How I made it to college!

In the spring of 1959, my senior year at Pompano Beach Senior High School was rapidly coming to a close. I had applied to the University of Florida in Gainesville, the University of California at Davis and Stetson University in Deland, Florida, and they had all accepted me into their mechanical engineering programs. I had assumed, with Principal Walden’s encouragement, that I would get the substantial scholarship offered to an engineering student from Pompano High each year by a certain unnamed benefactor. However, about a month before graduation, Principal Walden called me into the office to let me know that the benefactor had decided instead to give the scholarship to one of my classmates who was planning to study electrical engineering.

When I got home that night, I shared the bad news with my parents and apologized to Dad saying, “I hope you’ve got some money to send me to college.” Dad looked surprised and blurted out “I don’t think you need to go to college. You’re a good machinist. You can stay here and make good money as a machinist.”

I reminded Dad about the big pump project our company had lost to a sugar company in Belle Glade because we didn’t have a graduate engineer on staff. Although our prices were the best, they gave the job to a company that had professional engineers on staff to certify the product.

I told Dad, “I don’t want to ever be in that position again wherein a potential customer doesn’t buy from us for that reason. I intend to get an engineering degree and ultimately a professional engineering license, so that kind of thing can never happen again.” Looking exasperated, he said, “Well, good luck. But I don’t have the money to send you to college.”

Taken aback, I went to bed and prayed. The next day, I went to Principal Walden and told him what happened. He responded with compassion saying, “David, I’m so sorry. Don’t you worry. I’m going to get on the phone today and see if I can get you some scholarship money! Come see me in two days.”

I knew he had good news when I walked into his office two days later. “Come on in, David,” he said with a big smile on his face. “I’ve got your whole engineering education planned out for you. My alma mater, Stetson University has agreed to give you a substantial scholarship to their pre-engineering program — they co-operate with the University of Florida. You can go there for two years and then enter the University of Florida as an upper classman. I’ve arranged two other scholarships, one local and one from the State of Florida, to make up the rest of your financial needs as long as you maintain high academic standards.”

Impressed, happy and surprised, I jumped up to give him a hug as he stuck out his hand instead, which I grabbed and shook with both hands. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, Mr. Walden, I will never let you down,” I said.

I didn’t let him down and graduated a few years later from the University of Florida with an engineering degree and a minor in business. The fellow who was awarded the original engineering scholarship by the unnamed benefactor ended up flunking out of college. It seems he was great in math and science classes, but could not spell or write very well.

By my second year, my father relented and bought me a new car and helped pay expenses.

David Eller, Publisher

Life is not easy!  I have heard that many times, but I must say that life is not hard either. Life is just different — different battles, different obstacles and different hurdles. I think life is great. Is life great or what? Life is exciting and wonderful because it is so different and adventurous.  Tests and trials we face in life are only temporary, but the things we learn from the tests and trials will last forever. Do we face obstacles in life? Yes!  Do we have battles that we face in life?  Yes! Then why is life so great? Life is great because we win, and I love to win. These are the things that make us stronger and better. These are the things that make us winners and not quitters.

2 TIMOTHY 2:5

5 And athletes cannot win the prize unless they follow the rules.

NLT

If we want to win, we have to play by God’s rules and not by our own rules. We must work and train hard because you can’t cheat or you will lose. Do we look at and focus on the size of the obstacles in our lives or do we focus on the power of our God?

JAMES 1:5

5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.

NLT

We have an advantage that, if we need help with something, we can ask God for the wisdom we need and He will give it. But, will we listen to what God has to say? Will we learn wisdom without experiences, tests and trials? David said that God delivered him from the lion and the bear. Remember that, whatever we are facing, our God is bigger and stronger than anything or anyone. If God has changed us from the inside out, then life cannot squeeze us from the outside in. We may be knocked down every once in a while, but we will never be knocked out.

We must guard against self-sufficiency. When God gets no credit, success makes people self-sufficient (I don’t need anything or anyone) and this leads to spiritual poverty. We need to put ourselves in a spiritual time-out every day in order to spend time with God because time-out is better than burn-out, and without God, we definitely will burn out. We are in a marathon and not a sprint, and our goal should be to endure and not to burn out. Who renews our strength every day — the job, our paycheck or God?

1 Corinthians 15:33 tells us that, “Bad company corrupts good character.” Who or what is impacting our morals and our children’s morals? Just because someone says they are a Christian does not mean they are a positive influence on your life or your families’ lives.  Stay away from bad company and instill God into your life and into your children. Character is who you are when no one is watching. Bad company does not pull us in a different direction, it pulls us down. Every time you try to back track, you will get side tracked. Life is great. We win.  Don’t quit, give up or give in!

Pastor Tony Guadagnino

Christian Love Fellowship Church

By Dave Montalbano

Of all the Oscar-nominated best picture nominees from 2010, The Fighter is probably the most energetic entry. With the soundtrack blasting The Heavy’s hit commercial song “How do you like me now?” we are introduced to younger brother Micky (Mark Wahlberg) and older half brother Dicky (Christian Bale) during the opening credits. With such economic confidence, director David O. Russell hijacks his audience bringing them into the seedy streets of Lowell, Massachusetts.

Considered the pride of Lowell, Dicky once knocked down Sugar Ray Leonard in a welter weight contest. A crack addict who hangs out with lowlifes, Dicky is his baby brother’s fight manager. While Dicky provides excellent boxing tips, Micky’s career is in shambles. After losing a bout in Atlantic City in front of a national audience, Micky decides to take control of his career.

Micky’s career-changing decision does not sit well with his mother, Alice (Melissa Leo) or his six peroxide blonde harpy sisters. However, Micky reconciles with his long-suffering father (Jack McGee) and dates a new gal, Charlene (Amy Adams), whose natural red hair offends the sisters. As Micky makes the transition from stepping stone to ladder climber, Micky’s success creates a schism within this dysfunctional family.

Based on a true story, The Fighter has all the earmarks of a successful boxing movie. Yet, the screenwriters Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy strive for more intellectual depth about the double-edged sword of success. Both Dicky and Micky sit on opposite ends of this sword, yet it is their mother who provides the pricking tip.

Bale and Leo have been gathering the best supporting acting kudos at the award’s circuit. Their performances echo the urban world inhabited by Robert DeNiro and Marlon Brando. Leo delivers the funniest lines, but it is Bale’s transitional performance from drug abuser to trusted consigliore that is Oscar-worthy.

The weight of the story falls on Wahlberg’s welterweight shoulders. As the movie ringmaster, Wahlberg gains audience empathy, but it is Amy Adams’ eyes that reveal her boyfriend’s conscience. While she is likely to lose the Oscar race to Leo, Adams is proving to be a consistent commodity for well-written award-winning motion pictures.

Compared to Toy Story 3, The King’s Speech and True Grit, The Fighter does not hold up as best picture champion this year. Yet, it is a hard film to dislike and will be an audience pleaser like Rocky Balboa.

By Gary Curreri

The final chapter to the girls’ soccer season at Highlands Christian Academy wasn’t quite the storybook finish the Knights had hoped for.

Stephanie Perret-Gentile and Erica Johnson each scored second half goals to lift Boca Raton’s Pope John Paul II to a 2-0 Class 2A regional quarterfinal victory over the host Knights on Jan. 27. First-year goalkeeper Dani Chase earned her 15th shutout of the season as she made three saves.

Despite the defeat, Highlands Christian Academy girls soccer coach Shelly Wik was pleased with the effort of her team as it made history by winning its first-ever girls district soccer championship in the 10-year history of the program last week. It was also the first time the Knights (16-3-1) ever hosted a regional quarterfinal contest.

“We played a great game and we are just excited that we got to play in this game for the first time in school history,” Wik said. “This is the first time they got this far. They played hard. I am proud of them.”

“They definitely have more experience than we do,” Wik added. “The level of skill they have on that team is phenomenal. They are crying now, and it’s not because they lost the game, it is for the seniors because they are not going to play another game together. It is always an emotional time when they realize that. I started coaching two years ago and these girls are like one big family. We have a rough middle, but they just championed on. They did well, and they were rewarded by winning districts. They are upset – not that they lost, but that they don’t get to play as a team anymore.”

The best chance the Knights had to score came in the 68th minute when Kaitlyn Leta’s left-footed shot, following a poor clearance by the Eagles’ defense, was saved by Chase.

One minute later, Johnson put the game away; she scored from 18 yards out for the victory.

As she has been all season, Knights’ sophomore goalie Kayla Wincko was stellar with 13 saves in the match.

Jackson to coach Deerfield Beach

Allen Jackson, who has coached at Coconut Creek the past three seasons, was named the football coach at Deerfield Beach earlier this month.

Jackson replaces former Bucks coach Adam Ratke-vich, who stepped down after the 2010 season which Deerfield finished 2-9, yet still qualified for the postseason.

“It’s an honor and privilege to coach at Deerfield Beach,” said Jackson, who was an assistant coach at Deerfield Beach for 13 years before coaching at Monarch and Coconut Creek High Schools. “I’m happy to be here and hopefully we can get back to the big stage.”

Highlands’ boys fall in district soccer final

Calvary Christian defeated Highlands Christian Acade-my’s boys’ soccer team, 3-0, for the district title. The Knights will travel to American Heritage-Delray on Thursday for a regional quarterfinal game.

A dear friend of mine recently learned that her sister was diagnosed with cancer. My friend has her own health issues and she has plenty of other tsouris (problems) going on in her life. But, when she heard about her little sister’s ills, that became her focus. She did everything she could think of for her — she called, she texted, she researched, she planned a trip to see her just so she could hold her hand.

Many people who know her might have thought that she had a huge weight to bear, but as I watched I couldn’t help but think of that famous song title “He ain’t heavy … he’s my brother.” Do you know the story behind those words? Back near the beginnings of WW2, there was a magazine called The Messenger. A priest happened to be reading that magazine and came across a picture of a boy carrying a younger lad on his back and the caption read, “He ain’t heavy Mr., he’s my brother.”

The Priest was none other than Father Flanagan, the founder of Boy’s Town, who changed it just a tad and used it as the catch phrase for his mission.

Why did that phrase touch him so much? Because, years earlier, Boys Town had a lad who had difficulty walking and the other boys would take turns giving him rides on their backs.

I am blessed with two amazing brothers. I hope that, even in the midst of what my friend’s baby sister is going through, that she knows how blessed she is with such an incredible big sister. Sadly, too many people have distanced themselves from their siblings. They have let petty differences get in the way of the love.

Let me share a story with you about two brothers. It is a true story. There is a three-year age difference between the boys — the elder one 13, the younger 10.

I can assure you that, like any other siblings, they had times they got angry with each other, they had times they fought, and they had times they pointed the finger of blame at the other. But they were brothers, and there was a great connection, a great love between them. In the middle of January of this year, they were in the car with their mother on a drive through the streets of Australia when they and their car were swept away by the raging waters of a flood. The three of them were struggling for their very lives. A heroic rescuer dove into the waters to save them and the first one he came to was Jordan, the older of the two boys. He reached him with a rope and this little child of G-d, this Bar Mitzvah-age boy, shouted out, “Save my brother first.” And, indeed, the good news is that his baby brother, Blake, was saved. The sad news is that Jordan and their mother’s lives were lost in the flood. But, there is more to the story. You should know that Jordan never learned to swim. He happened to have a terrible phobia; he was terrified of water. And yet, in order to save his brother, he faced his greatest fear. Many of you might be thinking, wow, I wish I had a brother like that. How much holier it would be if you took the time to think, “Wow, I wish I were a brother or sister like that” and then go and be one.

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

Highlands Christian Academy girls soccer coach Shelly Wik knew her team would have to rise to the occasion as it hosted the girls District 14-2A championship on Jan. 21.

The Knights (16-21) did as it defeated the South Florida Heat, 1-0 (5-4 PKs), for the school’s first-ever girls district soccer championship in the 10-year history of the program. Highlands Christian and the Heat (19-8-1) battled to a 0-0 draw after regulation and overtime.

“I am so proud of how the girls played in the district games,” said Wik, whose team will host Boca Raton’s Pope John Paul II in the regional quarterfinals on Thursday at 7 p.m. “The girls avenged their two regular season losses and pulled together as a team to win districts with dignity and Christian character.”

Alley Costello, Joanna Marko, Cybille Lassegue, Grayson Mack and Marina Mueller each scored a goal in the penalty kick shootout. Mueller’s goal was the decisive goal. Knights’ goalie Kayla Wincko had 14 saves in the match and needed to make two saves in the shootout for the victory.

Dillard downs Tigers in girls hoops

Kayla Wright scored nine of her game-high 18 points in the second half as host Dillard downed Blanche Ely, 47-40, in a District 16-5A game on Saturday night.

The Panthers (14-5, 8-1) broke open a 24-24 game early in the second half and outscored the Tigers (14-6, 5-4) 23-17 for the victory.

T’Keyah Williams had five points, while Lauren McGraw added four in the first quarter as Dillard jumped out to a 14-7 first quarter lead. Blanche Ely closed to within 24-22 at halftime and tied the game at 24-24 on a short jumper by Crystal Allen with 7:34 remaining in the third quarter.

Dillard pulled away from there as McGraw and Williams each finished with 10 points.

Blanche Ely coach Clarence Fleming said his team needed to take better care of the basketball. Arkeba Johnson paced the Tigers with 15 points.

“We are not going to beat a good team giving them that many second shot attempts,” Fleming said. “We couldn’t make shots and they did a good job rebounding and making free throws.”

Fleming said everything is correctable by districts.

“It gives us a pretty good idea of where we need to be in order to have a chance to win districts,” Fleming said. “We have to play hard, and it will be an uphill fight. The biggest thing we have to work on is possession and every possession counts. I think we can win it. We need to make a few modifications. There are some things we can do better, and, next time, I think we can play a better game all the way around.”

Ely soccer team runner-up

The Blanche Ely boys soccer team recently dropped a 1-0 decision to Tampa Sickles in the final round of the Ridge-wood Invitational in New Port Richey.

The Tigers had five of their players make the all-tournament team including Nilson Miranda (top defender), Kemberlyn Jean-Etienne, Techlie Tacynthe, Finnddy Innocent and Volvins St. Louis.

By Dave Montalbano

The phrase “All Good Things must come to an end” has been in the air as two more media outlets close along Federal Highway. “The Bookshop” in Ft. Lauderdale will be closing their doors soon as they discount their books by 50 percent. Now, the movie theatre in Mizner Park has closed its doors, which might have an impact on the Downtown Boca Film Festival in April.

It is with a sense of irony that the movie All Good Things is based on a true story (Names were changed for legal reasons) and the lead character, David Marks (Ryan Gosling) is currently a real estate investor in Florida. All Good Things is a dark film, but one appropriate for this time.

David Marks is an errand boy for his powerful father, Sandford Marks (Frank Langella), a Manhattan Land Baron who owns the buildings of the seedy porn district before Rudy Giuliani became Mayor. As with most spoiled children of Manhattan elite, David spends his free time partying with his girlfriend, Katie (Kirsten Dunst), who indulges in cocaine.

During a minor act of rebellion towards his father, David marries Katie and manages a health food store, called “All Good Things,” in Vermont. Despite living in Eden, Sanford convinces his son to return to Manhattan and embrace his divine right. David willingly accepts.

From this point forward, David’s soul decays. He becomes abusive toward Katie. She disappears and David relocates to Texas and begins wearing women’s clothing. David befriends Malvern (Philip Baker Hall), a delusional man with dreams of grandeur.

Poor make-up dooms Ryan Gosling’s performance and this flaw proves distracting. While Langella and Philip Baker Hall provide solid support, Saturday Night Live’s Kristen Wiig provides the only comic relief to this creepy tale.

In the years to come, All Good Things will be remembered as Kirsten Dunst’s first major performance. Shedding her “Mary Jane Watson” image from Spider-Man movies, Dunst ages quickly before our eyes as a spiritually beaten woman. Dunst is haunting long after the movie is over.

By Pastor Tony Guadagnino, Christian Love Fellowship Church

Soap  has  the  power  to  clean  you  and  remove  dirt  from  your  body.  Inside  the box or wrapper is  a  bar  of  soap  that  contains  the  chemicals  needed  to  clean  your  body, but  as  long  as they  remain  in  their box or  wrapper, they  are  useless.  For you to release the power of the soap to clean your body, you have to actually open it and use it. God’s Word is exactly like that; you actually have to open it and use it in order for it to work.

God’s Word has the power to change and transform your life.  It  has  the  power to change  your  life  completely, but  as  long  as  it  sits  unopened,  that  power  can  never  be   released. God’s  Word  is  living and active and  able to change  your  life, but  in order to release  the power, you need  to apply  it. To release  the  power  of  God’s  Word,  you  need  to  open  it  up  and  read  it. Even more important, you need to apply it to your life. Soap is faithful to cleanse us, just as God’s Word is faithful to cleanse us. I am so glad that God loves you and me enough not just to ask us to do the right thing, but actually to help us do the right thing.

Joshua 1:8-9

8 Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night, so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.

9 This is my command — be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

NLT

The first thing we should do with the Bible is read, study and think about It. The thing we need to do is crack open the cover. Sometimes, that’s the toughest thing to do (to actually get started). We should, according to the scripture above, study the book continuously. We should try hard to read it every day by finding a translation to read that helps us understand what it means.  We need to think about what it says, and ask the question, “What does it mean for my life?” As you spend time reading the Bible, It will begin to change the way you think. As it changes the way you think, It will begin to change the things you say and do.  It will help you begin to see things through God’s viewpoint and not your own.

James 1:22

22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.

NLT

There is more than just reading, more than just reflecting and more than just remembering the Bible — we need to put into action what we find within the pages. Like soap, the power of God’s Word is only released when we apply what we are reading.  We must do what It says. If we are going to spend time reading and studying God’s Word, then it would be silly for us to not do the things we are learning. The same way soap cleans us is the same way that God’s Word will come and help us to be clean and holy.

By Dave Montalbano

The King’s Speech has all the earmarks of a typical award-nominated motion picture. It’s British, it features classical acting, it is about royalty and focuses upon a character with a physical impediment.

However, if one is prejudiced with the feeling that The King’s Speech is a typical flick for the Oscar Award season, they are going to miss a rare human experience about problem solving. I wish I saw The King’s Speech a few weeks ago; it would have made my Top 10 List for 2010.

It is 1925 and Prince George (Colin Firth) is about to make a speech in a newfangled contraption called a radio microphone. George stammers and the British subjects think that the village idiot has hijacked the microphone. Fortunately for the Brits, George is not the next in line for the Empire’s throne, his big brother Edward the 8th (Guy Pearce) is.

After nine years of failed speech therapy, George and his wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) enter the
office of Lionel Loque (Geoffrey Rush), a failed actor who became a speech therapist during World War I. Logue’s methodology is unorthodox, but George makes progress. By 1939, stammering George is able to lead his nation against the master orator, Adolph Hitler, as the winds of World War II are stoked.

If one has ever suffered from an impediment similar to a stammer, one will find truth with Loque’s technique. The audience witnesses the importance of developing a melody of thought when speaking.

As Loque later says to the future King,“You do not need to be afraid of the thing that you were afraid of at the age of 5.”

As serious as the subject is, The King’s Speech provides humor that is human.  We see the British class distinctions being shattered when Loque demands that George act like a patient, not like a royal. We see George and Elizabeth share storytime with their daughters – one is Elizabeth II, the current Queen of the British Empire.

When I interviewed veteran Claire Bloom (Queen Mary) during the Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival, she stated it was a privilege to watch Firth and Rush work together. Both have great chemistry; their scenes together are electric. The ensemble cast featuring Bloom, Bonham Carter, Michael Gambon and Timothy Spall (as Winston Churchill) cement a firm foundation for the players.