Goal!

 

In the blink of an eye, Jovan zig-zagged up and down the indoor pitch eluding his stunned, gawking young defenders. And he did it all while deftly dribbling a soccer ball. Then, before anyone could say, Lionel Messi, he stuck that ball strategically into an indefensible corner of the net. 

Goal! 

Even in my prime years, I couldn’t come close to matching such a feat of athletic agility, grace, and speed.

And he did it on one leg, the only one he had. 

Jovan and his buddy Nico, an equally adept monoped athlete, are professional soccer players representing the Bionic Project Inc, an organization on a mission to create a more inclusive world for everyone, regardless of physical ability. * 

Jovan and Nico

For these young men it makes no difference how they acquired their stand on one leg distinction. What matters is teaching that their stance does not cap an ability to successfully navigate the world and make a difference in peoples’ lives. 

That goal was a perfect fit for one Boston area school’s MLK Day lesson plan. This year the plan explored the theme of Disability Awareness and Inclusion. At the school, annual recognition of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s wisdom and messages is always considered a day on for learning and action, not a day off as in other schools.

 

So it was a natural to invite Jovan and Nico to offer a taste of Bionic Project’s programming on MLK Day. The men led several sessions including assemblies which engaged students on issues of assistive technology and the importance of getting to know kids with limb differences before probing how they acquired their different ability. 

Then it was time for action! 

Students, and some brave faculty, experienced an adaptive soccer match. First all players were fit with crutches for game play requiring one leg remaining continuously bent and off the floor. 

Two teams were then formed, each captained by either Nico or Jovan who followed up with a few warm up drills.  

When the starting whistle blew, it was Game On! 

Players left nothing on the pitch as they labored peg-legging after the ball, exhausting themselves in the process. When time was finally, and mercifully called, there were clear winners and losers.

  Winners - all students who experienced a full ‘day on’ of learning and action. 

Losers - disability bias and absence of empathy for those not often seen and recognized in society.

All in all, it was truly Mission Accomplished for this MLK Day lesson of Disability Awareness and Inclusion. I’m not a betting man, but I’ll wager that now students at the school will never underestimate the prowess of those who appear differently abled. That’s a Goal which should stick for a long time.

Visit my web site anytime to view other blog-posts, Galleries of photos, and Photo-essays, then kindly share on social media. Also, if you think your friends and family might appreciate my posts, tell them to contact me and I'll add them to my list of followers. Thank you. 

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*Nico and Jovan are athletes with impressive, and lengthy CVs both in athletics and education. Here are the details.

Nico was captain of the US Amputee Soccer Team at the 2014, 2018, and 2022 Amputee Soccer World Cups. He’s the all-time leading goal scorer for Team USA and board member and Director of Development for the American Amputee Soccer Association, Nico is a passionate advocate for disability justice and adaptive sports. As a licensed secondary social studies teacher with five years experience teaching in middle and high schools, he is also a passionate educator. Outside of the classroom, he shares his expertise with students as a high school soccer and wrestling coach. Nico earned his B.A. from Colorado College, his M.Ed from Lesley University, and holds a Master level certification from the National Alliance for Environmental Education.

Jovan Booker is a native of Long Island, New York.  He received his B.S. from Stony Brook University and his M.S. from Hofstra University and is a former Health and Physical Education teacher for grades K-12.  Jovan is Captain of the New York Metro Amputee Soccer Club and is also a national team player for US Amputee Soccer Team. He has scored multiple goals over 30+ international caps, and is a leader in advocating for disability sport access, equity, and inclusion on and off the pitch.

Above the Fold

 

When tanks started rolling, the news was above the fold. But rolling tank headlines quickly sunk below the fold as new red meat became available to capture readers’ eyes. Then, adhering to a dominant journalistic principle of if it bleeds, it leads, what was previously breaking news quietly drifted to the inner pages. The urgency of action to counter Russia’s criminal invasion of Ukraine had been rendered stale, akin to once fashionable wallpaper - something still there, now old and barely noticed. But no sooner than results of Russia’s presidential election hit the wires, Ukraine news reclaimed its former above the fold front page billing. 

Nota Bene - Putin garnered 87+% of the vote, a landslide win by any measure. This should come as no surprise. Opposition candidates were either in jail, kept off the ballot, or just recently died in custody. The election outcome was never in doubt - no nail-biting, no confusing hanging chads, no recounts needed. Putin, buoyed by a fresh new six year term to add to his already served thirty years, orchestrated a massive Red Square rally in Moscow to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his previous trespass into Ukraine. Occupying the Crimean peninsula was the prized booty of that  criminal incursion.

Getty Images

Meanwhile, independent of media on-again, off-again gyrations, there remained a steadfast group of concerned citizens sustaining a vigil for Ukraine’s plight. The group’s hearts and heads stood fast with their cause, never removing blue and gold flags, lawn signs, T-shirts, and lapel pins.  

During my local travels over the course of the war, now into a second destructive year, I’ve captured several images of this solidarity for Ukraine’s struggle to remain an independent sovereign country. I offer a selection for review, perhaps rekindling your support for the traumatized David in its battle against the Goliath next door.

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Visit my web site anytime to view other blog-posts, Galleries of photos, and Photo-essays, then kindly share on social media. Also, if you think your friends and family might appreciate my posts, tell them to contact me and I'll add them to my list of followers. Thank you.

Golani 13

 

Dr. Yossi (aka Joe) Ribak

Dates, nuts, and figs tastefully arranged in small ceramic dishes on a coffee table filled the air with a sweet aroma. It was a welcome greeting at Rachel and Yossi’s Tel Aviv apartment when I arrived, bone weary after a long day of travel adventures. Still, I was intent on recounting the minute by minute details to my cousins. But soon another visitor presented, Yossi’s good friend Gabi. He came into the small flat presenting a little rough around the edges - dark hair tousled, several days of stubble, and in fatigues which clearly had been worn for several days in a row. Feeling completely at home however, he dropped his dusty rucksack,  plopped down and proceeded to melt into a comfortable chair. His stint of reserve duty was over.

Yossi and Gabi were in the same IDF* unit during their compulsory service. Both were part of the Golani Brigade then re-upped rising up the ranks to become career officers. Golani is like Green Berets, Army Rangers, and Navy SEALS all wrapped up together. The brigade is an elite combat unit and typically the cadre selected for sensitive, high level missions. Little did I know at the time that Gabi would one day be appointed IDF Chief of General Staff and later, Minister of Foreign Affairs. 

And to  think, I knew him when.  

General Gabi Askenazi

photo courtesy IDF

That evening would be the only time Gabi’s path and mine ever cross again. I would hear no more personal accounts of his escapades, but I would always recall our meeting whenever he appeared in news broadcasts about events in Israel during his service days. 

No more Gabi stories, but over the years Yossi, a medical officer, shared many of his career exploits with me. They were no less the ‘on the edge of your seat’ ilk like Gabi’s, albeit from a medical officer’s command post. If written down, I knew they would be page turners.

To my delight, turns out Yossi did write them down. His intent was to create a memoir for his kids. I deemed several of his mission accounts to be movie material and thought Spielberg could do a lot with the stories. Here’s one from a slice of history I remember well …….

1981

The year was 1981. Two years prior, a tectonic shift had rattled the firmament of the Middle East. The area was now on the cusp of a new era ending what seemed like a future of repeated wars. The possibilities were endless. The precipitant for change was Egyptian President Anwar Sadat doing unimaginable, flying to his arch enemy’s camp to address the Israeli Knesset (Parliament). That outreach culminated with a peace treaty signed on the White House lawn by President Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin under the watchful eyes of President Jimmy Carter. Then tragedy struck. In October while reviewing a ceremonial march of his troops, a cabal of soldiers broke rank and assassinated President Sadat in a hail of bullets. The dream of cascading regional peace treaties shattered and now PM Begin was on a flight to Cairo to attend Sadat’s funeral.   

El Al

Back to Yossi - During his time as commander of the Aeromedical Institute, he was tasked with accompanying Israel’s leaders on flights abroad. Begin’s flight to Cairo was no exception. The Prime Minister’s personal cardiologist was also on board, but on the day of the funeral, fearing the potential for riots, that doc requested Yossi to join him. This was an unexpected last minute ask so Yossi lacked all the proper security badges. No problem, he was smuggled in while covered over on an SUV floor in Begin’s entourage. The convoy managed to pass through various checkpoints before reaching the PM’s quarters. At the funeral he walked next to Mr. Begin rubbing shoulders with many of the assembled heads of state, including former presidents Nixon, Ford, and Carter. As the procession climbed the steps of the burial mausoleum with Yossi part of the protective unit around the PM, he found himself face-to-face with Jehan Sadat, the noble widow of the assassinated leader. He shook her hand. With the ceremonies concluded, the Israeli contingent flew back to Tel Aviv. This episode was just one in the life of Yossi’s term as chief medial officer for the air corps. Like Gabi, Yossi was no slouch during his career service. At different times he also served as chief medial officer of the army and navy.  

And to think, not only did I know him when, but we continue to stay connected. He is family.

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*IDF is also known as Tzahal - Army in Defense of Israel 

Epilogue: As you might expect, during the current brutal campaign in Gaza, the Golani Brigade was mobilized to enter Gaza City and engage with the terrorists. This street-to-street, house-to-house urban fighting is the most difficult and dangerous. Gabi and Yossi’s specific unit, Golani 13, paid a heavy, painful price when two commanders and seven other soldiers were killed during an ambush while trying to rescue hostages. 

As of this posting, dozens of hostages remain and it’s not clear how many are still alive. 

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Visit my web site anytime to view other blog-posts, Galleries of photos, and Photo-essays, then kindly share on social media. Also, if you think your friends and family might appreciate my posts, tell them to contact me and I'll add them to my list of followers. Thank you.

181

 

Thursday was a weekday I always looked forward to. In a break from the rigors of running a clinical practice, on Thursdays I would get up, hop on the MTA Green Line, and head to the Medical area. On a short walk from Longwood station I would pass five massive granite buildings and the Quad of Harvard Medical School to end up at the adjacent School of Dental Medicine, my alma mater. Once there, an international group of post-docs awaited my teaching buddies and me in the lecture hall and on the clinic floor. With students and colleagues from all over the world, the experience was like working at the UN. It gave me a buzz.

While on the ’T’ back in those days it was common to observe fellow Green Line riders passing the time engaged with all sorts of reading material, e.g., newspapers - all neatly folded, magazines, or books. Only a few were locked into PDAs or flip phones. This was the same observation I made riding Big Apple’s ‘A’ train express starting from 181st Street Station near where my son’s family lived in Washington Heights. That was then.

 

This is now.

Waiting for the 'A'

Seeing a rider with an open book is virtually a non-existent sighting - riders will be locked into screens reading anything from the cornucopia of engaging online offerings and social media feeds. 

Others may be somewhere in cyberspace plugged only in to sound, 

 

occasionally opting for both sight and sound.

 A few may shun earbuds and be somewhere only with their private thoughts, 

 whatever they may be and wherever they may go.

 

In conclusion, if Walter Cronkite was still with us today, he might sign off his nightly news report with this commentary, “and that’s the way it is as we begin 2024”. 

So for me, screen or no screen, sound or no sound, in Boston, NYC, Washington, or any other city, riding subways is always a captivating people watching visual escape.

All the best for the new year.