This is the time of year traditionally given to the consideration of the family, friends, experiences and accomplishments that we are grateful for in our lives. We pause purposefully and intentionally on the fourth Thursday of November to give thanks. But have you noticed how easy it has become to rush through the year and, indeed, all of life full of expectations and even demands? The result is that we may become so selfish and narcissistic as to never display or verbalize any gratitude. The entitlement mindset has descended upon society in such a way that everything is a right, few things are regarded as privileges, and no one wants to take any responsibility.

If you are of the mind to disagree, allow me to suggest that you observe the behavior of motorists on the road the next time you are driving around. How many red light runners can you spot casually breaking the law? Does anyone yield the right of way when they are entering the highway or do they expect you to slow down? If you’re doing the speed limit, are the motorists passing you giving you mean looks or honking their horns? Don’t you think the person behind you is a little too close for comfort? Heaven forbid the light should turn yellow and they are two feet from your rear bumper.

I believe that we all should cultivate an attitude of gratitude that permeates our lives throughout the year. The ability to drive in this country is a privilege, not a right, and we are expected to drive responsibly and to be mindful of others on the road. I love road trips that enable me to see the beauty of Florida. You can enjoy views of the ocean, city skyscrapers from a distance, wide spaces of farm country, small town communities, and large urban areas. Have you noticed the differences between the palm trees of Miami and Jacksonville? I’m grateful to be able to see and appreciate all of this and more.

We all have a laundry list of things that we could complain about but why not list the things we are grateful for? There’s an old hymn of the church that encourages: Count your blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done. The apostle Paul commands believers in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 to give thanks in everything. It’s a remarkable approach and a beneficial practice. Somehow, the good always seems to outweigh the bad, and the reality is that there is someone who would gladly trade their situation for yours.

You may not have everything you desire to have, but isn’t it true that you have a lot right now? Maybe you haven’t achieved your dreams and objectives, but aren’t you still able to do something about it? So you’ve had setback and failure, but aren’t you still around to try again? You’ve lost a close friend or family member, but aren’t you glad for the precious memories that linger? Let’s make it a daily habit to be grateful and perhaps we can enjoy life more. Let the people you love and appreciate know how grateful you are for their presence in your life. That might inspire them to be grateful, in turn, to others.

Don’t forget to give thanks to God for His mercies and blessings upon your life. And take the time to appreciate the beauty around you. Why the rush? Stop and smell the roses sometime. You don’t have to be a grouch, you can be grateful. Happy Thanksgiving!

Bishop Patrick L. Kelly is the pastor of Cathedral Church of God, 365 S. Dixie Hwy., Deerfield Beach, FL 33441. 954- 427-0302.

By Gary Curreri

Blanche Ely first year football coach Nakia Jenkins left the field Friday night following his team’s Class 7A regional quarterfinal loss to Atlantic convinced he had the better team.

The problem was Atlantic is moving on in the postseason following the 21-13 win and the Tigers will have to wait another year to see if it can reach the same heights it did in 2002 when it won the Class 5A state championship and finished the year 14-1.

Jenkins, the school’s sixth coach since 2006, cited the team’s inexperience as a key factor in the loss. The Tigers have only won more than seven games three times since former coach Steve Davis left the school and went to Plantation in 2003.

“I’ve been telling my guys all season that you guys have to make the best of every opportunity and dropped balls killed us again,” Jenkins said. “Dropped balls and blown opportunities … Early in the game we are down in the red zone and we don’t capitalize … just miscues and it shows that we are a young team. We learn from experience and I am proud of them. We will just get ready for next year.”

Atlantic High junior quarterback Edwin Hernandez threw two touchdowns within a 2-minute and 48 second span of the third quarter to give the Eagles (9-2) the victory. Hernandez tossed touchdown passes of 19 yards to Markinson Ripert and 30 yards to Lamar Washington to stake the Eagles to a 14-0 lead.

Blanche Ely (6-5) cut the deficit in half to 14-7 on an 8-yard scamper by Teddrick Moffett with 11:49 left in the game; however, the Eagles wasted little time in answering as Davan Cleckley returned the ensuing kickoff 80 yards for a 21-7 lead.

Blanche Ely closed the gap to 21-13 on a 23-yard scoring pass from Moffett to Laderrick Smith with 2:19 remaining in the game, but the Tigers couldn’t tie the contest after it got the ball back with just 45 seconds left on its own 9-yard line.

Blanche Ely also had a chance to take the lead at 3-0 with 8:15 remaining in the third quarter when Carmeley Charite’s 30-yard field goal attempt was wide right. Demeterice Bellamy finished the game with 11 carries for 54 yards for the Tigers, while Laderrick Smith caught 5 passes for 94 yards.

Atlantic won the contest despite committing 18 penalties for 187 yards that nearly wiped out its 260 yards of offense in the game.

Jenkins’ team featured 80 percent of its roster with players in their first year on varsity. Three of the team’s five losses came in the closing minutes to Deerfield Beach, Miami Northwestern and Plantation.

“We just got to learn how to finish ball games, man,” Jenkins said. “It shows. We had opportunities. We should have beaten this team tonight, hands down. We just didn’t capitalize on the opportunities that we had and that has haunted us all year. We’ll take it. We’ll learn from it and just get ready for next year.”

Jenkins said the most important thing the team should bring away from the season is to play a complete game.

“They need to learn to play four quarters,” Jenkins said. “They need to learn to fight through adversity. They need to learn from mistakes. Dropped balls killed us all year and we probably had seven to eight dropped balls tonight and that could have helped us. We got away with it early in the season, but playing a good, solid team like that which runs the ball well and chews up a lot of clock, that’s what happens.”

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

While it is later this year, it is hard to believe that the 29th Annual Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival concludes this weekend. One of Robin Williams last films, A Merry Friggin’ Christmas will be screened this Sunday night at Cinema Paradiso. The two screenings will also present a special tribute to the fallen idol.

This weekend also features multiple tributes to Palm Beach resident George Hamilton. While best known as a sun-tanned icon from 1960s beach blanket movies, Hamilton’s resume is far more diverse and concrete. In the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, Hamilton produced and starred in Love at First Bite (as a disco dancing Dracula) and Zorro: The Gay Blade. Both were lightweight comedies, conservatively produced, and provided Hamilton a nice nest egg for his later years.

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Hamilton revealed performance potential at an early age when he attended Palm Beach High School. His first film Crime & Punishment, U.S.A was a modern adaptation of Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky Crime & Punishment. His persona as a “sun burned lothario” became evident in color motion pictures, most notably Where the Boys Are and Light in the Piazza, starring Yvette Mimieux and Olivia de Havilland.

When Robert Duvall turned down his appearance in The Godfather: Part III, Hamilton became Al Pacino’s lawyer. In contrast to portraying a smooth professional in Brooks Brothers suits, Hamilton gave a sincere performance as singer Hank Williams in Your Cheatin’ Heart.

While Hamilton will be acknowledged at the Awards Gala Friday night, this Saturday evening he will be hosting, At Home, On Stage at Cinema Paradiso- FTL.This program is a 90 minute presentation that features film clips and montages. Hamilton will be the Master of Ceremonies of this one-man performance and will be taking questions from the audience. Info: www.fliff.com

With FLiFF29 wrapping up this weekend, it is now time to consolidate my top 10 list for the end of 2014. At the moment, there are not enough films for a Top 10. Therefore, I am reviewing DVDs from highly recommended word of mouth considerations.

Thanksgiving is soon upon us and, once again, our children will hear a beautiful version of the first Thanksgiving. They will hear about Native Americans and pilgrims feasting together on corn, turkey and yams, oh, and let’s not forget cranberry sauce.

Many adults who have given up on the myth of Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny still cling to the Thanksgiving story they learned as little ones.

I have the same problem with those who dropped out of Temple life after their Bar or Bat Mitzvah. They stopped learning about God and Torah, and, now, even in their upper years, they have a 13-year-old view of God and His word. The problem is that there is much more to these biblical stories. And, there is much more to the Thanksgiving story.

Let me share just a few things with you about Native Americans. Did any of you move down here from Canarsie? Well guess what, it was named after the Canarsee Indians. And for those of you who spent time in Rockaway; guess what, it was named after the Rechaweygh (pronounced – Rockaway) Indians.

Many of the tribes were quite content before the pilgrims came. One tribe lived in one area and another tribe in another area. And, while they lived on the land, they considered it owned by a higher power. They were respectful enough of each other not to move too close. But if another group needed to use some of the land for awhile, or they needed some food or some water… no problem. You see, the Native Americans didn’t fence themselves in, nor did they fence others out. But then the pilgrims came, pilgrims who had this concept of land ownership.

Now, let me focus on the feast of Thanksgiving. The family sitting around the table on Thanksgiving night often follows a tradition of having each one say something they are thankful for. So what, you might ask, were pilgrims thankful for?

The pilgrims there did not have it so easy. They had neglected to bring others with them from their homeland who had the skills that would be needed to survive. This was especially true in regard to food. To get food, you needed to be able to hunt. And not only were they lousy hunters, but, when they did get lucky enough to catch something, they weren’t exactly great in the butchering department either. In other words, they could not catch it, they could not kill it and they could not skin it.

And this is where the religious background came in handy. With so little food to eat they came up with days of fasting. Yes, they would pray on these days. They would pray for something to eat, as they were darn near starving.

The days on which they were permitted to eat became joyous days of thanks … hence, Thanksgiving Day. And their feast probably consisted of some bread and potatoes.

This Thanksgiving, I want you to take the time to research, to learn as an adult. What I’ve written today might not be totally accurate; but, I can tell you this, neither is the story we learned as children. Keep learning. Seek the truth and give thanks!

Shalom my friends,

Rabbi Craig H. Ezring

Rabbi Ezring is the spiritual leader of Temple Beth Israel of Deerfield Beach. If you would like to be part of a small, haimishe, Conservative Congregation stop by and become a part of our family. (Services – Saturdays at 9:30 a.m. followed by a beautiful Kiddish and friendly conversation. Temple is located one block South of Hillsboro Blvd on Military Trail).

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

Having actors Jason Alexander and Pamela Shaw screen their movie Lucky Stiff at the Amaturo Theater in Downtown Ft. Lauderdale was cool Friday night under the glowing moon, but it was the locals who really shined at the 29th Annual Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival. Given that we have another two weeks of screenings and parties, the FLiFF29 juggernaut is just gaining momentum.

Evolving from an Off Broadway musical, director Christopher Ashley filled Lucky Stiff with many cinematic touches. While most of the narrative takes place in Monte Carlo, most of the film was shot in a California studio with special effects technology. Throughout the movie, there is cartoon animation that enhances the corny themes that are found in American musicals. While this film is not a great movie, it is a goofy time passer.

Friday night set the stage for a fun weekend at Cinema Paradiso. Florida local Peter Wein, the radio host of Peter’s Living Room, set up his studio in the patio and interviewed the talent who were screening their movies. Along with co-host Audrey Lynn, Peter interviewed the cast and crew of Human Capital, Pie Lady of Pie Town and Traitors. Do a Google search for Peter’s Living Room and The Wei Network and one can hear these far-ranging interviews.

When dark skies began to absorb the Sunday skyline, It seemed as if luck was running out on FLiFF29. However, this miserable weather set the perfect stage for An Honest Liar, the documentary about Plantation resident, James Randi. While the first 2/3 of the movie features The Amazing Randi’s public career as a magician, the final portion of the film focuses on Randi’s private revelation. Randi also provides a lesson on class and dignity as he confronts a public storm that threatens his happiness. Always the consummate showman, at age 86, the Amazing Randi concluded his Q& A with a magic trick, much to the delight of the audience.

Week Two presents the FLiFF29 Centerpiece film, Frank vs. God at the Sunrise Civic Center Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m. David Frank (Henry Ian Cusick) suffers travails similar to that of the Old Testament’s long-suffering Job. When his insurance company refuses to pay a claim, due to “an act of God,” Frank decides to sue God.

Given his work on the long-running television show Lost, Cusick appears to be the perfect casting choice as Frank. Cusick will be attending the party following the film; it’s co-sponsored by locals Diane Sobo and Cyndi Boyar.

As to why she decided to sponsor this film, Boyar responded, “I have a friend who is a big fan of Lost and Henry Ian Cusick.

I love the Sunrise Civic Center and this seemed like a natural fit.”

After this weekend, FLiFF29 will be 2/3 complete with many films selling out. For tickets and information, visit www.fliff.com or call 954-525-FILM.

Have you ever heard the expression, “If life gives you lemons, make lemonade?” That is a great expression when you are the one telling someone else to make the lemonade. It becomes a little more difficult to be the one who actually has to make the lemonade.

Ephesians 4:32

32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

NLT

I believe that one of the keys to a fulfilling life is forgiveness. It is so easy to say “I forgive you,” but sometimes very difficult to actually mean it and actually live it. We must first forgive ourselves for things we have done in our lives. Then, we must forgive others for things they have done to us.

Colossians 3:13

13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

NLT

Forgiveness should be a way of life, not just something that we do in order to get through life. When we walk in un-forgiveness, we take our lives out of God’s hands and place our lives in someone else’s hands. We let our lives be determined by others and not what God wants for us. We are no longer able to do certain things, to go to certain places we want to go, or to even have the relationships we want to have or need.

To be truly free, we must choose to walk in forgiveness. It has to be a choice and it has to be a choice that only we can make for ourselves. I’m sure you have realized by now that you will have many opportunities to be offended by someone, and you will also have many opportunities to practice forgiveness. When the opportunity comes, just take it and forgive, and please stay away from excuses.

Here are a few excuses we have used: “But you don’t understand” – the truth is that we don’t understand what un-forgiveness costs us; “it’s not in my nature or personality to forgive” – we must simply choose to forgive and change our ways to avoid the self-made prison that un-forgiveness brings; “you don’t know what they did to me and how deeply they hurt me” – you are absolutely right, I don’t know. I do know that if you don’t forgive that person, you will put yourself in prison and you will hurt other people whom you love deeply as a result. You will also continue to bring more pain into your life because you have now hurt someone that you care about.

The greatest advantage of forgiveness is your freedom. Forgiveness sets you free, not the other person.

Forgiveness is a choice, and it’s up to you to do it or not do it. You can have the greatest benefit or the greatest devastation. It’s up to you to do it. So, please, when life gives you lemons, just make lemonade.

Tony Guadagnino is a pastor at Christian Love Fellowship Church, located at 801 SE 10 St, Deerfield Beach, FL 33441. 954-428-8980, www.clfministries.org.

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com The place for movie lovers to be this weekend will be downtown Ft. Lauderdale. The Ft. Lauderdale Museum of Discovery and Science (MODS) opens Writer/Director Christopher Nolan’s eagerly awaited Interstellar on the recently remodeled 5-storey IMAX screen with new 56 sound speakers. Interstellar is expected to docked at MODS until the final episode of The Hobbit trilogy burrows in for Christmas.

The red carpet for the 29th Annual Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival (FLiFF29) will be unfurled Friday night at the Amaturo Theater with a screening of Lucky Stiff. Lucky Stiff is a farcical comedy about a British nephew who must fulfill his late uncle’s wishes, or lose $6 million inheritance. While the film features one of the last performances of FLiFF favorite Dennis Farina, the film will showcase FLiFF honoree Jason Alexander.

Jason Alexander and Pamela Shaw in “Lucky Stiff.”

While best known for playing George Costanza in Seinfeld, Alexander started his career in theater. When he landed his first job on Broadway, he dropped out of his theater studies in Boston.

Working with Liza Minnelli, Chita Rivera, Neil Simon, Hal Prince and Stephen Sondheim proved to be enough education for Alexander. He has worked steadily as an actor. It is refreshing to see Alexander pop up in movies like Pretty Woman, Shallow Hal and Star Trek Voyager. He is scheduled to walk the Amaturo Theater red carpet Friday night (be there by 7:10 p.m.).

Also expected to walk the red carpet Friday night is local celebrity The Amazing Randi. With the help of Kickstarter, The Amazing Randi, aka James Randi, has been working with Directors Justin Weinstein & Tyler Measom to create An Honest Liar. This is a documentary about Randi’s unique career as an illusionist. While he gained fame on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Randi built Alice Cooper’s guillotine and used his “free time” to debunk phony psychics. The South Florida premier of An Honest Liar is this weekend.

James “The Amazing” Randi with “the head of Alice Cooper.”

FLiFF29 features a unique movie from Denmark, The Salvation. Best known for his work as television’s Hannibal Lechter, Mads Mikkelsen stars in this Danish western about a settler who kills, his violence breeds violence and the fine line between cowardice and bravery is revealed. This film will be screening Veteran’s Day at Cinema Paradiso-Ft. Lauderdale and is sponsored by Rob Davis.

FLiFF29 will be an intense, but fluid event for the next three weeks. To keep in touch with the latest schedules and times, please visit the website www.fliff.com.

By Emily Rosen

ERosen424@aol.com

www.emilyrosen424.com

When you get to a certain age – you have two daily mantras – subliminal words that run through your head like watermarks on stationery: 1) Be Careful  2) Be Grateful.

Regarding the “Be Careful” echo – it repeats in my head with every step I take, every rotation of the four wheels on my car, and every recall of the crazy kinds of accidents having befallen many of my friends and acquaintances.

Always one to have rashly taken risks – be it rock climbing, white water rafting in turbulent waters, traversing rope bridges across deep canyons in the Himalaya Mountains, biking in challenging terrain or any number of other youth oriented adventures, I have happily accepted the “BTDT”* (Been There Done That) motto that has me taking pleasure now in “looking at the pictures.” And since I aspire to becoming the oldest healthy walking-onmy- own-steam with full cognition person — I know that I have to do my part in helping towards that goal, while counting on a major contribution coming from that mysterious source often referred to as God. Thus, “being careful” for starters – is a no-brainer.

Being thankful is even easier. I marvel with gratitude at the elegant stroke of fate that placed my parents in the U.S.A. at the time of my conception. And everything flows from there. My car accident? I wasn’t hurt nor was anyone else. I salvaged my car. My completely turned-around life since becoming a widow last year? I view it as a new challenge, a way to keep good memories alive, to adjust to being alone, to learning how to celebrate mindfulness and to reach into my own cognitive resources to find ways to live a fulfilling life. And what’s a fulfilling life? My friend Barbara once summed it up for me : “Every day, I try to do something for someone else and something for me.”

I’m grateful that every ache and pain I have is liveable. I have learned to view them as friends to greet and dismiss every morning as I distract myself from awareness that they exist and proceed with other thoughts and deeds.

I am grateful that I am not poor – and just as grateful that I am not rich. It is kind of a challenge to figure out how to juggle my spending to keep me afloat and I’ve seen too many rich people pursuing lives that they, themselves, feel to be meaningless – simply because their excess of money allows them to follow a path of ease.

I am grateful to have found my “bliss” – a balance of productivity and wanton nothingness and the tools to minimize stress.

I am grateful for oranges and beaches, and mountains and eggplant – good drinking water and showers, and lowered gas prices and national parks, TV clickers in the “off” position, healthy loving family and respectful political disagreements – for friends and solitude, and PBS and libraries — for the Wright brothers and Richard Branson – Bill Gates and Steve Jobs – the opportunity to vote and to nap in the middle of the day when I feel like it, to hate the movie that everyone raves about and OMG to be able to cook my own turkey for my family on Thanksgiving Day, and to be able to wish you all a way of seeing the glass half full. Happy Thanksgiving.

Well, here we are in the midst of another election and once again my neighbor has busied himself sending out e-mails, as he would like everyone to vote for the party and candidates that he, in his infinite wisdom, feels are best for the job.

I don’t know about you, but when I apply for a position, I try and highlight my accomplishments. But I have to wonder, what if, instead of listing my accomplishments, I put down all the reasons why the candidates should not even be considered.

That’s what my neighbor is doing. Not one of his e-mails say anything positive about those he would like everyone to vote for, rather they all spout negatives about the candidates and political party that he is against; and he is rabidly against them.

I did some fact checking and there are a lot of things in those things he forwards that, simply stated, aren’t true. He even earmarks certain ones especially for me and for those who he thinks would have the same concerns that I do. So I get all the ones about how this one or that one is anti-Semitic, or not supportive of Israel. Now, he doesn’t just send one or two; no, I’m talking about multiple e-mails on a daily basis. I have nicely asked him (more than once) to please stop sending them to me, but it would appear each time I do so, it somehow encourages him to send even more.

I’m not quite sure why he thinks behaving in this manner would get me to agree with him. Hammering someone over and over again, well, to me that’s a form of bullying.

Oddly enough, while his goal is to get me to see the world his way, to agree with him, his methods are having just the opposite effect.

And what would happen if he got everyone to see things his way? I can tell you this, if every one of us voted for the same candidate, we would have no need to hold elections. We would have no need for a two-party system. All we would have to do is go to my neighbor and he would tell us who will be our governor, our senator, our congressman and our president.

He was spouting his beliefs at the pool the other day and, at one point, he said that anyone who voted for the other side “was a fool and must hate this country.” And that’s when someone listening said, “We just don’t speak the same language.”

Biblically, we talk about a time where everyone spoke the same language. And, in case you forgot, they began to build a tower, the Tower of Babel. And that’s how I felt about my neighbor’s talk because to me, he was just babbling on. God destroys the Tower of Babel and He purposely differentiated people by making it so they don’t all speak the same language. Do you think for a moment that God did this so that we should hate anyone who speaks a different tongue?

Or maybe, just maybe, He did it so that we could learn to respect one another even though we don’t speak the same language. And, if that’s the case, then maybe we could learn to respect each other despite our differences, our differences in country of origin, skin color, religion and, dare I say it, political leanings.

Shalom my friends,

Rabbi Craig H. Ezring

Rabbi Ezring is the Spiritual Leader of Temple Beth Israel of Deerfield Beach where you can hear his uplifting messages during Shabbat Services (Saturdays – 9:30a.m.). The Temple is located one block South of Hillsboro on the west Side of Military Trail.

By Gary Curreri

Pompano Beach’s Lara Annunziata recently placed third in the Ladies Final and qualified for the 2015 Eastern Sectional Figure Skating Championships, which will be held in Raleigh, NC from Nov. 19-23.

It marked the second consecutive year that Annunziata, 11, a Shepherd of the Coast sixth grader, finished third at the regional competition. Annunziata was one of 29 skaters from the Panthers Figure Skating Club (PFSC) that went to competition.

“I am happy I made it to sectionals again,” said Annunziata, who moved up to a higher division this year. “It’s a little longer program and has an extra jump. It is a little more tiring.”

Annunziata said it is important to make eye contact with the judges and the sectional qualification is a culmination of her hard work throughout the year.

“I really don’t think of anything when I am out on the ice,” she said. “I kind of go with the flow. I clear my mind. It is really important to go to sectionals in my first time at this level.”

Deerfield Beach’s Rachel Metzner placed 11th in the Novice Ladies Division. The 15-year-old North Broward Prep sophomore also moved up a division this year and has been skating for the past nine years.

“I love everything about it,” Metzner said. “It is the way I feel on the ice. It is indescribable. I really enjoy being out on the ice. I feel free. I can do whatever I want. My friends always ask me why I do a sport that takes so much time. My answer is because I love it and it is what I want to do. I want to continue on with it in the future.”

When she first started, she had no idea it was going to morph into what it has become.

“I first started taking group lessons with my friend because she was having a birthday party and I did Stanley C. Classes here,” Metzner recalled. “When I finished, I cried because I didn’t want to get off the ice so my mom signed me up for private lessons.”

She is pleased with the effort she has put into the sport. This was her fifth trip to regionals and she made it to the finals in juvenile two years ago.

“I am most proud of all of the obstacles I have overcome,” Metzner said. “I have had a lot of injuries. I have had knee injuries, a broken collarbone, torn rotator cuff, collapsed lung and, right now, I have a cracked rib cage.

“For me, it is cool to see how I have been able to come back from all of my injuries and still compete,” Metzner added. “I still stay motivated, which I think is really important. When I was injured, it was really hard for me for me to do. I sat at home and got ahead in my homework and got to see my friends. I wasn’t happy. My life felt incomplete when I wasn’t on the ice. I am happy I am back.”