Page 21 - Boca Club News - November '24

Boca Club News, Page 21
Essays on Life:

Lunch at McDonald’s

By Sonia E. Ravech. Sonia is a mother placed a Happy Meal in front of her and unwrapped shyly and fidgeted with the plastic toy that came with her
native of Massachusetts and a the hamburger. “Eat your lunch,” she said in a demanding meal. The mother continued talking on the phone. After a
resident of Broken Sound for more tone and sat down across from the child while looking at the while, the little girl rested her head on the table.
than 30 years. She is the mother phone in her hand. She began to return the text she had just When the mother finished her conversation she checked
of four, grandmother of seven and received. her watch and berated her daughter. “You’re not even half
great-grandmother of four. She has The little girl took a bite of her hamburger. “Mommy, do done.”
been the facilitator of the Broken you know what?” “I’m not hungry anymore, Mommy.”
Sound Memoir Writers’ Workshop “Stop talking and eat. We haven’t got all day to sit here,” The mother jammed the partially eaten sandwich into the
for the past seven years. the mother admonished and returned to scrolling through her Happy Meal box and tossed it into the trash. She grabbed her
My daughter and I planned an outing to the pumpkin phone. daughter by the arm and yanked her from her seat. The child
patch with my toddler great granddaughter, Maddie, who The child took another bite. The mother’s cell phone rang. began to cry as her mother dragged her towards the exit.
liked to wander up and down the rows until she selected the She turned her back and engaged in a conversation. After a I wanted to chase after her, and tell her “What a foolish
perfect pumpkin for Halloween. Unexpected rain showers while, the child reached across the table to try to gain her young woman you are. Don’t you realize you could have
sabotaged that arrangement, and we agreed instead to meet mother’s attention. “Mommy, I need to…” spent the last twenty minutes laughing, playing and chatting
at McDonald’s where Maddie could enjoy using the indoor The mother cut her daughter off. “Can’t you see I’m on with your little girl? Twenty precious minutes of her life you
play space. the phone? Don’t interrupt me.” can never retrieve.” I wanted to confront her, but I didn’t.
I arrived early, and as I sat and waited for them I noticed a The child sat back in her seat and nibbled on her sandwich. Instead, I sat in my seat and waited for Maddie, haunted by
little girl sitting at a table opposite mine. She appeared to be She swung her spindly legs back and forth. She looked around the vision of a tiny, tear-stained, freckled-faced child sobbing,
about five years of age, a tiny wisp of a child with a blonde the room. Her doe-like eyes locked onto mine and I smiled, “I’m sorry, Mommy. Don’t be mad, Mommy. I’m sorry.”
ponytail, freckled face and enormous chocolate eyes. Her giving her a little wave with my fingers. She turned away
Film Review: “Will & Harper”

By Nils A. Shapiro for yourself. I will, in a regular on the Saturday Night Live TV show. From the
You can bet your house that this film will be nominated this column, simply very beginning his persona has been that of a sweet, nice,
for Best Documentary at the next Academy Awards. As explain what awaits big, easy-going guy who never minds playing a “goofy”
The New York Times reviewer noted, it “brought the house you if that Sundance character if called on to do so. After years of success on
down” at the 40th Sundance Film Festival last January standing ovation and that show he switched to Hollywood and has starred in a
with a standing ovation from the audience as the end my own wholehearted number of successful films.
credits rolled. recommendation are While at SNL, among his friends was one of the
I can understand why. enough to convince comedy sketch writers, a 61-year-old married man. So it
Rarely does a film combine so genuine a combination you that it deserves was a significant surprise to Will more than a year ago
of friendship, heart and humor that—for most viewers—it your attention. when he received a call from that friend, Harper Steele,
would be difficult not to be affected by it. The “Will” in this explaining that—now a she—had, after more than 40 years
And yet, considering its subject matter and the present film’s title is Will of emotional and psychological confusion and suffering,
thinking of a segment of our nation’s population, my Ferrell, one of today’s finally got divorced and transitioned to the woman he
statement may be going a step too far. Since Will & Harper most popular stars always felt he should be, including the accompanying
just premiered in September on Netflix after a limited of comedy movies surgery, and wanted to know if Will would meet with her.
theatrical release, I will leave it to you to judge its impact who rose to fame as The result of that meeting, as one way to help Harper
find her way back into the world, was the decision for
these two friends to drive cross-country together and to
inSIGHT Through Education Is film that experience as a documentary. How would Harper
now view the world as a woman? And how would the
The Backbone Of The Holocaust Studies world view Harper…as a woman?
It turns out to be quite a ride: a 17-day road trip starting

in New York City, with stops in Washington D.C….Beech
Program For Palm Beach County Schools Grove, Indiana…Peoria, Illinois…Meeker, Oklahoma…
Amarillo, Texas…Las Vegas, Nevada…on to Los Angeles.
Just before they start out¸ Will and Harper meet for

breakfast at a Diner with Harper’s two teenage daughters.
inSIGHT Through Education is a nonprofit, It soon becomes clear that, while their father’s radical
nonsectarian organization with a mission to inspire change came as a shock to the two girls it did not diminish
and educate, encouraging kindness, acceptance, their love for him, a reflection of their feelings and
and respect for all, using lessons learned from understanding that affects us in the film’s audience as
the Holocaust and genocides worldwide, to much as it does Will Ferrell.
recognize and oppose antisemitism, hatred, and While much of the humor takes place during the
bigotry. inSIGHT is the backbone of Holocaust on-the-road driving scenes, and there are a great many
Education in Palm Beach County schools, which laughs as you would expect from Will Ferrell and a
is mandated in Florida, along with the study and comedy sketch writer, some of the film’s most poignant,
prevention of antisemitism. Last school year, dramatic—and also the less than pleasant moments—take
inSIGHT reached new audiences and doubled its place during their brief stopovers in typical American
impact, reaching 40,000 students and hundreds of small towns and cities.
educators. inSIGHT knows that education is key It is important to point out that this film does not
to change and is committed to opening the hearts set out to preach to its audience. Many will likely come
and minds of young people, our future leaders. Traveling cattle car classroom away with the same fixed opinion on the subject they
inSIGHT provides age-appropriate resources, previously had. But there is no way one can watch this film
speakers, and programs for students at every level, saved Jews during the Holocaust, participants attend a without being better informed, and with a more visceral
and funds professional development for teachers and rigorous program led by Holocaust scholars, becoming understanding of what it means to live the transgender
administrators. Principals and assistant principals Alfred Lerner Fellows. These fellows are committed to experience.
may attend the Principal’s Field Study in Washington, sharing their knowledge with schools and communities, For example, at a Diner along the way the waitress
D.C. With local Holocaust Survivors, they visit the thus promoting Holocaust education and the values takes Will’s order then turns to Harper and asks,
United States Holocaust Memorial and Museum and of courage and compassion. Palm Beach County has “And what will you have, Sir?,” then apologizes with
the National Museum of African American History a cohort of 20-plus Lerner Fellows who share this embarrassment when Will interrupts her by ordering for
and Culture. Participants are profoundly impacted, knowledge with their peers. This impact ripples through his “lady friend.”
enhancing their support for Holocaust and antisemitism schools, fostering understanding and remembrance of But it is when the two arrive in a small beach town
education. At the Centropa Summer Academy (CSA), the Holocaust. on the shores of the Pacific Ocean, where Harper shows
70-plus educators from 15-plus countries convene for Since the tragedies of October 7 and the significant Will a house he had secretly purchased years earlier
a 7-day program. They use the city of Berlin as their rise in antisemitism, organizations worldwide have in anticipation of this time in his life—and the deeply
classroom and collected stories to learn history and acknowledged the need for education from an early age. emotional reason why—that the heart of the film grips
its implications today. Key to the CSA is the active inSIGHT has done this for 14 years. Looking ahead to us once again.
participation of teachers, who share good practices and inSIGHT’s 15th year, we remember the vision that unites Then, when Will reaches into his pocket for a gift
work on lesson plans and cross-border projects together. us: to create a generation of future leaders who are kind, he has been saving for the right moment and hands it to
At the JFR Lerner Institute, a prestigious program empathetic, informed critical thinkers with the courage Harper, we recognize its symbolic perfection and cannot
aimed at advancing educators’ knowledge of Holocaust to stand up for themselves and the rights of others. help but realize that everyone should have a friend like
history and the legacy of Righteous Gentiles who More information: insightthrougheducation.org. Will Ferrell.
That kind of friendship alone deserved the standing
Paid Advertisement ovation at Sundance.