By Amy Sorter

Happy fall, everyone! It’s not “sweater weather” quite yet (though some mornings have been downright chilly) but at least those century mark days are over and done with for the year.
I think I mentioned a couple of weeks back that my husband Dave, was to take over the helm at the Joshua Star, “our” hometown newspaper. However, the transition has been a bit trickier than anticipated, so yours truly has been asked to roll up her sleeves and help out.
Given this, if I don’t get back to you immediately if you send an e-mail or if (heaven forbid!) I forget to mention your event in “Around the Town,” please accept my apologies. Don’t be afraid to keep nudging me. I WILL get to it. Things should settle down in early December. But do keep those e-mails coming at awsorter@yahoo.com.

Live from New York’s 92nd Street Y …

… takes place on Monday, Nov. 11 and will involve a discussion about the movie “Iranium,” which focuses on a threat of a nuclear Iran.
Panelists discussing the movie will include John Bolton, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations; Richard Perle, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, Alex Traimanis, a journalist and director of the documentary; Nazie Eftekhari, director for the Iran Democratic Union and Ethan Bronner, Jerusalem bureau chief for the New York Times.
The broadcast will begin at 6:30 p.m. at Beth-El Congregation, 4900 Briarhaven Rd. in Fort Worth. Donations are $3. For more information, call Beth-El at 817-332-7141.

And live in concert

Singer/guitarist/songwriter Doug Cotler will perform Friday, Nov. 4 at Congregation Beth-El following the service and dinner, both of which take place at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. respectively.
Cotler is known for his sensitive interpretation of prayers and insightful (and sometimes humorous) songs about Jewish events and heroes.
This son of a cantor, and cantorial soloist (at Or Ami in Calabasas, Calif.) has recorded several albums and has performed with the likes of John Denver, Jerry Jeff Walker and Mason Williams. Cotler has also written a symphony titled “The Golem,” which was performed by the Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra. The event is free, but RSVP is required by calling 817-332-7141.

From The Jewish Federation’s Senior Program

Hedy Collins writes us that the senior program has been quite busy. In recent weeks, area seniors shared Sukkot with the youngest generation; i.e., pre-school children from the Lil Goldman School in Fort Worth.
Old and young gathered in the chapel at Congregation Ahavath Sholom for prayers and a program, both of which were led by Rabbi Andrew Bloom.
“The children were adorable,” Hedy writes. “They sang songs and gave each senior a hand-made goodie bag with fruits and candies.”

Seniors and tots eventually ended up in the outdoor Sukkot, where they dined on ice cream and challah. This sounded like a delightful (and tasty) event for all concerned.
Upcoming events will include a trip to the Museum of Science and History and the annual B’nai B’rith-sponsored community wide senior luncheon, which is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 17 at CAS. I’ll pass on more information about both of these programs as I receive it.

Pampering for the soul and physical self

Chana Tovah Mandel of Chabad of Fort Worth/Tarrant County touched base with me so she could tell Tarrant County women (and others in the region) about a marvelous upcoming event. It’s called Spa for the Soul and it will take place 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 13 at Daireds Spa Pangea at 2400 I-20 in Arlington. The program will feature mini-spa treatments by Daireds, a buffet brunch, workshops and a talk by Rivkie Block, rebbetzin at Chabad of Plano.
Now, there are a lot of fun things involved with this event, not the least of which are those mini-spa treatments. Then there is the cost — $36 which, in my mind, is a pretty good deal. Additionally, I know Rivkie Block from my days at Chabad of Plano — she is a terrific speaker and a genuinely nice human being. So take a couple of hours to nourish your mind and spirit (and yes, depending on my kiddo’s basketball schedule, I may take my own advice and do the same thing!).
Advanced registration is required by Nov. 7 and you can register in a variety of ways: By logging onto www.arlingtonchabad.org/spa; www.chabadfortworth.com or by calling 817-451-1171.

War veteran at the Daytimers

The Daytimers will offer a truly interesting program on Wednesday, Nov. 9, so be sure to sign up for this one. The guest speaker will be Dr. Paul Boller, who will talk about his experiences serving as a translator for the Navy, where he was assigned to the department of psychological warfare during World War II. Boller helped prepare leaflets that were preemptively dropped on Japanese cities before they were bombed, warning citizens to evacuate.
Boller is emeritus professor of history at TCU, as well as is an authority on U. S. Presidents. Among his published works are “George Washington and Religion,” “This is Our Nation” and “Not So Popular Myths about America.” In addition, he will bring copies of his books, “Presidential Anecdotes,” “Presidential Campaigns” and “Presidential Wives,” which were all Book-of-the-Month Club selections.
Lunch for this month’s Daytimers event will be catered by Potbelly Sandwich Works. Guests have a choice of turkey breast, mushroom melt or tuna on Potbelly’s special “slim” buns. Lunch is $9, or guests may attend for just the program for $4 each.
For reservations, call Barbara Rubin 817-927-2736 or Irv Robinson, 817-731-7447, mail checks to Beth-El Congregation, 4900 Briarhaven Rd., Fort Worth, TX 76109, or reserve for yourself at www.bethelfw.org/donations.
The “Daytimers” program is sponsored by Beth-El Congregation with financial support from the Jewish Federation of Fort Worth and Tarrant County.

I’ll keep running this reminder for awhile

Under the category of “you can’t be reminded too often or too much,” the Isadore Garsek Lodge of B’nai B’rith is in its last stages of editing on the local B’nai B’rith Community Directory of Tarrant County. Any changes or additions (or deletions, for that matter), need to be in to Alex Nason by Nov. 23. Contact him at 817-346-3991 or alexnason@charter.net.