted two children, and he has the ability to understand individuals especially very complex ones. Listen to this episode and discover:

1.   Greg's overwhelming love for his wife, and their romance in Northern Canada (he sent her love notes every day for a year in her native language).

2.   Our shared discussion about the early days of Ve'ahavta and Na Me Res, especially when his clients offered to scrub swastikas off tombstones in a Jewish cemetery in eastern Toronto, and ultimately did so.

3. His thoughts about hatred, racism, good and kindness. He candidly and honestly tells us about his early dislike of French Canadians, which he eventually overcame.  

Greg is an honest, non-judgmental man. He looks at himself and fixes what is broken inside of him. He feels entirely blessed to have a woman he loves (married for 32 years), a wonderful career and great experiences in life.

Greg is a man to emulate and to be inspired by. And they simply don't get funnier that he is.

Hatradio! The show that schmoozes. 

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Yisha Ko'ach (Yiddish for 'way to go') to David Nefesh for the Hatradio! song, and to Howard Pasternack for his post-production work. They help make the show what it is. 

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 24 Avrum Rosensweig, Just Me!

THIS EPISODE IS IN MEMORY OF OUR CHILDREN WHO DIED OF HIV/AIDS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA, OR WHO BECAME ORPHANS BECAUSE OF IT. IT IS IN MEMORY OF OUR NEIGHBORS, WHO LIVED ON THE STREETS OF OUR TOWN AND DIED THERE THIS PAST WINTER. REST IN PEACE. THANK YOU FOR COMING OUR WAY! 

Episode 24 of Hatradio! is a first of its kind. It is a 1-man show, Just me!.

I quite enjoyed doing this segment. I enjoyed it because it gave me the chance to talk and hear my own history and how tikun olam (repairing the world) was so prevalent and a lead up to the creation of Ve'ahavta.

Doing this show was therapeutic. It allowed revisit my past and 'hang out' with my zaidies and boobies (grandfathers and grandmothers). I adored telling the story of my mother, Gitel, walking through Queens Park with her father on Shabbat, seeing that image in my head....the squirrels running past them, the two of them sitting on a bench giggling and telling stories about the old country. I loved talking about my father, Shragah Phyvle, and his two brothers, all of whom were community builders, and cared deeply about the Jewish people and Israel. 

I think when you hear about my family, their journey from Easter Europe and the solid lives they made in the West, you might consider aspects of your own life, your parents and grandparents. You might smell the mothballs in their homes as we did in our grandparent's home, and recall the communication challenges you had with the Boobie, as we did. They were warriors though. They worked arduously. They were beautiful spirits. They lived their lives with verve and purpose and truckloads of love.  

And then their is the second half of the show about the genesis of Ve'ahavta. Man, those were something. They were glorious and golden years. Everything shone. I remember telling my girlfriend at the time, Roz, to remember the coat-hanger we'd purchased for our new office because it was the first coat-hanger of the first Jewish humanitarian organization ever.

In this segment you'll hear about our homeless initiatives including our Mobile Jewish Response to the Homeless and our Ve'ahavta Street Academy for the Homeless.  You'll learn about our international work including medical missions to Guyana in Bartica and the rainforests, and the outstanding work we did with our teams through the brilliant efforts of Dr. Michael Silverman. You'll discover our successes at the Howard Hospital in Zimbabwe, through the tenacity of Scarborough born, Dr. Paul Thistle who has made a life for himself there.

Folks, we met superstars. We were mentored by them. We shared with them. We were exposed to divergent cultures, different peoples, the children! Oh, the children! 

Our toil was holy in its own way and I loved every minute of it.  Every frickin minute. 

The greatest challenge doing this podcast was being articulate throughout the 1 hour and 40 minutes but mostly telling a good story, that flowed, was cogent and consistent - that made sense.  Howard and I worked on the post-production and while it wasn't the most editing we'd ever done we had to listen closely to ensure a poetry of words. And I think we figured it out. I think you'll enjoy the show.

Have a listen and let me know what you think. Share this link as I am hoping people will be encouraged through it to pursue their own dreams and enhance our world and those whom we share this planet with. 'm hoping our community of listeners here, will see their blessings and recognize what we have, versus what we lack. That is not easy, but it is do-able. 

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

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Thank you to David Nefesh for creating the Hatradio! song. David's been my brother since we're eight year old. We adopted each other. He's talented as hell. Do a google search on David Nefesh and listen to his music. He has a voice of an angle and his lyrics live.  And thank you to Howard Pasternack, my friend, for his post-production work which he does consistently every Thursday afternoon - Thursdays with Howard. We have amazing times together, editing but more so, attempting to understand the world. He's a fine teacher and cerebral partner. Well done Howard! 

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 23 Massimo Capra: A Joyous Culinary Superstar

Massimo Capra was thirteen, living in a small town in Italy, when he first started working in a kitchen. Today Massimo is fifty-nine and a superstar in the Canadian culinary industry. If you’re into restaurants, familiar with Prego, Mistura and good food, then you’ve heard of Massimo and/or delighted in his handy work - superlative food. 

But the real thing I've discovered about Massimo, over the years and through this interview, is that he is a decent man with a generous spirit. Indeed, Massimo does not reflect those silly stereotypes we frequently see of head chefs. In his words, "it's hard to bring out the ugly" in him.

Massimo is the type of fellow you feel safe around. He laughs a lot even when we schmoozed about his near-death experience last year. He told us, the doctors said he may not live through the night, and Massimo laughed. (I didn't when I had my heart attacks). It's clear, humor is the walking stick he leans on unabashedly! And his thick Italian accent makes every sentence he utters seem so damn fun, tasty and scenic!  

 

Massimo is the son of a dairy farmer. They were "poor, poor, poor". So early on this highly talented man, learned about sharing. Massimo understood he'd have to work his ass off  to accomplish his dream of one day being a self-made man. Today he is. Massimo owns a successful restaurant in Clarkson, called Capra Kitchen and has three others licensed in his name: one in Niagara Falls, another at Toronto airport and a third in Qatar. And he found love over thirty years ago. He adores his wife. 

When I opened the door to my place to greet Massimo, I was delighted he had brought with him his beautiful Rosa. I think he did because he likes being with her and she clearly gives him lots of support. Similarly, Marty Galin was the co-host of this show and all of us go way back as buds.

Rosa and Massimo seem the type of couple who hold hands after a few decades of being together. You know those couples? 

Rosa is a demur, quiet but a strong woman who gives balance to Massimo's very effusive and big character. The two suffered a terrible loss last year when their son, Andrew passed away in Prague. Man, such a loss! Sometimes i was unable to find words to say to them (like we all get after hearing of such a tragedy). Marty and I knew Andrew. He was a good kid.

But in truth, Massimo and Rosa have strong inner selves, powerful love between them and their son, Daniel, and they are rooted firmly to the ground. I like to think this interview helped to bring Andrew to life in a way, for a moment, and give his parents some happiness at the gift of having had him as their son. Rest in peace, dear Andrew.

I like to think Hatradio! has the ability to give people gifts.

So this episode (23) of Hatradio! is a special show because Massimo, Rosa, Marty and I were back together again. It was like the old times, days passed when we were all involved in TV shows like ‘Beer Buddies’ and many radio shows. We reminisced about those days and our famous dinners at Mistura Restaurant, an upscale eatery once co-owned by Massimo. We thanked Massimo for taking Marty and me seriously. Some chefs did not. 

We schmoozed about the genesis of Massimo's beet risotto;  the process of creating recipes; how Massimo was never interested in being the best (i think he wanted just to be happy); how he was kicked and abused by mentor-chefs in his early days (sometimes the stereotypes are true) and his appreciation of our friendship and the gifts he has in life. 

Listen carefully to our interview with Massimo Capra, and be inspired by his joy (real joy, not the bullshit joy people put on), his drive to create and his intentionally strong hold on every second of life. Hear his laughter. You get this sense he's mocking the devil and saying, 'you'll not make me unhappy Devil. I love life way too much.' 

Hatradio! It's the show that schmoozes (with regular folk). 

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Credit for Music, the very talented, David Nefesh.  Credit for post-production:  the very detailed (unlike me), Howard Pasternack.

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 22 -- Nate Leipciger: Man is Basically Good.

Nate Leipciger sits across from me at my dining-room table. He is a young man of 91 years. He is a  Holocaust Survivor. It is moments like this when I feel most alive, most real, as I am joined by someone who has vast awareness, who is highly inspiring.

Nate was eleven when his the hell called the Holocaust began. His personal road took him through ghettos, death camps and ultimately to Auschwitz. He was grabbed away from the safety he called home. He was stripped, de-loused and humiliated.  All of this persecution happened right next to his father, Jacob, the person in his life who was his protector – a partner with God in his creation, in his life.

One day, early on in the Holocaust, young Nate heard a noise outside his barracks. He jumped up on a bed, stared out of a broken slat and saw a site, “I never wish I had seen”. Lines of Jewish woman walked by crying, screaming, knowing they were about “to go up the chimney”. Later Nate, a beautiful Jewish boy, determined his mother, Leah, and his sister, Blima were two of those women. The mother of this boy, and his only sibling were executed, murdered by the Nazis. And that was it. They were gone.

And it was Yom Kipper day. And today Yom Kipper is “intense” for Nate and he remembers Leah and Blima and he says the name of all his cousins who went up that same chimney.

 

The war continued and men able to abuse Nate, did so, sexually, mentally, physically and….and….and. But Nate made it. He told me in this interview, his father saved his life a number of times. I found it quite something Nate could never satisfy his father prior to the war. Blima was the apple of his eye. Yet a father is a father, is a father and while a son may not size up intellectually or otherwise at an early age, there is an on-button inside a dad, inside Jacob, that never failed to flip on when Nate, a precious Jewish kid, needed saving. Imagine, your father or your mother does that. What must you feel in your heart?

I asked Nate if there was kindness in the camps. He said kindness was everywhere. “Give me an example,” I asked Nate. “My father and I worked different shifts. Once I threw my father a piece of bread (while he worked). He missed it. Another prisoner picked it up and gave it to him. That is kindness.”  Unlike Eli Wiesel who said his father was a burden to him, Jacob and Nate were intertwined and each survival, their breath, was dependent on the other.

Nate continued, “kindness was a nice word. Kindness was when I wasn’t pushed out of line even though I was little.”

“You have a choice of being kind or not being kind,” Nate said. He applied this belief to today, and always.

After all this, after the brutality levied against him; after the murder of his Leah and Blima, after he become emaciated and no longer was able to walk, Nate Leipciger still had hope. And he stated with confidence during our schmooze, “I believe in humanity. Man is basically good, yet there are influences that make us bad.”  

Nate has that hope today despite his hardship, despite the fact a few short months ago, he and his beautiful wife Bernice, buried their daughter. Oy!

About the Jewish people, the man sitting across from me with that gleam in his eye said, “what did they do when they were liberated? They built synagogues. They said kaddish for those they had lost. And they got married and they had children.”  

About hatred, Nate Leipciger said, “Hate has no influence on the people you hate. I feel the hatred in myself. It destroys the person hating.”

Nate Leipciger is an author. He has returned to Auschwitz with Prime Minister Trudeau where they cried together. He speaks regularly to students about his experiences. Nate is alive. Very alive. And he made me feel the same during our conversation on Hatradio!

God bless Nate Leipciger.

Today I ask humanity to embrace him warmly and safely, as he has done to us.  Please listen to this interview. It’s important for your hope in humankind. Hatradio! The show that schmoozes. (Thank you to David Nefesh for the music, and Howard Pasternack for post-production)

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 21 - David Rheaume: Canada's Norman Rockwell

David Rheaume, Canada's Norman Rockwell, is a big man. The bigness i'm talking about is found in this man's spirit.  

My old friend, joined me at my place on May 21. 2019 to do an interview. It was lovely to see David as it had been a while. 

David and I were inextricably bound together for three years, way back in the days when I was doing a TV series with Marty called, 'The Moveable Feast'. Dave was the director. He did a brilliant job of keeping me and Marty on the straight and narrow (well sort of) and ensured we got a very quirky show in the can every week that was delivered on time. He was inspiring and creative then, and equally so nowadays. 

So, the thing about David Rheaume is that he has greatness in his blood. His dad was Gene Rheaume RIP, a member of parliament, one of Canada's only Metis member, and a man described by his kids, all six of them, as being larger than life. Watch this YouTube video and you'll get a sense of Dave's DNA. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-tEGTe81II  . David's mom is a lovely woman who raised the kid with consistency and love. David's brother Ross, is also a superlative artist and was a well-known rock-and-roller. His niece, Amanda, is a Canadian singer/songwriter and Juno award winner. Dave is part of a very successful family. 

 

Have a listen to Episode 21 of Hatradio! and learn about David Rheaume. Discover he is a father of three very beautiful kids who have accomplished mush so far in life. He's married and absolutely adores and respects his wife, Siobhan McCarthy, whom he calls 'selfless'. He figures if she can love him, she must be very special. Yes, David is self-deprecating in an endearing sort of way and that's what makes the two of us friends - insults!  

What stands out about this very humble man is his artwork. He is the consummate storyteller and has developed a style which he refers to as cinema-art -- with an ever-present eye for the story and lighting.

David feels that we've lost 'the need for artwork to tell stories" so he is on a journey to change that. Essentially, to start off a picture David will dive into the Canadian archives and chooses pictures which represent a Canadian moment, in particular those with snow. "I grew up in Ottawa and my whole childhood was spent literally in snow. When I think of being a child I think of snow," David states.

About his art, this mid-fifties painter says, "I like to think of these paintings as one frame out of a film strip. There is a before and after (frame) you can sense on either side of these pictures." David continues, "part of my goal is to take these stories, lift them out of the archives, put them in the canvass and tell those stories to Canadians."

When you see David's art, you'll immediately recognize the characters in them. While you can't see their faces, as frequently they are depicted with their backs to us, you'll be drawn into the picture in a bid to get to know the people, such as the skater or the iceman. (David qualifies  'The Iceman' as one of his best pictures). David's ability to familiarize us with the characters in his art without drawing faces on them, is impressive! 

Most importantly, David's art reminds us of what life was like then, way back when we were rushing to be with our family, after a day of toil on that freezing Canadian winter night or when we were kids and things seemed magical. "As Canadians we can really identify with these people. We've been there. We’ve been like the guy in 'Heading Home' walking through that winter evening home to get home after a long day of work. We’ve been like the skaters in the Christie Pits painting - those guys in the ravine late at night. You can almost hear the skate blades on ice, and hear the puck hitting the boards."

In essence, David Rheaume's art brings back characters who are long since gone. He believes they are "ready to jump to life" and he makes that happen through the process of painting. David brings happiness to the Canadian viewer and a sense of pride in who we are a nation and as a people.

David Rheaume personifies better than any other Canadian artist the slice-of-life we call home and those moments we identify with to create our personal and national identity and narrative.  David Rheaume - Canada's Norman Rockwell on Hatradio! The show that schmoozes. Be in touch at avrum@hatradio.ca . 

Thank you to Howard Pasternack for a great job on post-production and David Nefesh for the Hatradio! Blues Song. Kicks ass! 

 

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 20 Dr. Sandy Buchman: A Deeply Caring Physician

You know when you meet someone who wrote a book when they were twelve-years old or competed in the Olympics at fifteen. You know that sense you get, they will just fly high with success throughout their life. Well Dr. Sandy Buchman is one such person. 

Sandy, our guest on episode 20 of Hatradio!, was born and educated in Toronto. He dropped out of high school at the end of grade 11 because “I was unhappy.....bored....”. So you’re thinking he went to work in a gas station. Wrong. He started his own school with other guys in his situation and it was accredited by the Ministry of Education. The school rocked.

“I studied everything from calculus to Zen Buddism. For Shakespeare we hopped on our bikes and rode to Stratford to see it performed." Funnily, their school required an adult be the 'principal' so his buddy's dad was. "My grade 13 diploma was signed by him. He was a used car salesman." 

Sandy has always been like that, a creative independent thinker. Later on he wanted to get into medical school. The entrance interview at McMaster University. included the question, what have you done in life where you had a problem and you need to determine a solution. Sandy's response was, 'I started a school in grade 12.'  He got in. They liked that.

Sandy became a family doctor. He did because, "family medicine was about the social dynamic between the patient and the physician. within the context of their family and lives.” In essence he liked family medicine because it was about relationships. 

About 15 years ago, Dr. Buchman's family practice evolved into that of palliative care where he felt he could help minimize the suffering of his patients, be compassionate toward those who are dying and accompany them on their journey.

Since then Sandy has tended to many people in a loving, caring fashion including his work out of a hospice for the homeless. He is deeply saddened by the reality the average life expectancy in Canada is 83. For a homeless person it's about 40. This driven doctor is currently launching a Jewish hospice in Toronto, the first of its kind, called Neshama (soul). So far he and his team have raised $11 million out of the $18 million required. 

Sandy has traveled to Guayana, Zimbabwe and Malawi with non-profits, to play a role in medical care in these very poor countries. He is also part of a team of physicians who participate in medically assisted dying.

In short, Sandy is a type-A person and has been that way since the launch of his school at sixteen. He has worked hard to alleviate the suffering of many through countless programs and projects, many of which he's founded.

Sandy is an inspiring human being, someone who feels deeply blessed for what he has. Listen to Episode 20 and be inspired and challenged by Dr. Sandy Buchman.   

Hatradio! The show that schmoozes.

Episode 19 Rabbi Korobkin: A Brave Orthodox Rabbi

Rabbi Daniel Korobkin was born in California. His father was an entertainment lawyer with clients such as the enormous metal band, Megadeth. Daniel's mother is a Survivor who at 6 years old was on the Kinder-transport. 

Daniel was a fine thinker then, and an even better one now. He loves nothing more than to develop complex ideas which he can impart to others, simplistically.   Daniel received his Master of Arts degree in medieval Jewish and Islamic thought from UCLA's Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, and his Master of Science degree from the Johns Hopkins University School for Engineering at the Applied Physics Laboratory. 

About a decade ago Rabbi Korobkin came to Toronto to step into the position of rabbi at Beth Avraham Yoseph Synagogue - one of the largest Orthodox Shuls in North America. While it took awhile to learn his way around the very big edifice, and around the membership, he ultimately took the community by storm with his fierce passion for learning, teaching and caring for his congregants.

What I really liked about schmoozing with Rabbi Korobkin was being with a man, a Jewish leader, who is courageous. He accepts the fact there are more than just Orthodox Jews within the Jewish family and in his own way, a very important way, he embraces them. He tells the Jewish man who is a homosexual and not accepted by the community, 'you are special and they don't know you like I know you. You hold your head high.' He's a man who is prepared to take the shots from other leaders, knowing he's doing the right thing. 

In essence, Rabbi Korobkin subscribes to King Solomons’s statement that, “there is no such thing as doing good and doing no evil.”  And he believes, like a great (mussar) Rabbi of the 19th century, ' you can lock yourself in a closet and you’ll never do anything wrong but, you’ll never do anything good either.

And what I respected about the man is his well developed sense of unity. This statement he made during our interview says it best:  "If we would only recognize the value in each and every Jew, what each person brings to the table no matter how different they are from us, we would have a much greater nation, a homogeneous nation that is made up of diverse parts. We would really bring redemption right away.”

This is Rabbi Daniel Korobkin. He is a bright, compassionate human being, a lover of the Jewish people and Israel, and a man who embraces all Jews and all of person-kind. This is a special edition of Hatradio!.

(Thanks to Howard Pasternack for his post-production on this show and every other we've done. And a hearty 'way to go' to David Nefesh for his blues song, 'In the Hat'.)

This is a beautiful edition of Hatradio! . 

Hatradio! The show that schmoozes.

 

 

Episode 18 Sadie Domb:The Fascinating Life of Avrum's Son's Bar Mitzvah Teacher!

Somewhere, sometime, a young boy or girl sits together with their bar/bat mitzvah teacher learning the ancient art of singing the trope - the notes devised two thousand years ago to celebrate every syllable of the Torah.

The ‘day of’ arrives – the Bar/Bat mitzvah day – and the thirteen year old boy, or the twelve year old girl walks up to the open scroll, the Five books of Moses, and begins to sing. Carefully they manage the revi’i, a note that modestly ends a Torah thought. They breathe deeply to chant the pazer, a noise that curls up, then goes higher, then dips half way back down.

Today they are a man. Today they are a woman. Their meticulously read Torah reading proves this. 

 

This week I had the distinct honor to interview Sadie Domb, a bar/bat mitzvah teacher, in fact my son’s bar mitzvah teacher. She is a delicate and very sure religious woman. Sadie carries herself as if a character in a Renoir painting - well coiffed, elegant and proud. 

Throughout our one and half hour schmooze I learned from Sadie that “I love what I do”. She repeated this sentiment several times. I knew it to be true because her voice rose and strengthened as she said so. She was intent.

"I just love being part of people's lives and watching them go through a metamorphosis," Sadie adds. 

As we talked, Sadie shared with me that she became a bar/bat mitzvah teacher in 1980. Since then she has taught around 1000 boys and girls their Torah portion and other aspects of Jewish services required for their ‘day of’. "I'm now starting to get the children of my (former) students," Sadie said.

Sadie continued, that every student, on the first day of lessons, makes an agreement with Sadie they will be diligent about their studies, prioritizing them the way Torah requires them to do. "We working as a team toward the common goal", Sadie said. 

She assures her student she believes in them and “I will get you there” and sure enough she does. 

With great pride the bar mitzvah teacher relates to me her memory of the child she taught who has autism. Sadie explained, every student is unique and in this case she taught the boy four songs to sing on the 'day of' as well as a dance.  It was good. It worked out well because both of them loved to dance.

Sadied recalled the child who was scared of chanting the long and winding Pa’zer, one of the trope (Torah notes) dotting a syllable in the scriptures. Sadie told the student, “lets just try it. You might be surprised." And sure enough he mastered the sound, was surprised and grew as a person because of it. 

I truly loved conducting this interview with Sadie?  I did because she is my son’s bar mitzvah teacher and such a person will only come along once in his life and mine. I did because the role of the bar/bat mitzvah teacher is special. They enter into a young person’s life, our offspring, as they transition.

Her responsibility is enormous and that is, to ensure with little hesitancy the bar/bat mitzvah will stand tall on their ‘day of’, pronounce all the words of the holy scripture and manage the challenging trope the way a seasoned ba’al koreh (a regular Torah reader) might.

Sadie is the guardian at the gate of my child's right of passage. I trusted she would be gentle as my progeny walked through that entry way into adulthood. She was. She is.

Sadie Domb is my son’s bar mitzvah teacher. A magnificent human being and our partner in my child's, many family's children, as they become a man, as they become a woman. 

Have a listen and remember your own bar/bat mitzvah. Remember your teacher and celebrate them, if you are able, as I am celebrating Sadie Domb and her responsible and loving approach to my son's ‘day of’ - his bar mitzvah.

Hatradio!  The show that schmoozes.

Episode 17 -- Steve Paikin: "I Don’t Know what I’m Doing Here"

Once I’ve completed an interview with a guest, I listen to it over and over to determine how it  can best be edited to reflect superlative production value and content. 

Most of my schmoozes require some editing work, but this one, my interview with Steve Paikin of TVO's The Agenda, I left mostly intact. I did because Steve is as articulate as they come, a  storyteller par excellence who relays his colorful experience like few others. Editing this piece too much, I felt would detract from the value of our time together. 

I am uber-excited to share Episode 17 of Hatradio! with you because of this. Here, you have a unique opportunity to hear from Steve Paikin, a Canadian media-icon, and to learn about him, about Canada, Ontario, Hamilton, Toronto, Ontario Premiers and politicians, the Rwandan genocide, hockey, summer camp and a plethora of other stuff he generously shared with me. 

I stress 'unique' because Steve said he has never done an extensive interview before about himself. I felt good about that. 

 

So why did I title the show, “I Don’t Know what I’m Doing Here”?  Good question. Steve is a very accomplished fellow including the author of seven books, an on-air host of 25,000 shows and interviews as well as the producer of a number of documentaries. Yet, when he accepted the Order of Canada from the Governor General, the first thing he said to him was “I don’t know what I’m doing here.”  The Governor General responded, “I do”. This relaxed Steve even though he was baffled as to what he was doing in the company of doctors looking for the cure to Cancer and other such accomplished folk.

I appreciated  the man's humility and felt it apropos to title the show after a statement which reflects that.    

Listen to this episode and you'll discover, Steve Paikin of TVO's The Agenda, has a fascinating life. He has interacted and schmoozed with the whose who of Canada and many Americans including one of his on-air mentor, Ted Kopel. You just know,  Steve felt deeply blessed to be able to interview and write a book about the last nine premiers of Ontario. And with all this, h is greatest influences in life were: his parents, school and camp (which he is over the top about). 

In short, this interview was full of gems about Steve Paikin, the country he loves and so much more. We covered the stars like Gino Vannelli, the hockey players including Steve’s favorite, Ron Ellis, and of course the politicians, focusing on John Robarts, the 17^th premier of Ontario (Steve called his life a Shakespearean story). Steve is also compelled to talk about humanitarian issues in a big way including the Rwandan genocide. He talked extensively about his love of shinny hockey as well as his mother's lengthy volunteer resume, and his father's passion - refurbishing old railway cars.  

But the thing I took away from my interview with Steve is that he takes his work very seriously, as he does the issues, but not himself. And I like that. I appreciate it. Steve does not bask in the glory of his fame. Quite the opposite. He doesn’t really care about the lights, or the cameras. He does care however about the action and his ability to highlight the chapters of a hard working person and give them the coverage they deserve.

In short, this is a uniquely compelling episode, one which might encourage you to watch The Agenda with Steve Paikin, appreciate the country we live in, and be inspired to grow the way our guest, Steve Paikin, has. He may not have known what he was doing at the Order of Canada acceptance program, but it's clear to a bunch of us, it made a lot of sense for him to be bestowed with one of this country's highest honors. 

Hatradio! The show that schmoozes!

 

Episode 16: Pat Rush - Slide, Patty, Slide!

Pat Rush is an internationally acclaimed guitarist. He has played and jammed with Johnny Winter, The Allman Brothers, Muddy Waters, B.B. King and many more. He toured with James Cotton for three years. Pat was also a member of The Jeff Healey Band for twelve years.

I was so honored to schmooze with him on Hatradio! this April 2019, all the time sensing I was with someone very special and highly accomplished. The interview felt historic in nature.

 

Pat was thirteen when he learned how to play guitar. He bought his first axe for $13.99 from his neighbor Bobby Miles. His mom loaned him the cash of which he repaid mowing lawns at .50 cents each.

After a few months of lessons using the Mel Bay method, his teacher, Don Russell, told Pat’s mom he couldn’t teach Pat anymore as he’s already so far ahead in the books. He said, “you don’t need me anymore. Let Pat learn and he’ll teach you (Pat’s mom was taking lessons with him).”  And that’s what happened.

Pat grew and grew as a guitarist playing churches and school venues. His first paid gig was in a church. He received $20 and shared it with the band members. The years passed and eventually Pat launched a band called Thunderhead. “We filled the places we played. Thunderhead was a big band,” Pat said.

The iconic guitarist, Johnny Winter sat in. He also produced one of their albums. Edgar Winter played piano on it. Ultimately Pat came to see Johnny and Edgar as dear friends. Later on Pat toured with Johnny, and they lived together. “Edgar used to beat me in pool,” Pat said, “even though he was legally blind”.

 

Pat, as mentioned, has played with the gurus of rock and blues including, James Cotton and Muddy Waters. He learned slide guitar from Duane Allman (in Holiday Inns where they stayed after gigs in the South) and later on taught Jose Feliciano how to play that same style of guitar.

One evening, during a concert at Toad’s Place in New Haven, Muddy called Pat up on stage. They jammed and then Muddy told Pat he wasn’t feeling well and wanted him to play the encore. Pat figured he’s use Bob Margolin’s (a band member) guitar but Muddy handed him his red telecaster instead. Muddy exited the stage and they played ‘Dust my Blues’. Pat said the place went nuts. Later, Bob said to Pat, “do you have any idea what happened here tonight? Muddy won’t even let me touch that guitar”. Bob said Muddy never loaned his guitar to anyone in fact denied Eric Clapton the right to play it one night. Pat is special and Muddy got that.

 

Pat loved Jeff Healey. They traveled together. Listened to records together. And of course, played the blues and rock together for a dozen years. Pat describes his time with Jeff as magical and says he misses him dearly.  He spoke about him in very fond terms. “Jeff had an uncanny ability to remember the titles, tracks and musicians on all of his 35,000 albums”, Pat said.

Pat made up a game called “Stump the Jeff”, in an effort to trip up Healey. Pat said, “I never did. Not once. He was a savant. “   By the way, the name of this episode - 'Slide Patty, Slide!' is from a YouTube video I saw where Jeff instructed Pat during a wicked rock song, to play a lead. Jeff said to him, "Slide Patty, slide". And he did. I loved that!  

 

Pat Rush is indeed a special man. He is soft spoken and has a sweet way about him. And, Pat is  one hell of a guitar player, a prodigy, who is an integral member of the rock and roll and blues world. I was proud to have him as our guest and to hear about his life, his history, his stories.

Have a listen to my schmooze with Pat Rush and let me know what you think. Thanks so much for listening!

Happy Passover and Easter. Fight for freedom. Unlock the chains of slavery. Today, in our world, there are still 45 million slaves, 10 million of which are children.

Hatradio! The show that schmoozes