By Gary Curreri

72-year-old Karen Smith

Karen Smith certainly doesn’t act her age.

The 72-year-old Pompano Beach woman will be joined by more than two dozen other members from Team in Training runners from South Florida, who will run in the Marathon de Paris, set for April 10, in the French capital.

Smith is the eldest of the 30-member group, who have raised close to $50,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) and are making the trip to Paris. Her father died at 54 of Leukemia in 1961; back then, they didn’t have chemo or radiation.

“They just gave you blood transfusions and, at some point, they just couldn’t keep ahead,” Smith said. “I was moving around the country a lot and saw a flier about Team in Training and decided to get involved.”

Smith said she started running in the late 1980s as a stress reliever and is happy she did. She has mentored and coached members of the Team in Training, in addition to running 14 full marathons and 16 half-marathons.

“I started off walking and worked my way up to running and doing more distance,” said Smith, who entered several local 5Ks and 10Ks before running her first marathon in 2000 in Maui. “It was such an exhilarating feeling to … have a long-term goal and then be successful and actually finish it.

She completed the race in 5 hours and 54 minutes.

“I had visions of running and finishing dead last,” Smith said. “It was good to know I didn’t finish last.”

Smith said she sees herself continuing to run. She said the physical activity sometimes takes a backseat to the fundraising.

“Usually, the people sign up and they are more afraid of raising the money than the running,” Smith said. “Things fall into place and then the training becomes hard. There are children and others who are dying, so you want to be involved.”

“I know there are people out there who are in their 80s running, so I would hope that maybe I will keep running when I am their age,” Smith said. “I like to volunteer, and what is unique about the training is that it gives me the opportunity to volunteer and be active. I don’t want to sit around. This combines the best of both worlds. I don’t mind sweating. I love warm weather. I love to be outside. I am running for those who can’t.”

The runners are Team In Training alumni, all have returned to the program to further aid LLS in its long-term quest to end blood cancers. These participants have been training each Saturday morning and are still actively seeking donations and sponsors for their efforts.

According to Dawn Haney, senior campaign director for Team In Training in Southern Florida, Marathon de Paris was offered as an alumni-only event as, not only a thank-you for previous participant efforts, but as a special way to continue giving back to LLS.

Funds raised by Team In Training participants are used throughout the South Florida community, aiding patient outreach, health education efforts, research and advocacy, and current patient care across the region.

For more information, contact Haney at 954-744-5312 or dawn.haney@lls.org.

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

Last weekend, the $150 million budgeted Mars needs Moms earned barely $7 million and joined the list as one of the biggest box office bombs in movie history, rivaling flicks like Ishtar, Speed Racer and Cleopatra. Fortunately for science fiction fans, Battle: Los Angeles earned a whopping $35 million for a non-holiday weekend. Given that this genre accounts for 50 percent of the biggest box office grosses of all time, science fiction is BIG business.

This might explain the consistent success of Megacon in Orlando, which has been in business since the original Jurassic Park was released, circa 1993. Held in the Orlando Convention Center, promoter Christine Alger has created a marketplace for entrepreneurs to sell their comic book collections, toys, clothing, gaming supplies and swords.

This year, Megacon provides an opportunity to hob knob with Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner, and crew mates of the Next Generation of Star Trek, Marina Sirtis, Jonathan Frakes and Michael Dorn. Superman’s father, in the guise of John Schneider, will be in attendance as well as The Hulk’s television alter ego, Lou Ferrigno. The Hulk’s creator, Stan Lee will receive a special honor at this year’s convention.

Beyond selling autographs, many artists will be hosting panels and presentations. Among the highly anticipated panels will be the one hosted by Doug Jones. While he might not be as recognizable as Tron’s Cindy Morgan and Bruce Boxleitner (who will be in attendance), Jones is a respected character actor and contortionist who often appears under heavy make-up.

As part of the Guillermo Del Toro actor’s ensemble, Jones portrayed multiple roles in the two Hellboy movies, Mimic, and the modern classic, Pan’s Labyrinth. Considered the modern day “Boris Karloff,” Jones began his career as McDonald’s mascot Mac Tonight and paid his dues on television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Remembering how hard it was to break into the business, Jones, and his wife Laurie, mentor young people who wish to work in the medium of film. He is an active member of Media Fellowship International, a Christian group working within the entertainment industry.

For more information about attending this year’s Megacon, visit the website  www.megaconvention.com. For fans, science fiction is alive and well, and living in Orlando the last weekend of March.

Since our family, the Eller family, has lived in Deerfield Beach since 1923, I’ve often been asked to put in writing some of the history of the area, that I either experienced personally or that I heard from my parents or grandparents. For some of you old timers who might be worried about certain old “scandals,” don’t worry, I won’t be writing about those (smile).

— David Eller, Publisher

From Pompano High— to Stetson University in 1959

In September of 1959, I packed up my belongings in my green 1949 Ford and headed north to DeLand, Florida to attend Stetson University on scholarship. About a one-hour drive west of Daytona Beach, Florida’s first private university was established in 1883 by Henry DeLand, in cooperation with the Baptist Church organization. Later endowed by the famous hat maker, John B. Stetson, it was best known for having Florida’s first College of Law, as well as its first School of Business Administration, School of Elementary and Secondary Education, Pre-Ministry and Florida’s first intercollegiate basketball, baseball and football teams. I was enrolled in its well-respected pre-engineering program, which was co-operating with Georgia Tech and the University of Florida to educate mechanical and civil engineers.

Having been pre-assigned a dormitory room, I drove my green ‘49 Ford up to DeLand – 40 miles west of Daytona Beach – found a parking spot in front of the dorm and got out to go find my room. Not wanting to leave my solid body Melody Maker Gibson guitar in the car, I strapped it over my back and started in. Suddenly, I heard a strong male voice say, “Hey, can you play that thing?” I looked up from under the baseball cap I was wearing to see a tall fellow with wavy black hair and a big grin on his face. I thought for a moment that he looked like a poor man’s version of Elvis Presley. I smiled back and said, “I wouldn’t be carrying it if I couldn’t play it!” He laughed and said, “My name is Bob Bidwell and I’m the sophomore in charge of this freshman dorm. After you get your stuff inside, bring your guitar down to the dorm lounge and show me what you can do. I’m looking for a rhythm player for the band I’m forming to play at fraternity parties.”  “That sounds great!” I replied. (Thus began a friendship that continues unto this day).

When we got together later that evening to play for the first time, I quickly realized that, although I knew most all the chords and had played a lot of country music and church hymns, I knew nothing about playing rock and roll. My new friend Bob started off by calling out different chords for me to play. When he was satisfied that I knew the chords, he started asking me to play them using several different types of beats or rhythms. I confessed that I only knew the standard rhythms used in country and church music. He laughed and said, “That’s alright.” He then picked up his guitar and said, “But now I’m going to teach you some rock and roll, which begins with learning how to play the “blues.”

I was excited and immediately agreed. He continued, “Watch the fingers on my left hand press the strings down at the right places right behind the frets, and do the same thing I do. Now, with the pick in your right hand stroke only the top two strings at the top, eight times on rhythm, then drop down a string and do it again but only four times, then back up for eight, etc, etc….” I caught on quickly, and was soon able to follow his lead on several blues songs. We played for over two hours without stopping. Suddenly, I realized the tips of the fingers on my left hand had started to bleed from the continual pressure on the strings making the chords. I’d never played continually that much time before, thus hadn’t developed the calluses needed on those fingers.

So I bid Bob goodbye and drove to a nearby convenience store to get some snacks to keep in the room. I picked out a few items when I noticed a bottle of pimento-stuffed green olives. My mind flashed back home, where my mother would only let us have two or three olives at a serving with a meal. I was never satisfied and always wanted more. Suddenly, I realized that in my new freedom away from home, I could have all the green olives I wanted. So I started eating them and I didn’t stop with two or three. I ate the whole big jar of olives. Then when they were all gone, I drank all the brine juice. Shortly afterward, my stomach started to hurt. And my sore fingers hurt. Thus, my first day at college taught me two important lessons: Don’t overindulge in anything. All things should be done in moderation.

David Eller, Publisher

Gymnast Jennifer Fishman

By Gary Curreri

Jennifer Fishman spends 30 hours a week in the gym to do four total minutes of routines.

The 18-year-old Lighthouse Point girl is used to it. She has been a gymnast since she was 3 and is a Level 10 gymnast at American Twisters Gymnastics in Coconut Creek.

She hopes to bring home a state title when she competes in the 2011 Florida USAG Level 8, 9 and 10 State Championships in Lakeland at Florida Southern University next week.

Fishman prepped for the meet as she placed 12th in the vault (8.750), seventh in the bars (8.500), eighth in both the beam (8.875) and floor (8.875) en route to a seventh place finish in the all-around (34.725) at the Tim Rand Memorial Invitational, Coral Springs Gymnasium, recently.

More than 900 gymnasts from around the country competed in the meet.

“It’s been hard,” said Fish-man, a St. Thomas Aquinas
senior. “It has been physically tough and mentally tough. You get close to people and then they leave or quit the sport. Sometimes, it is hard to make new friends.

“I did have those feelings about quitting, but once you start getting better and see the potential you say, ‘this is why I am in the sport and why I enjoy doing this.’” Fishman added, “I was just doing the sport when I was younger and I wasn’t really thinking of going to the Olympics. I still enjoy it now and I am glad I stuck it out.”

Fishman said she enjoys the competition.

“It is kind of frustrating because you can knock out a million and one routines in the gym that are perfect and then you come here because you are a little nervous, you don’t do your best,” Fishman said. “It is really aggravating, but you just think, ‘can’t wait until Monday.’ It is rewarding when you do well.”

By Diane Emeott

“Most people don’t realize, it’s as hard to go out as to come back,” said new Senior Pastor at First Baptist, Deerfield Beach, Deron Peterson, about his time on the mission field in Argentina.

He said it takes about 6 months after you return to get acclimated, that something as simple as going to the mall – where you expect them to be speaking Spanish to you, and they’re speaking English,” takes some getting used to.

Pastor Daron and his wife Beth were missionaries for nearly 10 years — for 6 years in Buenos Aires (the capitol of Argentina) with Word of Life ministries. [He was Director of a Bilingual High School there.] and for 3 ½ years with the International Mission Board in Corrientes, where he provided Leadership Training.

He called the two places completely different in spirit and attitude, comparing the suburbs of Buenos Aires to downtown Miami. “It was the mouth of Argentina.” Corrientes, a city of about 500,000 felt more like Deerfield Beach. He called it “the heart of the people.”

“Eventually, you get to the point where it’s your home. We loved living there as much as we do here.”

He said people going on short-term missions trips are always worried about what they’re going to do. He said just by getting on a plane and going, you are already doing more than expected. “Anything you do is beneficial. Through the simple things, you learn a lot.”

He encouraged anyone going on a short-term mission trip to stay long enough to have to buy toiletries.

Family

The Petersons have three adopted children: Samuel, 13, born in Argentina, attended K-3rd grade here in the states. Isaiah, 7, was born in Philadelphia. Anastasia, 3 ½, was also born in Argentina. She  has a genetic disorder called Williams syndrome which makes her unusually gifted in languages. The three children are bi-lingual, although Isaiah is beginning to lose his Spanish, he said.

Pastor Deron is a Leukemia survivor.

He said his wife Beth was nicknamed “squirrel” in Argentina because she is always on the go. She is a runner who ran in Dunn’s Run and recent marathons in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale. “Everywhere we’ve been, she has gotten involved in the community and the church.” She helps out at Crossroads preschool, in addition to focusing on raising three children.

From missionary to pastor

Pastor Deron said it was his first Sunday at First Baptist [June 2010] that Pastor Jeff Knight announced he was leaving. He said he was surprised to hear of Pastor Jeff’s departure. That his first thought was just to be available to help out or be a presence in any way he could.

Initially, the Peterson family was simply looking for a place to stay while working with the Florida Baptist Convention on church planting in Miami. In August, First Baptist, Deerfield Beach, asked Deron to teach the Wednesday night Bible study.  The end of October, they asked him to fill the Sunday pulpit for November and December, later extending it to January and February. Jan. 18, the deacons and elders unanimously voted for him to be Pastor. Jan. 23 was his first Sunday preaching as the new Senior Pastor.

“I really didn’t think this was going to happen. I was surprised. I’m still a little surprised and very excited! He said his master’s degree is in Leadership rather than the usual Master of Divinity degree associated with pastors. He also served as Youth Minster for 15 years — 4 of those at First Baptist of Dallas, TX.

Pastor Deron said his message is: “I don’t care what you did last night, the day before. I care about the truth – the word of God – you are hearing this morning and what you are going to do with it.  Jesus taught about external change = false righteousness vs. internal change, which calls for a loving response to others… My job is to teach the truth,” he said.

Deerfield Beach/BSO boxer Jordan Murphy won his fight in the inaugural Florida Gold Coast Boxing tournament at Deerfield Beach High School on March 12. There were 15 fights that attracted boxers from PAL programs in the tri-county area. Submitted photo.

By Dave Montalbano

www.AdventuresofCinemaDave.com

Mars needs Moms is frantic action mixed with corny homespun values about respecting motherhood. It opens with Martians observing Earthly domestic life. They run across a mother (Joan Cusack) disciplining her teenage son, Milo (Seth Green), who says something mean and makes his mother cry. Moments later, Martians abduct her, taking her to Mars.

Milo gives chase, accidentally goes to Mars and spends the rest of the movie trying to rescue Mommy from Martians. Along the way, he meets Gribble (Dan Fogler), a 30-year-old overgrown child claiming to be from the Reagan administration’s Secretnaut Program, and Ki (Elisabeth Harnois), a Martian artist who confronts conformity in her Martian Government. One sees the absurdity of the Martian Culture, which lacks emotional connection, and the battle between order and chaos that is played in every household in America.

The film opens this weekend at the Museum of Discovery IMAX Theater. For a few dollars more, one can explore the astronomy exhibit which emphasizes Mars.

For those seeking a more Earthly experience closer to home, Celtic Weekend, March 12-13 is the final weekend for the Florida Renaissance Festival at Quiet Waters Park. Last weekend featured the epic Wenches Weekend with Bodacious Bodices, which served as a rendezvous point for some Class of 1981 Deerfield Beach High School graduates.

By Scott Morganroth

Although the FAU Owls Men’s Basketball team lost in the opening round of the Sun Belt Conference Basketball Tournament to North Texas, 78-64, the players still have at least one more game left.

The Owls finished with a 21-10 record and won the Sun Belt Conference regular season championship. FAU will play in the NIT, and the Owls opponent, time and date will be announced March 13.

FAU’s drive to the post season began on Feb. 19, as they won an overtime thriller in Miami against rival Florida International University at the Century Bank Arena. The Owls had luck as the Golden Panthers 21-33 free throw attempts enabled the Owls to emerge 80-78.

Those 12 missed free throws had Golden Panthers Hall of Fame Coach Isiah Thomas smiling and asking reporters if we knew of any players that could convert their shots at the charity stripe.

Meanwhile, FAU Coach Mike Jarvis couldn’t offer Thomas any suggestions to find a cure for his team’s free throws.

Jarvis just wanted his team to win two more games and end the season with a three-game winning streak. The coach saw that come to fruition as FAU trounced Troy, 77-60, at home on Feb. 24, and three days later, the Owls cruised past South Alabama, 74-64, in Mobile, AL.

When I spoke to Jarvis three years ago, after his first season, he knew he had a tough challenge building this program. In his first season, FAU finished with a 6-26 record and he told me that this was a “gut job; therefore, the team was going to be overhauled.”

In his second season, Jarvis brought in freshmen Raymond Taylor, Greg Gantt, Kore White, Jordan McCoy, and junior Brett Royster began to mature. These players demonstrated a great work ethic and FAU finished the year 14-16. This progress would lead to what transpired in Jarvis’ third season that has him going back to the post-season.

Now in his 22nd season as a coach, Jarvis has led three programs to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
His three stops include Boston University (1985-90), George Washington University (1990-98) and St. Johns University (1998-2004). Jarvis has a 404-254 record.

Jarvis said, after the Owls defeated FIU, that any tournament  his team would play in would be a good accomplishment.

“For our program, an NIT berth would be a fantastic accomplishment, and the players deserve to be rewarded for an excellent season,” Jarvis said.

Jarvis added that he’s enjoyed coaching at FAU, even though  he’s coached at St. John’s, which played its home games at the 20,000-seat Madison Square Garden, compared to the 3,000 seat FAU Arena.

“I haven’t had as much fun coaching since high school,” Jarvis said. “I coached Patrick Ewing and Rumeal Robinson. I got into it because I wanted to teach and coach. I’m having a lot of fun even though it looks tough, and I’m in a lot of pain. On most nights, it’s like a mother giving birth to a child. It feels like hell until the child comes out.

“I told these kids that they are killing me, and I told three of them if I die, they’ll be pallbearers at my funeral. I’ve already asked 100 guys to be pallbearers.”

Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scottsports 33.com.

Purim is soon upon us. Get out your groggers … your noisemakers. Get out your Megillat Esther … your copy of the Book of Esther. Get out your costumes. Make a list of what you need to make up your Gift Baskets. And, find that recipe so you can whip up a batch of homemade Hamentashen, those luscious triangular pastries filled with poppy seeds, prunes, cherries or (nowadays) even chocolate.

Wow, that sure sounds like an awful lot of preparation to do for one holiday, a minor festival at that. But, just as each week we prepare for Shabbat, it is important that we take the time to prepare for the holidays and festivals — even the minor ones — and, if it is important that we prepare for the minor ones, how much more important is it that we take lots of time to prepare for the major festivals.

The word Purim comes from ancient Persian and refers to “lots,” as in picking from a lottery. When we take part in the lottery here in Sunny Florida, we hope and pray that our number should be chosen, that we should win the drawing. But when you read the Book of Esther, you learn that there are times when having your number come up can hurt a lot. In fact, the story shows us that a lottery can destroy your life and can endanger the lives of your entire family.

Who among us haven’t read the story of those who have won the lottery and become instant millionaires or multi-millionaires only to see their lives destroyed — someone who finds that the winning ticket that seemed to fulfill a lifetime wish wound up leaving them with less than they had before?

I have certainly seen families torn apart by such a lottery — sons who no longer talk to parents, parents who wind up divorced not just from their children, but from their spouse of many years.

In the Sayings of Our Fathers, it is asked, “Who is truly rich?” and the answer given is “One who is happy with their lot … with what they already possess.”

The other day, I was sitting at the bank waiting to talk with the Branch Manager as I needed a little advice from her. While I was waiting, a woman sitting near me started kvetching about how bad our economy is and how the world has never been worse off.

I wanted to tell her, “Hey lady, the two of us are sitting here in a bank in Boca Raton, Florida, where we both have accounts. I think we need to realize just how much we are blessed with because, as things go, we have a lot.”

Of course, she was in a pessimistic mood and a pessimist sees the glass as half empty. When I told her that I thought we were blessed, she said that I must be an eternal optimist who always sees the glass as half full. But I am not always as optimistic as I would like to be so I am so thankful that I read the advice of a very wise man, David Kaufman, who wrote, “Stop asking if the glass is half full or half empty.” Instead, ask, “What is in the glass and what can I do with it?”

You see my friends, Purim is about lots and, every once-in-a-while, we need to be reminded that we have a lot more than we ever realize. Have a Joyous Purim and remember Passover falls just one month later so start preparing.

Shalom My Friends,

Rabbi Craig H. Ezring

Rabbi Ezring is a Hospice Chaplain and Member of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains. He also provides Professional Pastoral Care Services to a number of health centers in Broward County.

By Gary Curreri

Zion Lutheran Christian Boys Middle School Basketball team just added another feat to its already impressive season by capturing its first Florida Lutheran Schools State Basketball Tournament title since 1990.

Vincent Stubbs received the Tournament’s MVP award as Zion Lutheran defeated St. John’s Lutheran (Ocala) and St. Luke’s Lutheran (Oviedo) to bring home top honors.

The middle school squad ran its record to 15-1 and they advance to the National Lutheran Schools Tournament on March 24-27 at Valparaiso University in Indiana. Zion’s middle school basketball team also won the Trinity Holiday Classic as well as the South Regional Lutheran Schools Tournament earlier this season.