Tying up loose ends

1. On Dec. 4, a lyric from the Beatles song "Together" showed up on the Chicago Bulls' video board as "He got jew-jew eyeballs." I sent a note to the Bulls telling them that wasn't what songwriters Paul McCartney or John Lennon meant at all; they were referring to the ju-ju candies. A Bulls staffer called me to apologized and said the error will be corrected if the fan participation contest is repeated.

2. I wondered if Emirates, the airline of the UAE, enforces its country's no-Jews policy by screening for passengers' religious faith when boarding its aircraft in the U.S. I wrote to Emirates and asked if that was part of the pre-boarding process. The airline replied and assured me it was not. So I guess a Jewish Westerner is okay if he is just visiting. However, I would expect an Israeli stamp in one's passport to present delay, if not denial of boarding.

3. I emailed the Skatium, Skokie Park District's ice skating center, and asked if open skating hours could be adjusted to accommodate shomer shabbos residents. The Skatium manager called me and told me part of the agreement struck when the Skatium broke ground in the 70's was that its operation must be revenue-neutral. It is not supported by tax dollars, but by rink rental fees. To that end, the Skatium must maximize its rink revenue, and it does that by scheduling hockey and figure skating when the rink is in high demand. Since I am a tax hawk, I have no problem with that.

Skokie Park Dist.: Jews like to skate at night too

Realizing I haven't laced up my skates since Fred's Erev Super Bowl skating party (Jan. 31), I picked up public skating schedules at my friendly neighborhood skating rinks: Robert Crown Community Center and Ice Complex in Evanston and the Skatium in Skokie. Both feature midday weekday skating. Both offer Friday night and Sunday afternoon skating.

Other evenings? Happily, the Crown Center offers Saturday nights, 8-10. That's perfect for shabbos-observant Jewish skaters who can hit the ice at that time all winter long. But the Skatium, which has many more Jews in its vicinity and contributing to its upkeep via local taxes, only has evening public skating 6-7:15 on Saturdays. That works for a few weeks in November and December for shabbos-observant Jews. There's also 7:15-8:30 Friday nights. Thanks, Skokie Park District. I'll be right over.

Shabbos-observant Jews who work for a living and want to skate at the Skatium must compete for space with the kids and families on Sunday afternoons. Really, Skokie Park District--is that the best you can do? How about a couple of hours after 7pm on a Sunday through Thursday night? Between the figure skating and hockey, there must be some time available.