Dear That’s Life

Issue of October 15, 2010, 7 Cheshvan 5771

“You have arrived at your destiny.” — Naftali Fertig, as he tried to imitate the voice on the GPS in his father’s car. About four and a half years ago, I wrote a letter to a newspaper. About what, I don’t remember. Many newspapers, especially those worthy of calling themselves a newspaper, will not publish letters written anonymously or letters whose authors have not been verified.  Your contact information is required at the bottom of a letter to the editor when you truly intend for it to be considered for publication. I wasn’t surprised when I received a call from the newspaper making sure I wrote the letter and that I was comfortable with it being printed. “Hi,” said the voice. “This is Mayer Fertig and I’m calling from The Jewish Star.”  Having never spoken to Mayer before but understanding why he was calling, I stopped him midsentence. “And you’re calling, I imagine,” I said, “to make sure I wrote the letter and that I’m not an axe murderer?” Mayer laughed and said that was exactly why he was calling. I’ve basically been cutting off Mayer midsentence ever since. When the news broke about Mayer’s stepping down as editor and publisher of The Jewish Star, I received a number of questions, most of them specifically about the fate of “What’s Next,” the weekly internet radio show Mayer and I host on nachumsegal.com.  Our little experiment quickly became more than a fledgling idea and a shot in the dark.  The show developed an audience and it continues to grow with newsmakers and publicists requesting spots on the show. We are building an archive of new and creative programming. People who listen regularly were therefore curious — what was going to be the fate of the show and was I getting a new co-host? On last week’s program Mayer clarified that “What’s Next” will live on and no, I am not looking for a new partner in crime. While we will be going on hiatus for a couple of weeks and redesigning the program, we plan to continue hosting the show together when we return. There are many at the paper who can attest to Mayer’s professionalism, commitment and integrity. All of those things are true. Some may know about his sleepless nights because he stayed up to ensure the paper included the most recent and current news, while at the same time, he pored over each article to guarantee its accuracy. Others may be privy to his dedication to his family and the sacrifices he made to facilitate their success and that of The J-Star. Many appreciate how far this publication has come under his leadership, truly putting it on the map. Few know about Mayer’s need to take a copy of the paper, should he find a major mistake in the issue, roll it into a ball and hurl it at the wall. It isn’t that Mayer has an anger management problem — it is just how seriously he takes his job. Eventually, I pitched Mayer an idea for a column. He said he liked it and had been thinking about something like that as well. Then Mayer said: “So do you want to write it?” With that, “That’s Life” was born. Years later, I asked him why he offered me a job, when he had never read anything I wrote other than a few letters to the editor. Simply put, he said, he had a hunch and went with his gut. That meant a lot. I thanked him for that then, and I would like to thank him for that again now. While I have not done an official poll, I can confidently say that all of us at The Jewish Star feel the same way about Mayer’s leaving. We have all gained a friend and a mentor and while we are losing our boss, we wish him our best and know that his success here is just a taste of his future. Mayer — I hope you’ve had the time of your life. MLW