Years ago, while visiting my airline’s corporate office, I witnessed what must have been the quickest rejection of a job applicant. A young, shaggy-haired man with baggy clothes, hanging low around his rear, approached the front desk and requested a job application. The secretary asked if he would like to complete the form and submit it immediately. He declined and moped toward the exit. Before he could step outside, the secretary shot me the “not in a million years” look about this young man.

This young man’s dress and demeanor reminded me of a conversation I had with a teen around the same time. This teen felt that individual expression should trump societal norms, but there is a reason you pass the rolls and not throw them, unless you’re at Lambert’s Cafe in Missouri where it’s expected. While I do believe in expression of individuality, my flight kit had a comic with people floating in the water with a plane sinking; the caption read: “Bad day at work.” Things like dress or table manners transcend the individual. They say something about what you believe about yourself and others.

I’ve met with many parents who desire that their children learn to respect authority yet think nothing about speeding, which is a subtle (or sometimes blatant) disregard for authority. Little do these parents realize that they are undermining their own authority. (Dear Alanis Morissette, that’s real irony).

This line of thinking inspired me to develop the Everything Speaks message series. As a professional speaker, I learned many years ago — like our appearance and driving — that everything speaks; everything communicates something about what we believe, even if unintentionally. It’s why we value things like punctuality, firm handshakes and grace.

During the message series, we discovered that how we pray, how we surrender and how we serve each say something about what we believe about God’s power, sovereignty and our own depth of love for our neighbor.

If we have a weak prayer life, it can communicate to others that we believe our God is weak and unable. A hesitant surrender can expose a lack of trust in God. And a torpid level of serving might broadcast a lack of concern for others. Everything speaks. So I challenged my congregation to pray some risky prayers. I say risky because if you pray them earnestly, prepare to never be the same, again.

Pray: Search me; Psalm 139:23 — “Search me, O God, and know my heart.” Ask God to reveal the sins and fears in your life that are keeping you from the plan He has for your life.

Pray: Break me; Job 17:1 — “My spirit is crushed, and my life is nearly snuffed out.” Pray for a brokenness that requires a dependency solely on God, which fosters intimacy, clarity of purpose, and your God-given identity.

Pray: Use me; Luke 22:42 — “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Pray that, because of you, others would come to know Christ and your actions would bring glory to God.

Pray: To desire the world less and Him more — downward mobility versus upward mobility. (My prayer growing up: Lord, help. Please help me to want to love You, to know You and to serve You.)

Pray: To be rich in the things that matter — invite family into a better story: prayer and reading the Word, serving together; be known more for what you give than what you have; seek intimate and purposeful relationships; view school/work/career as a mission field not a paycheck, etc.

Pray: To be fully surrendered to His will — trusting in His provision and strength to die to old habits that keep you at anything less than full surrender. His Word: learn it, love it, live it.

Referencing John 13: Pray: To get up — to leave a place of comfort and familiarity. (Jesus left the table); free up your schedule by setting your priorities and living them. Pray: to open up—to not only be more trusting/vulnerable, trusting ultimately in yourself and God’s voice in your life, but also about being someone that is trustworthy. Pray: To do it — Put your purpose (and redemptive story) into action with empathy and mercy in a way that brings God glory through serving your neighbor … loving them as you love yourself.

C.J. Wetzler is the Next-Gen pastor at First Baptist Church of Deerfield Beach. Before transitioning into full-time ministry, CJ was a commercial airline captain and high school leadership and science teacher. For questions or comments, he can be reached at cj@deerfieldfirst.com.

By Gary Curreri

Lighthouse Point’s Sofia Caro can cross one thing off her sports bucket list.

The 17-year-old senior at Pine Crest scored her first varsity touchdown as the Panthers defeated visiting St. Andrew’s School, 28-8, in front of a raucous homecoming crowd at Best Field in Fort Lauderdale.

“I can’t really describe how I’m feeling,” said Caro, who scored on a fourth quarter, 2-yard run to seal the game. “All I can say is that I haven’t stopped smiling since … There’s nothing like it!”

Taking the handoff, Caro followed senior fullback Arjun Sandhu and junior offensive guard Robbie Fatovic 2 yards into the end zone.

“It was an amazing feeling,” Caro said. “My teammates, Arjun and Robbie (and others), cleared the way on the right side of the line. I spotted grass and hit the hole.”

Caro, who sports a 4.72 GPA in the classroom, also won the Clara Coleman Prize at her school last year which goes out to the rising senior who demonstrates versatility and merit as a scholar and student at Pine Crest School. Caro is a three-sport star at Pine Crest where she also excels in lacrosse and weightlifting.

As a sophomore, she was the only Broward competitor to make it to states in girls’ weightlifting placing 17th in her 139-pound weight class and last spring she was an all-county selection in lacrosse.

Caro, who played on JV for two seasons and took last year off to concentrate on lacrosse, is happy to be back. The 5-ft., 6 in., 140 lb. tailback said she had two goals. One was to score a touchdown, and the second was to win a championship with the football team. She can cross one of those off her list.

Pine Crest coach Troy Harrison said it was a special moment.

“She did a great job of following her lead blocker, finding the hole and crossing the goal line,” Harrison said. “The crowd went crazy, the team went crazy.”

Hearing the announcer call her name on Friday nights gets her pumped. The cheers from the crowd are reminiscent of the 1993 movie, Rudy, about a walk-on player at the University of Notre Dame.

“I’m on top of the world,” said Caro, who also plays linebacker in defense. “Hearing your name called is something special and it is something I haven’t really experienced in any other sport that I have played.”

Caro is the second female football player to play varsity football at Pine Crest. The other, Anna Lakovitch, was a placekicker and soccer star at the school from 1995-98 and attended Harvard University. South Plantation’s Erin DiMeglio became the first female quarterback in Florida high school history to play in a game in 2012.

Pine Crest, which won for the fourth consecutive week and improved to 4-1, faces King’s Academy in West Palm Beach this week.

Bucks roll again; top Taravella, 61-0

Deerfield Beach must enjoy the turf at Coral Springs High School as for the second consecutive week it rolled to a shutout victory over a District 11-8A foe.

Deerfield, which improved to 3-2 overall and 2-0 in District 11-8A, scored nine touchdowns and wrapped up the game in the first half as it cruised past Taravella, 61-0, last Thursday night. The team defeated Coral Springs at James Caldwell Field the previous week, 30-0.

Bucks senior quarterback Nick Holm returned from a concussion after sitting out the win over the Colts and threw for 200 yards and three touchdowns, including a 65-yard pass to junior receiver Cornelius McCoy on the game’s first play from scrimmage.

Holm also completed a 14-yard scoring pass to senior Jerry Jeudy and a 6-yarder to senior Leroy Henley. Backup QB Alec Brown, who threw for three TDs in the victory over Coral Springs filling in for Holm, picked up where he left off and passed for 146 yards and two TDs.

Junior tailback Jakari Norwood rushed for 87 yards on eight carries and three TDs, while senior Lafleur Limprevil tacked on 95 yards rushing.

The point total was two short of the team record for Deerfield, which leads in the season series between the two teams, 23-6.

By “Cinema” Dave

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

The 31st Annual Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival (FLIFF) unveiled its poster at Oceans 234 in Deerfield last Wednesday night, Sept. 28. At the poster dedication, President and CEO Gregory Von Hausch announced the premier of over 100 films in 17 days in November.

Besides turning sweet 16, actress Bailee Madison returns to FLIFF with Annabelle Hooper & The Ghosts of Nantucket, Bailee’s debut film as a producer. While most of the films will be screened at the Savor Cinema in Fort Lauderdale (formerly Cinema Paradiso, at 503 SE 6 St., Ft. Lauderdale), Dreamland will open the festival at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino (1 Seminole Way, Hollywood) on Friday, Nov. 4. Directed by Robert Schwartzman, Dreamland features performances by his brother Jason Schwartzman and his mother Talia Shire (known from performances like Rocky and The Godfather), who will be in attendance that evening.

Having earned an Oscar for his portrayal of Bela Lugosi in Tim Burton’s Ed Wood, Martin Landau will accept the FLIFF Lifetime Achievement Award. Along with co-stars Armand Assante and Michael Pare, Landau is expected to attend the screening of The Red Maple Leaf, the official closing night FLIFF film. In addition, Foster Hirsch returns to interview stage and screen legend, Arlene Dahl. These are just a few of the events and films planned for the film festival. Find out more and get tickets at www.fliff.com.

While the stalwart George Hamilton is not expected to attend this year’s festival, his film from last year’s FLiFF opens tomorrow, Silver Skies. This film is an ensemble comedy about seasoned citizens who are facing the foreclosure of their rental community.

Hamilton portrays Phil, an Alzheimer patient who thinks he is Dean Martin sometimes. Phil’s roommate, Nick (Jack McGee) sells programs at the racetrack. Each morning, they share breakfast with Eve (Barbara Bain) and Mickey (Jack Betts) who often gossip about the reclusive Harriet (Mariette Hartley), especially when a young, well dressed, black man visits her apartment three times a week.

While the foreclosure is the serious narrative, Silver Skies features comedic behavior from the main protagonists. There are also neighborhood romances featuring the [hussy] next door, Ethel (Valerie Perrine) and a recent widower, Frank (Alex Rocco), which is actually quite touching.

Not all of Silver Skies works. There is a scene involving sexual assault that is too graphic for the tone of this movie. However, the scene does set up a Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky joke that redeems it.

And his righteousness

“But strive first for the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33

I would like to introduce myself. My name is Pastor Jeff Gross and I am the new pastor at Zion Lutheran Church in Deerfield Beach. I am grateful to serve the people of Zion, Deerfield Beach and the surrounding area. I moved here from Lakewood Ranch, Florida (outside of Bradenton). Moving from the Gulf Coast to the Atlantic has transformed me into a morning person. The sunrises inspire the soul.

I have been a pastor for 22 years and, as a matter of fact, I celebrated my 22nd anniversary on the first day I preached at Zion. I cannot think of a better place to launch my 23rd year of ministry than in Deerfield Beach. And 22 years is a short period of time. I certainly do not pretend to be an expert, but I have learned a few things on this journey and, perhaps, some wisdom that has helped me not only become a better pastor but a more faithful person.

As a young pastor, I complained that seminary didn’t prepare me well enough. The older I get, the more I realize that seminary cannot possibly teach you everything you need to know in order to be a pastor. I began my career in rural North Dakota, 35 miles north and west of Fargo. I befriended an older and wiser colleague, something I highly recommend, and he told me: “Seminary taught me how to be a theologian. My parishioners taught me how to be a pastor.” I took those words to heart and, to this day, I believe that.

Continuing education is also encouraged and this is a great opportunity to learn more things that are not necessarily taught at seminary or even brush up on those lessons that were learned years ago. I have also read many great books recommended to me by fellow pastors. Many of these books were about the mechanics of running a church. There are “how to” books on just about everything from Youth Ministry to Multicultural Ministry to Stewardship. There are inspiring biographies written by successful pastors who brought in thousands of members to their congregation, the method used to attract new members. I have read several books addressing the post-modern age and the challenges that face the ministry as a result in this cultural shift. And I would categorize this material as “the mechanics of how to run a church.” And, I want to make it clear, this is good reading.

But here is what I discovered in my journey … I was starting to feel some burnout. The joy that once filled my soul was starting to dwindle and I kept comparing my ministry to the models within these many books, and I would get discouraged. I recalled Matthew 6:33 from a Sunday-School song “Seek ye first the kingdom of God….” The simple melody and the profound words took me back to my childhood and childlike faith. But it also re-oriented me because I discovered that my continuing education was in pursuit of “and all these things” and not “the Kingdom of God.”

The problem was, I wasn’t reading my Bible first. There was just too much material to read, but Scripture came second. I discovered, the hard way of course, I was filling my mind with knowledge while my heart was running on empty. That simple shift, reading the Bible first and seeking God’s Kingdom first made all the difference in the world. And “all these things,” as Jesus promised, they do come in good time.

Christian education is a lifelong journey, regardless of whether you are trying to become a better pastor or just a better person. There are a lot of good books out there. Read them. But first, read the Bible. That simple shift can make all the difference.

Pastor Gross is a pastor at Zion Lutheran Church, located at 959 SE 6 Ave., Deerfield Beach, FL 33441. For more information, contact 954-421-3146 or visit www.zion-lutheran.org.

By Emily Rosen

ERosen424@aol.com

www.emilyrosen424.com

School is routine already. Vacation picture albums are stashed with the others which, after you’ve flashed them umpteen times on your smartphone, some will morph into hard copies, and you won’t look at them again until the next time you move.

You might take one last trip to see the turning of the leaves, but most likely you won’t. Instead, you will remember the last time you did. You might marvel at the fact that the ocean water is still warm and wonder if it has always been warm in October; and, if not, what’s up with that?

You might smile initially at the ubiquitous orange and black wherever you go, but will get sick and tired of it before Oct. 31. If you are planning to indulge in Halloween festivities for adults or kids, your creative brain has been cooking for a while. And somewhere within your soul, you have become aware that 2016 is on its last legs and that what you have to look forward to for the rest of this year is serious shopping, holiday parties, and, in some cases, the loneliness of being far away from family, and a few reflections on the overall quality of your life choices.

Maybe you’ll purchase some new spiffy seasonal clothes. Or, you will go into the back of your closet and, voila, come out with some “OMG, I forgot I had this. I haven’t worn it for 100 years.”

You are happy that daylight-savings time, which usually terminates in October, doesn’t end until the first week in November. Sunshine and light, after all, are one of the reasons for being in Florida.

You will be happily ensconced in your favorite chair for the return of Sunday and Monday night football, unless, of course, you’re like me, an aberrant, and couldn’t care less about football.

And you are prepared for the every four-year October political surprise that will emerge at the end of the month, but you won’t change your mind, no matter what about how you plan to vote. You are registered to vote, right? It’s not too late to request an absentee ballot in case you have an aversion to standing in line. In Broward County, call 954-712-1903. In Palm Beach County, call 561-656-6200 to have your ballot sent to you. Do it NOW.

And here’s the big event for which you will need to make preparations. It’s the post-election let-down. Well, sure there will be some immediate chatter about what happened and why, but the high theatrics are likely to subside. We’ll go back to murders, car crashes, rape, corruption, predictions about the holiday, retail economy and political grand-standing (and most likely paralysis) regardless of who wins. But the big question is – what will happen to the Donald Trump show, if he wins or if he loses? Will we face serious withdrawal symptoms if he becomes presidential? Or, if he slinks back into limited notoriety, what will we do for entertainment?

Yes, I know. This is serious stuff, folks, but if we lose our sense of humor, then all is lost.

Hail to October, the beginning of the end of another year and a good time for reflection on the year, so far.

By Gary Curreri

It is hard to believe after a 30-0 victory over a district foe that Deerfield Beach head football coach Jevon Glenn would be unhappy, but he was.

“This wasn’t a good showing at all,” said Glenn, whose Bucks evened their record at 2-2 and opened District 11-8A play with a 1-0 record. Host Coral Springs, which entered the game undefeated in three games, fell to 3-1 and 0-1 in the district. “After our showing last week in Georgia and not [having] excitement and enthusiasm and be dominant tonight, it was really disappointing for me.”

The Bucks were coming off a 39-14 defeat against nationally-ranked Grayson (Georgia) last week. Deerfield Beach coach Jevon Glenn said his team needed the win. Starting quarterback Nick Holm suffered a concussion in that game and was cleared to play; however, Glenn held him out as a precaution.

Backup quarterback Alec Brown filled in nicely as he threw three touchdown passes – two to Jerry Jeudy covering 4 and 57 yards and a 5-yarder to Leroy Henley. Broward had 160 yards passing for the evening.

Jakari Norwood, who finished the contest with 103 yards, added a 55-yard TD run and Ledin Rivera added a 34-yard field goal in the win for the Bucks.

“We won the game,” Glenn said. “Alec did manage the game. The guys didn’t play well around him and he (Brown) did have to fight through some things. He didn’t get the support that really enabled him to show his skills.”

“We are a work in progress and I think we are nowhere as good as we will be at the end of the year,” Glenn continued. “People say it is better to win ugly, than lose pretty, but I am disappointed. It wasn’t a good showing.”

Highlands picks up first win

After opening the season with a 14-0 loss to Jupiter Christian, Highlands Christian Academy recorded a 26-12 win over Scheck Hillel Community School. The team dropped a 43-6 decision to St. John Paul II Academy last week.

Knights first-year head coach Josh Harris, who will lead the Knights on Friday in a game against at Palmer Trinity at 4 p.m., has drawn praise from HCA Athletic Director Jim Good. The team is 1-2 overall, but 1-0 in the IFC (Independent Football Conference).

The IFC consists of Highlands Christian, Hillel, Palmer Trinity, Pine Crest Prep and Palm Glades. The Knights finished 2-6 last year and made the playoffs as the No. 4 seed. However, the goal this year is to be competing for the championship title.

“Coach Harris is the right man for the job,” Good said. “I’m so grateful and thankful for him, his testimony for the Lord, and his time and commitment. Josh is a full time teacher at Somerset Canyons up in Boynton Beach and sacrifices a lot of time to be here for practices and games. He brings energy, passion and excitement along with organization, structure and discipline. “

In the win over Scheck Hillel, eighth grader running back Christian Opalaky led the team in rushing and had three touchdowns. Sophomore quarterback Justin Corn found fellow sophomore Titus Baags, a tight end, for an 18-yard scoring pass in the fourth quarter that sealed the win for the Knights.

By “Cinema” Dave

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

Come What May opens tomorrow in local cinema. This serious film presented in multiple languages about 1940 European refugees seems very timely given current affairs regarding immigration. It is not a political film. It is the story about individuals coping with a homeland that has gone mad.

As the Nazis overrun France, a local mayor leads his citizens into the country. The villagers take with them a German child whose father (August Diehl) opposed the Nazi regime and has been jailed for lying about his nationality. The father escapes jail to search for his son, accompanied by a Scottish soldier (Matthew Rhys), who is trying to get back to England.

Lacking the budget of a major studio, Come What May still provides some riveting action sequences. One sequence features a Nazi airplane shooting at a young boy in a moving automobile. As the machine gun misses its target, you can see collateral damage — a home destroyed, an automobile and a bruising example of the fog of war. The final result, however, is that Come What May is a life-affirming movie.

It is 31 days before Halloween and that happens to be the name of Rob Zombie’s new crowd-funded, horror epic. 31 refers to a vicious game involving killer clowns who hold hostages captive in a warehouse. The object for the victim is to simply survive. Set on Halloween in 1976, the hostages are a troupe of carnival employees who are ill-equipped to play the game.

Horror movies work best with a simple plot and 31 liberally borrows from the Richard Connell’s short, story classic The Most Dangerous Game and Stephen King’s The Running Man. The conflict is visceral, with several theatrical touches that suggest pseudo-intellectual depth.

As the masters of ceremonies, Malcolm McDowell, Judy Geeson and Jane Carr watch the game and wager on the sidelines. The voice of Malcolm McDowell is by far the most horrific aspect of 31. Reminiscent of the classic radio programs like Inner Sanctum, Suspense and The Twilight Zone, McDowell’s vocal intonation provides a pure “theater-of-the-mind” experience.

Unfortunately, the visualization does not live up to McDowell’s vocal artistry. Due to murky cinematography and fast-paced editing, the showdown between the killer clowns with funny names (Sex-Head, Doom-Head, Sick-Head) and the hostages become the dullest part of 31.

Don’t lose hope, Halloween movie fans, there is much positive Oscar buzz for A Monster Calls featuring Sigourney Weaver and Felicity Jones, and directed by J.A. Boyana, known for films like The Orphanage and The Impossible.

Now that most of us have had our summer vacations, it’s time to look at the calendar and plan for the things we can do this fall season. Our places of worship are certainly planning a full schedule of services and events to honor our Lord, encourage our fellowship and foster the commonweal. Our Lord is also making plans for each of us, and our enjoyment of what He has in store for us will not be nearly as costly as our vacations and will likely be more rewarding. Our Lord doesn’t charge for the splendors He has to give us!

Some of us are “morning people” and some of us are “evening people;” but it makes no difference to our Lord because He has gifts for us all. As for me, I’m a morning person and nothing gives me greater pleasure than to begin my day looking eastward at a glorious Florida sunrise and feeling the touch of our Lord in the warmth of His sun’s rays. I’m also an evening person, and how better can a day end than to spend some time in the coolness of a fall evening illuminated by the light of the moon which our Lord hung in the sky for our pleasure. These are times meant for reflection about our days, for wonderment at our Lord’s creation, for dialogue with Him, and to listen to what He has to say to us. If you include these times for reflection in your fall plans, our Lord will richly reward you for the time you spend with Him.

Our Lord has gifted us with Holy Scriptures so we can study and understand His will for us and make it a part of our lives. He has also inspired creative artists and enabled them to project His will in their artistry by using the language and imagery of their own generations. We are indeed fortunate here in South Florida to have so many venues where our Lord’s will is on display in the works of our creative artists – our museums are wonderful examples of this and many of them have “free admission days” – so you can enjoy them without even having to reach into your pocket! The Norton Museum, in West Palm Beach, has Paul Gauguin’s Christ in the Garden of Olives, a dramatic oil painting to help us understand Christ’s agony on the night before His crucifixion. The NSU Art Museum, in Fort Lauderdale, will soon offer a new exhibition of works by Anselm Kiefer, a contemporary German artist who depicts the human response to human suffering. Holy Scripture deals with this in the Book of Job; Kiefer deals with it with brush and paint. And then, there is the Pérez Art Museum in Miami. When you go there, please don’t miss the wonderfully moving painted plaster sculpture by George Segal of Abraham’s Farewell to Ishmael. It helps us understand that there are times our Lord may ask us to do something that is painful in the short term but needed in the long term. Make a museum visit part of your fall plans and you will have an opportunity to “read” Holy Scripture in a new and contemporary language.

And now for music. Why? Because as Thomas Carlyle said: “Music is the speech of angels.” You can make an argument that Holy Scripture is laid out like a classical symphony in four movements. First, there is chaos, until “the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” Then, there are generations of disobedience while mankind learned to live under our Lord’s laws until He “put His spirit within us, and caused us to walk in His statutes and keep His judgements.” Third, our Lord became incarnate and walked among us to make certain we understood He will keep every promise He ever made. And the symphonic story is resolved in the Book of Revelation. We see the Divine Presence on a throne, not dealing with chaos, but looking out upon a peaceful “sea of glass like unto crystal.”

We are very fortunate in South Florida because there are many places for us to go and hear the musical “speech of angels.” If you’ve got a few bucks, get a ticket to one of Seraphic Fire’s concerts. You ain’t heard an angel sing until you’ve heard them!

Finally, I’m the first to admit that I’m not as familiar as I should be with the music of our current generation. I don’t know how much of what they’re doing is a reflection of our Lord’s will in the world. If it isn’t, then I challenge our young musicians to listen to our Lord, and project His will in their music; it may be the first time their audience has ever heard from our Lord in a language they understand. That would be missionary work of the highest order.

Rev. M. Tracy Smith, SSA, is a rector at St. Peter’s Anglican Church at 1416 SE 2nd Terrace in Deerfield Beach, FL 33441. Morning prayer is Wednesday at 10 a.m., Holy Communion is Thursday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 10 a.m. For more information, call 954-695-0336.

By Gary Curreri

Pompano Beach’s Isak Nilsson called playing on some of the top courses in Broward County every Monday “marvelous.”

He was “marvelous” himself as he finished off his junior golf career with the Junior Golf Association (JGA) of Broward County by winning the prestigious Julius Boros Trophy for having the lowest stroke average for boys for the year.

The 18-year-old freshman at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) averaged 74.6 for the summer competition and was recently presented with the trophy, a large silver bowl donated to the Junior Golf Association of Broward by the late golfing great, Julius Boros.

“It was really cool because I am really close with the whole Boros family,” said Nilsson, who also won a four-year grant (McKinney Scholarship) from the JGA. He is majoring in biology.

“Ever since I started playing in the JGA when I was 12 as a little kid, I always saw the big trophy being awarded to the big kids and that was something I always wanted to get.”

“Being paired with friends every week and being able to play on such a great course was also something I will always remember,” Nilsson added. “It was such a close-knit group.”

Nilsson averaged in the 80s last year; however, he honed his game this year and brought home the coveted prize. He started in Boys D and moved to the Championship Flight three years ago. After the final round of the three-day tournament, Julius Boros III approached Nilsson and asked what he shot.

“He had it all calculated and said, ‘Oh, you got me by two strokes,’” Nilsson said. “Winning the trophy makes me want to strive for more obviously. It’s a good feeling and it makes me want to keep practicing and keep playing. It makes me want to try and go to the next step.”

He is sitting out this season at FAU, but hopes to play for the golf team next season. Nilsson said his game really took off last year.

“It all started with high school last year,” said Nilsson, a 2016 graduate of Cardinal Gibbons High School. “I was medalist at regionals and then in the summer in the JGA, I put in a lot of practice and effort … I practiced day and night and I had a really good season and it carried over to this summer.”

What will he remember most?

“There are a lot of good players that are good friends, and it is always fun to get paired up in the final group and go head-to-head … it is a good atmosphere,” he said. “The bad thing about it now is I am not a junior (golfer) anymore and can’t play all of these great tournaments for such a low price. Junior golf is a great deal.”

Nilsson said the quality of golf in South Florida is high.

“South Florida (golf), even at the amateur level, is pretty difficult because that’s where the top golfers are,” Nilsson said. “I have a lot of friends that play in events in the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) up north because the fields are smaller. They don’t play in Florida because the tournaments are immensely challenging.”

By “Cinema” Dave

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

As a child, I used to bust a gut laughing at Jerry Lewis movies, and, in particular, the climatic scenes in Who’s Minding the Store and The Disorderly Orderly. One Labor Day weekend, I discovered his telethon for muscular dystrophy. I was impressed that this funny guy could raise millions of dollars for such a serious cause. I always wanted to do something like that when I grew up.

As I entered high school, the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon began to age and eventually became an unintentional parody of itself. This was something Martin Scorsese sensed as he cast Jerry Lewis against type in The King of Comedy, starring Robert DeNiro. While he will always be associated with comedy, Jerry Lewis revealed a dark soul as Richard Belzer’s uncle on the television program, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Max Rose is cumulative swan song to Jerry Lewis’s film career. The film opens with a sense of nostalgia. As the credits roll, we see young Max (Lewis) and his wife Eva (Claire Bloom) through pictures and photographs. The film loses and regains focus as we watch Max learn that he is now a widow and he signs off on his spouse’s last medical forms. He returns home with his granddaughter, Annie Rose (Kerry Bishe) to contemplate the silence of loneliness.

“Our marriage was a lie and I failed myself,” Max says at his wife’s funeral, shocking those in attendance, including his estranged son, Chris (Kevin Pollak).

The source of Max’s consternation revolves around a locket he found in Eva’s personal items, dated on a special day in 1959. All Max remembers about that day was that he was out of town recording a Jazz album that made him a “one hit wonder.”

As a narrative, Max Rose does plod along. Some scenes could have been shortened and the abrupt use of flashbacks did become confusing at first. However, there is a life-affirming resolution that does pay off.

Due to the actor’s physical limitations, most of Jerry Lewis’ performance is told through the lines on his face. From heartache to contempt, to childlike joy, Lewis delivers a haunting performance. The script allows him to reprise one of his most memorable comic moments.

While staying at an assisted-living center, Lewis, Mort Sahl, Rance Howard and Lee Weaver listen to Jazz music and improvise playing instruments. The scene is infectious with its warmth and humor and is a fine scene that fits into his film persona.

By the way, for those who have not seen it yet, check out Sully or Pete’s Dragon while they are still on the big screen.