unsureOK, I don't need the Jewish Chronicle to tell me that my brother has landed himself a very cool job, but it's another example of his being a minor celebrity in the Anglo-Jewish world. If ever I mention my surname (which is an uncommon one) in Jewish circles, people will ask me if I'm related to Screwy!
I have kind of mixed feelings about the article, really. I mean, it's great that the JC is celebrating Screwy's achievement. But at the same time, the crucial opening sentence doesn't mention his name, it mentions his disability. And the article is very precise about exactly what is wrong with him, whereas it's slightly inaccurate on his academic background. Will Screwy always be 'the one who's paralyzed' rather than just Screwy, or 'the one who's going to revolutionize Reform Jewish education'? I suppose that's just the way the world is, and at least it's a positive article about how a disabled person can do cool stuff, rather than a sob-story about how sad it is that he had such a terrible accident. Just, eh.
I am also quite amused because I got two different communications this morning saying 'Hey, someone we know is in the JC!' (that being the major point of the JC's existence, so that Jews can enjoy naches when they see someone they know; it's basically a gossip rag). My Dad sent me an email with a scan of the article about Screwy; my Mum sent me a hand-written letter in which she enclosed the physical article, cut from the newspaper, about
lethargic_man's father opening his new dental practice and meeting Sir Bobby Robson. 