November 5, 1999/26 Cheshvan 5760, Vol. 52, No.10
Letters to the EditorNovember 5, 1999
Sign, yes, but how about building?
Editor:Growing up, I always heard the expression a Yiddisha kop, which referred to someone who was clever and did something intelligent. There seems to be a scarcity of it when it comes to the Jewish Community Center. Four years ago, the JCC closed down because its location was geographically inconvenient to the burgeoning Jewish population in the northeast. An inconvenient building far surpasses the facilities we've enjoyed these past four years. For the last two years there has been a lonely sign dwarfed by 10 acres of land at Shea Boulevard and 40th Street proclaiming a ground-breaking in the fall of 1998. I have heard of Jewish Standard Time, but this is ridiculous! Isn't this a little embarrassing to the Jewish community at large? Now, the powers that be are considering a new site (since they have done such a wonderful job with the old site - it is time to build an addition!) Perhaps Temples Chai, Kol Ami, Beth Israel and Har Zion were wrong to recently invest millions of their congregants' dollars to build facilities within 2 to 4 miles of the Shea site? Why would the JCC try to create a Jewish nexus when they can confuse everybody and start their own Jewish neighborhood in, say, Fountain Hills? How many dollars were wasted in the acquisition, rezoning, planning and architectural drawings of the Shea site? How much time has been wasted? For an agency that is looking to raise funds, it seems to be squandering and floundering with little direction. While all the Jewish agencies bicker for new, bigger and better facilities, the children of this community have no programs (except for the summer camp). Where can my children play sports with other Jewish children? Where can they meet, play and grow within a Jewish context? Will each synagogue have to create its own facilities? If that is the case, what chance is there that the Jewish community of Phoenix will ever unify? Four years have come and gone, and the shovel should hit. Perhaps we should do another marketing study to see if people this year still want a "state of the art" workout facility. It is a travesty that a city the size of Phoenix is going to go for half a generation without a community center. It is time to stop deliberating and forgo the thought of building one perfect campus that satisfies all needs. Just build it already! Last year, I prayed very hard to God and asked, "Lord, please give me a sign." This year, I have the sign, but I think I'll pray for the building! Cliff Sandys Phoenix Never too late to become active
Editor:Just read Barbara Yost's wake-up call for those who are seniors and even those in the later years (Jewish News, Oct. 22). I totally agree that age should not be a barrier to an active, even athletic life. I have participated in all the things Yost noted that keep one's body mobile, except tennis. Where I lived in New York City, tennis courts were as numerous as hen's teeth. But at age 70, I began playing golf. Two years later I had won two trophies (not that I was so great, but the others were so much worse.) But I did play well right up to my 90th birthday, when a blocked artery in my leg had me call a halt. And in my younger years, I even rode horses. There's always room to use what talents one has at any age. I have made kachina dolls (sold a few) and paint. As a volunteer, I played piano at Kivel, taught kitchen design and spoke at elementary schools about the books I wrote for kids. I'm still going strong by doing all that and going to the gym three times a week. The wake-up call should be heeded by those who think it's too late. Nice article. Murray Shaw Phoenix |
