By Gary Curreri

Ken Zeber has played in the Sunshine Seniors Softball League at the 4-Fields Complex in Pompano since 2003, and, despite having five bypasses 16 years ago, he still loves playing. Zeber, who will turn 69 in December and lives in Oakland Park, said he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“The best part is probably seeing guys older than me out there playing and getting exercise even though I still go to the gym,” Zeber said. “The bypasses came after being too active at night with my playing softball, coaching little league for my son, the wife and I were bowling and my daughter at dance. With all this activity, we ate (fast food) five nights a week and I believe that’s what caused them.”

The league recently concluded its summer season as Wally’s Raiders rallied for an 11-inning, 18-14 victory over the Reds in the championship game of the slow pitch summer league that plays on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at the complex.

“It’s a lot of fun,” said Bill Coyne, who retired from the Town of Davie three years ago where he was a police lieutenant. “There is great camaraderie and you meet a lot of people from all walks of life and areas.”

Coyne, 61, of Coral Springs, is also a member of the No Stars All-Star team that plays in the Florida Half Century Softball Association. They’ve won three tournaments in the 60s age group this season and they play once a month around the state. The Pompano Beachbased league has many travel team players still competing at the highest levels despite their ages.

“I see myself playing as long as I am healthy,” Coyne said. “We have some guys that play in the league that play well into their 80s and (play) at a good level. You forget that they are that old and still doing that.”

This is the 16th year of the Sunshine Seniors Softball League, which will have between four and six teams during the three seasons the league holds.

“It is the greatest thing in the world, especially for the ages of players that we have,” said Bart Grillo, 83, of Deerfield Beach, who serves as commissioner of the league. “I would say the majority of our guys, at least 50 percent of them, are over 70. They enjoy the game.”

Grillo, who hung up his cleats three years ago because of health issues, said he tries to downplay the competitive nature of the seniors.

The 55-and-older slow pitch softball league plays on Tuesdays and Thursdays and will play occasional tournaments on Saturdays at the 4-Fields complex in Pompano. Grillo said there are players who are involved in the Florida Half Century Amateur Softball Association that features tournaments around the state for seniors.

Grillo, who was inducted into the National Senior Softball Hall of Fame in January 2007, joked there is an age limit for his league. He credited the city of Pompano for its support and that the league has been able to succeed.

“You can play up to 100 if you can make it,” Grillo said with a laugh. “We have a dozen guys who are in their 80s. I would still be playing if I didn’t have a problem with my breathing. It is a lot of fun. It is enjoyment and something to do.”

For more information on the league, contact Grillo at 954- 421-6892.

Youth soccer registration

The city of Pompano is currently taking registrations for its youth soccer program. Registration began on Nov. 5 and the program begins on Dec. 17, for players ages 5-7 and 11-13 (Monday & Wednesday); Dec. 18, for players ages 8-10 (Tuesday & Thursday). Cost is $54 for residents and $110 for non-residents.

It is an opportunity to experience a great program that offers the fundamentals and skills in the sport of soccer. The city will be hosting evaluations for ages 8 and up to determine team assignments. For more information, call 954-786-4119.

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

Each year since President Obama was first elected, a “Twilight” movie has been released. The box office revenue generated has been more revenue than the president’s taxation policies. With this kind of economic incentive, one wonders if author Stephenie Meyer had secretly written a continuation of her vampire/werewolf middle school Gothic romance. When word “leaked” that a “twist” ending had been added to Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2, one feared another four Twilight movies by 2016.

Fortunately, Breaking Dawn: Part 2 does present closure to the Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) saga. In the last flick, the newlywed Bella was on the verge of dying during the birth of her child. Thanks to the timely action of her husband, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), Bella becomes a vampire. This upsets the vampire status quo and an international civil war rages in the forests of Washington state.

As a series of five movies, the Twilight saga improved with each production. To the producer’s credit, they fulfilled fan expectations. It will be fascinating if, in the year 2022, the fan base will feel the same affection to Team Jacob, Team Edward or Bella Swan.

After The Devil Wears Prada and the Anna Wintour BioPic The September Issue, one can grow weary of the narcissism of the fashion industry. Then the documentary Diana Vreeland: The Eye has to Travel” is released, revealing what a joke the industry really is.

With an archive of interviews conducted by George Plimpton, this documentary features the “Forrest Gump” of fashion design, Diana Vreeland. Born in Paris, Diana and her sister witness the coronation of Britain’s King George V. The family moves to Colorado and Diana befriends former cowboy and carnival huckster, Buffalo Bill Cody. As a teenager during the Roaring Twenties, Diana parties with Josephine Baker, returns to Europe and finds Adolph Hitler’s mustache amusing.

Given her personal contacts with the hoi polloi, Diana gets a job writing for “Harper’s Bazaar,” before transitioning to “Vogue” in the early 1960s. Eventually, Vreeland was named consultant to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, cementing her image as a Manhattan elitist.

Given the footage that is revealed and her place in reporting current events, this film provides an entertaining history lesson about the 20th Century.

“The soul is the Lord’s candle.” (Proverbs 20:27)

Chanukah is soon upon us. Many of you may be thinking that Chanukah is coming early this year, but if you look at the Lunar Calendar that the Jewish People have been using for more years than I can count, you will find that Chanukah this year is actually on the very same day that it comes each and every year: it begins on the evening of the 24th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev.

On Chanukah, we light lights. We start with the highest candle, known as the Shamus. We light the Shamus with a match and then we use that particular candle to light the other candles (Whatever number is appropriate for that particular night). The Shamus represents the light of G-d. It was G-d who originally said, “Let there be light.” Each of the other candles on the Chaunkiah (The Chanukah Menorah) needs to be touched by the wick of the Shamus, by the light of G-d.

The wick is a fuse and just as each candle needs to be touched by the fuse of the Shamus to lighten up, we each need to strive to fuse ourselves to G-d and, in so doing, we light up our very soul.

But Chanukah isn’t just a time to fuse our souls with G-d; Chanukah is a time to fuse our bodies as well. The body that contains our soul is often referred to as a Temple. The modern day house of worship, our temples, our shuls, our synagogues house the Torah scrolls. Our bodies house our neshamot, our souls, during our sojourn on this earth. As a Rabbi’s son, I grew up knowing that the Synagogue was to be kept clean, it was to be kept in good repair and it was to be a place of warmth and comfort. On Chanukah, we recall a time when the temple (the great temple in Jerusalem) was ransacked, holy items were torn apart or burned and this wondrous place of holiness was turned into an idolatrous sty by Antiochus IV and his Greek hordes.

But lo and behold, there was a miraculous military victory by a small group of untrained Jews led by the family Maccabee, and we regained control of the great temple. The problem was that it was a total mess.

So began a period of rededicating the temple to make it, once again, a place of holiness, a House of G-d. While Chanukah reminds us of the rededication of the temple, let us not forget that our bodies are also a temple, and just as the synagogue houses objects sacred to our faith, our bodies house something else that is extremely sacred … our souls. This Chanukah, let us remember not only to light up our synagogues and our homes with the Chanukah Candles. Let us remember not only to rededicate the temple, but let us also rededicate ourselves to taking care of our bodies, the temples that house our souls during our time on this earth, and, in doing so, may we be a light unto the nations.

Shalom my friends,

Rabbi Craig H. Ezring

Rabbi Ezring is a member of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains and serves in this capacity in a number of healthcare settings in the area including Advocate Home Care Services and L’Chayim Jewish Hospice in Partnership with Catholic Hospice of Broward County.

By Gary Curreri

Highlands Christian Academy sophomore Andrew Celesti made school history recently as he became the first member from his school to reach the FHSAA state bowling championships.

Celesti rolled a three-game total of 733 (255-198-280) to finish just 17 pins shy of tournament champion Pablo Cerda of Coral Springs Charter at Strikes at Boca recently.

“It was pretty cool,” said Celesti, who went on to place 109th out of 183 bowlers after rolling a four-game total of 697 (202-176-167-152) at the state tournament at Boardwalk Bowl in Orlando. “It was amazing to be going to state. I didn’t really have that thought at the beginning of the year.”

Celesti said he averaged 180 in the league during the year, but put up a career-best, 280 in his final game at district to ensure his team would have a shot at the Baker games. His previous high was a 267.

“We were bowling good in competition and, in the third game, we went all out,” Celesti said. “I kept the mindset to strike out and I did it.”

Celesti’s brother, Chris, a senior, took fifth (205-212- 235-652) and narrowly missed advancing to state with his brother.

Knights’ teammate, Tyler Current, rolled a three-game series of 557, while Jonathan Cunningham totaled 461 for his three-game series. Ethan Peraza bowled a three-game series of 358.

Highlands Christian was a surprising qualifier for the Baker games at the statequalifying District 14 tournament as it made up a 36-pin deficit on Coral Springs Charter in its final game by bowling a 1,022. Coral Springs Charter School was only able to muster an 863 in its final game.

The Knights finished with a three-game total of 2,761, while Coral Springs Charter was fifth with 2,638 pins.

Highlands lost 3-1 to Boca Raton in the opening round of the Baker games, but rallied to top Santaluces, 3-1 in the second round. Boca Raton then swept Highlands in three straight games to advance to the final where it lost to Park Vista, 3-2. Only the Top 2 teams and Top 2 individuals advance to the state tournament.

First-year coach Timothy Celesti, father of both Chris and Andrew, said advancing to the Baker games didn’t surprise him.

“There was some good talent and I knew the boys could do it if they kept their minds clear,” the elder Celesti said. “What I did at districts was that they were loose so I left them alone. It would have been unbelievable to get a berth to states, but the fact that we were even in that position was a huge accomplishment because it is only our second year bowling at Highlands.”

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

While filming two of her classic westerns, The Big Country and How the West was Won, actress Carroll Baker wrote about her harrowing experiences driving a wagon buckboard with two teams of energetic horses. These experiences prepared her for her recent battles with Hurricane Sandy.

“After the hurricane and not having access to food and water, I never thought I would be so happy to be on an airplane!” said Carroll.

Her daughter, Blanche, added, “It was only after takeoff that we could see an overview of how bad it was in New York.”

Arriving in Ft. Lauderdale with just the clothes on their backs, Carroll and Blanche went shopping on Las Olas before their weekend of personal appearances for the Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival (FLIFF). While mom was receiving the Lifetime achievement award, daughter, also an actress, screened two movies: Hypothermia and Ruth Madoff occupies Wall Street.

Both have worked with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Blanche in Deal and Carroll in Kindergarten Cop. Carroll compared actors from the Golden Age of Hollywood with today’s crop.

“They were not as casual as today’s actors. They had perfect manners and took the craft seriously. When shooting Kindergarten Cop, I had to get hit with a bat. I had padding on my stomach … somebody kept checking and adjusting the back. Eventually, I felt hands on my bottom and I turned around … it was Arnold! Gable and Stewart would never do or consider a thing like that.”

In her autobiography “Baby Doll,” Carroll wrote about her “second nervous breakdown” in the late 1960s and talked about her recovery.

“I got out of the pressure of Hollywood. I wanted to get the children out of Beverly Hills before the age of 8. I could see the drugs in the schools already. I was a single mom. I moved to Rome, which saved me,” she said.

An adolescent at the time, Blanche admitted that, “It was a bit of a culture shock, moving to and from Italy. Now knowing what I know, she put us first.”

Ten years later, Blanche earned an Emmy Award for the miniseries, Holocaust, costarring Meryl Streep.

The strongest memories I will remember from FLIFF will be the bond I witnessed with Bailee Madison, Steven Bauer and Blanche Baker with their Moms on the Red Carpet. Happy Thanksgiving!

Are you a complainer or a thankful person? You cannot be both, so you must be one or the other. Every group seems to have one complainer who everyone tries to avoid. If you do not have a complainer in your group, then it is probably you! Which do you think God wants you to be? Take a few minutes and write down the things you are most thankful for on a sheet of paper or index card. The reason why I want you to write them down is so you can go back and look at it, to remember what God has done in your life. So when things do not go right, instead of feeling down in the dumps, we could look back at what God has done for us. We tend to forget all that He has done for us.

1THESSALONIANS 5:18

18: Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. NLT

Right in the middle of whatever challenges you are facing, you need to be a person who gives thanks. I know that it doesn’t seem to make sense sometimes when we are going through very difficult circumstances, to say, “Thank you, Lord, for these difficult circumstances in my life,” when we really wish God would just fix it and make it go away. Instead of complaining about our situation, we need to look back over the year on how God has worked on our behalf and start to thank Him, knowing that He is bigger than all our circumstances and will help us through them all.

PHILIPPIANS 4:6

6: Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. NLT

Thankfulness is an attitude. It is a condition of the heart. What kind of condition is your heart in, not just this Thanksgiving, but year-round? If we are going to have an attitude of being thankful, then it must be something we do all year long and not just one or two days out of the year.

We need to have an attitude of gratitude.

PSALMS 100:4

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. NLT

This is a Psalm of Thanksgiving and refers to a public acknowledgement of God. We all have things that go wrong in our lives every day. If we learn to focus on the things we are thankful for and not all the negative things in our lives, then we can begin to learn to be truly happy and content. This is something that should actually show in our outward actions and attitudes. God has blessed us and given us so many things to be thankful for that, we should be full of joy and peace every day.

Remember the things that God has saved you from, and do not live in the past. Our everyday lives should show that we are thankful and grateful for all God has done for us. As you celebrate Thanksgiving this year, remember the original spirit of the oldest of all American holidays – gratefulness to God. In the middle of all the hustle and bustle, take time to give thanks and praise to God for all the wonderful things in your life.

Pastor Tony Guadagnino is pastor at Christian Love Fellowship Church.

By Gary Curreri

Deerfield Beach football coach Allen Jackson hoped to use last Friday night’s regular season finalé against St. Thomas Aquinas as a tuneup for this week’s Class 8A regional quarterfinal game at Cypress Bay.

What he discovered was there was still some tinkering to do as the visiting Bucks went back to the early season mistakes that led to a 0-3 start as it dropped a 45-0 decision to St. Thomas Aquinas. Deerfield Beach (5-4) had seemed to put those miscues aside in recent weeks as it rolled to five consecutive wins and advanced as the No. 2 seed in the district tiebreaker.

The Raiders scored 31 points off four Deerfield Beach turnovers and a muffed punt to record its second consecutive shutout and third of the season.

Quarterback John O’Korn passed for 138 yards and ran for two scores to lead the way.

The running back tandem of Aeron McNeal (15 carries, 38 yards) and Brandon Powell (13 carries, 36 yards) were held in check most of the night.

“We knew we couldn’t make mistakes against a team like this,” Jackson said. “They are one of the best teams in the state.”

Jackson admitted his team suffered from playing three times in a week – an emotional win over then-undefeated South Plantation to force the three-way district tiebreaker, defeating Taravella before falling to South Plantation in Monday’s tiebreaker, and then playing St. Thomas Aquinas in a road game.

“It took a lot out of us going back-to-back two weeks in a row,” Jackson said.

“You just have to take care of bruises. We’ve seen Cypress Bay before so we have to get ready for them.”

The Bucks fell to Cypress Bay, 29-6, in the season opener; however, Jackson still believes his team can go deep in the playoffs.

“The kids just started believing in what we were trying to do,” Jackson said. “After the Taravella (regular season) game, we just went back to the basics. We decided to go back to the drawing board. We have two special backs back there so we are going to run it a little bit. We didn’t know if we were a running team or a passing team. Now, we have our identity.” Jackson gushes when he speaks of Powell, who is fourth in the county in rushing behind South Plantation’s Alex Collins (145 carries, 1263 yards, 14 TDs). Powell has 140 carries for 1,116 yards and 13 scores, while McNeal has 112 carries for 813 yards and 7 scores. “Brandon, oh my goodness,”

Jackson said of his junior running back. “He’s special. He’s a great kid, who gives you everything he’s got. He’s going to play hard until the final whistle blows every game.”

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

Produced on the 50th Anniversary of Doctor No, the James Bond franchise knew they had to raise their game after their last movie, Quantum of Solace, became a critical and box office disappointment. A movie franchise does not survive a half century if it does not know how to adapt to popular culture while retaining some sense of tradition. Skyfall accomplishes 007’s mission.

After another spectacular pre-credit action sequence, James Bond (Daniel Craig) and his supervisor M (Judi Dench) are contemplating the future of espionage, for computers and drones are eliminating the need for field work. Yet, as an agency becomes more reliant upon technology, British Secret Service fails to notice an obvious internal threat in the guise of Silva (Javier Bardem), a cyberterrorist with a grudge.

While the Bond-M-Silva triangle drives the narrative, it is the character motivations of Eve (Noamie Harris), Q (Ben Wishlaw) and Mallory (Ralph Fiennes) that create tension and misdirection for the plot. Skyfall is a globetrotting narrative, but this 007 film puts the United Kingdom front and center.

As a stand-alone movie, Skyfall will please any ticket buyer. Unlike the manic action sequences from Quantum of Solace, Skyfall provides both breathtaking and unique action sequences, fully enhanced by the MODS IMAX 5-storey screen. Tension is exploited due to James Bond’s poor health from the opening credit sequence.

However, James Bond fans will rejoice with the details that the Eon (Everything Or Nothing) producers provide, including the gags involving successful ingredients for a vodka martini and the care and maintenance of a 1963 Aston Martin.

The theme song provided by Adele is the best Bond Theme Song since Timothy Dalton was Bond 23 years ago. Skyfall is pure escapist entertainment for the holiday season.

This Sunday, the Geek Fest Comic Con and Expo of Florida will commence on the Florida Atlantic University campus in Boca Raton. Vendors like C.J.s Comics will provide early opportunities for Christmas shopping for the comic book, anime and sci-fi fans. There will be a FREE costume contest with grand prize of $250 cash, a trophy and swag. For more info visit www.geekfestflorida.com.

One can look at the Observer or any other newspaper and find some pretty amazing things to read and to talk about with others. But, each and every day, there are many things that occur to us that are newsworthy items indeed. True, some of them may be more appropriate for a small town newspaper but, they are of interest nonetheless.

I happen to be a fan of bloopers and newspaper errata … goofs, misprints and headlines with double entendres. I guess that is why I get such a huge kick out of watching Jay Leno’s “Headlines.”

I once sent a piece into him. As far as I know, it never made it on the air, but I thought that it was worthy of being there. It was an ad for a local cremation society that offered (are you ready for this?) – “A Free Six Months Trial Cremation.”

Hmmm, exactly what part were they going to cremate to see if you are happy with the process or not? I have a beautiful young woman I confide in a lot and, if she had seen that ad, it would have made her head shake. That’s what she does when she hears something that just doesn’t make much sense … and, I have to admit that things that come out of my mouth often make her head shake. Fortunately, they also make her smile and, if I am really lucky, my words make her laugh.

Anyway, let me tell you about something that had me shaking my head. It happened during a visit to a woman whose husband is suffering from severe dementia. I was asked to go to visit and see if there was anything I could do to cheer her up a bit.

During my visit, I asked her how long she and her husband had been married and, when she told me, I pulled out my driver’s license and showed her that they had been married longer than I have been on this Earth. I asked her what the secret was to staying married so long. And she told me, “Rabbi, on the night of my wedding, my mother-in-law came up to me and told me that my marriage to her son wouldn’t last three months,” and then she added, “And there was no way that I was going to give her the satisfaction of being right.”

Wow, here I was about to speak to my congregation about the evils of anger, revenge and the need to be right. And yet, this woman wound up being a great example to use. You see, after laughing for several minutes over what she told me, I asked her if she had a happy marriage and she let me know that her husband wasn’t really that nice to her and that the marriage was not a good one at all. And that is when I realized how sad her story really was.

You see, she spent more than 60 years in a lousy marriage just so her mother-in-law would not have the satisfaction of being right … OY!

If this were a tennis match, the score would not be Love/Love. Some would say that the mother-in-law won game, set and match. But this was no game, and there really were no winners here.

Sometimes, the need to be right is absolutely wrong and, now, the ball is in your court.

Shalom my friends,

Rabbi Craig H. Ezring

Rabbi Ezring is the Spiritual Leader of Temple Beth Israel of Deerfield Beach. He also serves in a professional capacity as a Chaplain with Hospice and other health organizations and facilities in the area.

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

At the age of 18, I essayed the role of Abraham Lincoln for An American Suite, a dance recital for the Dillard School of Performing Arts. On my first day in full makeup, President Ronald Reagan was shot. It was an eerie parallel given that Lincoln was the first assassinated President in American History.

Lincoln is a film that focuses on the final months of the 16th President’s life and the beginning of his second term in office. With historical hindsight, we know the Civil War is winding up, yet Director Steven Spielberg presents the dark reality of a depressed man who is trying to preserve the union. It takes a master like Spielberg to weave personal empathy with iconic imagery.

When I was cast as Lincoln, it was because I was a rail thin 6’3″ baritone. In my research, I learned that Honest Abe actually had a tenor voice, which he used effectively in his famous outdoor debates with Stephen Douglass.

British-Irish Master Thespian Daniel Day-Lewis accepts this interpretation and channels the spirit of Lincoln. Day-Lewis is likely to be nominated for an Oscar, but he is supported in every scene by a fine ensemble cast featuring Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones, James Spader and Joseph Gordon- Levitt. Lincoln is a dry piece of history that should be seen on some free afternoon.

The 27th Annual Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival wraps up this Veteran’s Day weekend. Bring your Kleenex for If I Should Fall, a documentary about a young Canadian soldier in Afghanistan.

Breakfast with Curtis is the antithesis of If I should Fall. This comedy-drama features a curmudgeon hippy at odds with young Curtis. As the odd boy matures, the curmudgeon discovers that he has need Curtis’ talents.

Garbage is a self-conscious comedy about Sanitation Engineers who find Cuba Gooding Jr.’s lost Oscar in a garbage dump. Daryl Hannah and Steven Bauer have cameos in this low-budget comedy that is not cheap with laughter.

To see details on FLIFF films and wrap, awards events, visit www.fliff.com.