Word has gotten out about the book to old friends from as early as grammar school.  Guys I haven't communicated with for years (decades in some cases) have reached out via email, and the comments are pretty identical...they absolutely love the reminders of our childhoods growing up in South Orange, and in particular, our own little universe that was the Montrose Grammar School playground.  The modest school grounds is where we played softball, hardball, touch football, stickball, basketball, flipped cards, and just hung out.  We argued over the Yankees and Giants, Mantle and Mays, and all other things related to sports.   The name-dropping has been hilarious; I'm talking about people we haven't seen, in some cases, since the late 1950's, and yet we remember them as if we were with them last week.  We've all remembered Gene Carcia, a playground star and one of the leaders, who tragically died at age 13 when he took his mother's car and crashed into a tree just a few blocks from the playground he thrived in.

All have said they read the book in one day after receiving it.  I think it's proof of what a great childhood setting we had.  All remember Swede so well, as he often would join us in the playground and "compete" with us.  All heartily agree that "gentle giant" is the perfect description for him.

These communications, which are coming from Maine to Florida, are soooo enjoyable to read.  They are great reminders of how good we had it!

Radio interview broadcast

A taped interview of me discussing "SWEDE" will air tomorrow (Thursday, Dec. 3rd), at 11:00 A.M.  Ed Goldberg conducted the interview for Portland's KBOO radio station (90.7 FM).  The session is approximately 1/2 hour, and I think it will be enjoyable to hear.  At the time I felt Ed did a great job conducting the interview, asking questions that I have not heard before about my father, my family, and the book in general.  

If you would like to listen live from out of the area, it will be streaming live from KBOO's website http://www.kboo.org/.  You may want to test the site beforehand to make sure it works!

A Violet Who Would Rather Blossom Unseen...

The book signing/celebration hosted by the Weequahic HS Alumni Association was a true love-fest. There were people of all ages present (a few kids as well as WHS grads from the class of 1936, making them 91 years old).

One of my father's life-long friends, Irwin Traurig, (class of '37, making him one year ahead of Swede), was there, and after my presentation he was one of the attendees who made a comment. Irwin is one of the sweetest, most gentle people I've ever known. He had his high school yearbook, where there is a reference to Irwin "passing along" his characteristic of being "a violet who would rather blossom unseen" to Swede Masin. In other words, both seemed to go out of their way to avoid the spotlight.

Sure sounds like the Swede we knew.

Swede's Contemporaries

One of the most pleasant surprises about writing about my father is the reaction I've gotten from some of Swede's contemporaries.  I have received numerous letters and phone calls from around the country from folks who genuinely loved the book; not only because they loved my father (they clearly did), but also because they enjoyed the trip down memory lane it provides.

I got a real charge a week ago or so when two days in a row I received calls from two different men (strangers to me) who knew Swede back in the day.  I spoke with each for more than a half hour, and coincidentally, both exclaimed toward the end of our conversations "I can't believe I'm speaking to Swede Masin's son!".

I've answered every letter I've received, and I love doing so.  In communicating with these folks I feel I'm communicating a bit with my father, which is a wonderful bonus for me.  It's been remarkably gratifying.

KBOO Interview with Ed Goldberg

Today (Nov. 2nd) I was interviewed by Ed Goldberg for a future broadcast on KBOO (90.7 fm), a local Portland radio station. Ed reviews movies and books, and I really enjoyed today's session with him. It lasted approx. 20 minutes or so, and he fed me lots of questions I hadn't been asked before about the book. It was gratifying for him to say that he found the book to be a very positive one and that he got a kick out of the parts where I trash-talked my siblings. As soon as he lets me know when it will air I will pass along the info. The station's link is:

http://kboo.fm/

Book Signing 11/19 at Annie Bloom's

Annie Bloom's is hosting a book signing event for me on November 19th from 7:30 to 9PM. Would love to see you there.

Please follow this link for event information:

http://www.annieblooms.com/event/robert-g-masin-swede

Annie Bloom's address and phone number is listed below:

Book events

The past few weeks have been a blast, including three great book signing events (one in Portland, two in Jersey), as well as an interview on The Jamie Ross Show featured on MaplewoodOnline.com.  

Perhaps the best part was hearing from and meeting some of my father's contemporaries, all of whom continue to rave about Swede for his gentle nature and extraordinary strength.  I've been getting calls virtually every day from people who seem to love the trip down memory lane that the book provides, which is so gratifying.

One man shared in an email that when he was a 10 year old camper, his counsellor was 18 year old Swede.  "One at a time, he'd have us grab on to his gigantic shoulders and he'd take us for a swim, underwater...just like Tarzan!"

In the past couple of weeks I've seen and/or spoken to three of the all time great athletes that I discuss in the book: Al Attles, Monte Irvin, and Lonnie Wright.  They are so impressive(!), and I think they genuinely enjoyed the book.  (All three remind me of Swede in that they are so unassuming, and they are such friendly, positive guys).  Getting to know them has been one of the highlights of writing the book.

The picture above was taken at my Bar Mitzvah.  If you run into my younger brother Doug (bottom, left) please feel free to tease him about his get-up...which he still wears occasionally.

New Jersey Book Events - 9/13 and 9/14

On Sunday, Sept. 13th the Weequahic HS Alumni Association is hosting an event recognizing "SWEDE, Weequahic's Gentle Giant".  The Weequahic bond is remarkable, and Swede is considered the school's greatest all around athlete.

On Monday, September 14th, the South Orange Public Library is hosting an event for the book from 7:30 until 9:00 PM.  My father frequented the library most his adult life, and I'm sure he'd be proud to be remembered there.

New Jersey Jewish News Article

Attached is a story featured about Swede in the NJ Jewish News, Sept. 10th edition.  Enjoy reading.

"A Son Recalls a Weequahic Legend in New Book" - Article

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BLB (Brilliant Little Bobby)

Once, when I was a young lad I happened upon a brief conversation in which Swede was telling Estelle that one of his records had been broken.  This got my attention.

       Brilliant Little Bobby: "Daddy, weren't you mad?"

       Swede: "No, not at all, Bobby."

       Brilliant Little Bobby:  "Why not?!"

       Swede:  "I expected it.  I broke someone else's record, and I knew some day someone would break mine.  And some day someone will break his record."

       Brilliant Little Bobby (incredulously):  But why does everyone do that, and why doesn't anyone get mad?!"

Obviously, I thought my parents were talking about the plastic discs that played music, not some track and field record.  Are you beginning to conclude that it was quite clear, at an early age, that I was not destined to become a person of intellect? I'm just glad that I didn't walk over to our record player and break a few records to test my father's claims.

A 'Swede' worth knowing (Star-Ledger)

Attached is a recent article about my father in the sports section of the Star Ledger of Newark, New Jersey's largest newspaper.  The columnist, Sid Dorfman, is nationally known and highly respected. and knew my father as well as anyone. Enjoy. 

A 'Swede' worth knowing - Article (9/2/09)

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Big Al and Little Bobby

As you can see by the outfits my sister Dale and I are wearing in the photo, my parents had twisted, mean-spirited senses of humor.  But that can be a discussion for another day.  I posted this picture for one reason...to share with everyone the remarkable, uncanny resemblance between my image above and that of Albert Einstein.  The similarities are all-encompassing, and would take too long to list.   

Swede Atlas

When I was a kid I'd occasionally ask my father to flex his bicep...I wanted to see how big his arm muscle was.  He always answered the same way: "I don't have one, Bobby".  Brilliant Little Bobby suspected otherwise, but didn't press the big guy.  Who knew?  Maybe Swede did not, in fact, have a bicep muscle.

Then one day, when in his sixties, Swede caved to his grown up son's request to flex for the camera.  And just as I always suspected, he did, indeed have a muscle.  And a massive one, at that.  One of the things that amuses me about this picture is that it looks as though my father is barely flexing.  I guess he didn't want to tear his shirt.

Estellooch

This anecdote defines my mother: she's in her seventies, a petite woman, walking home to her apartment.  In her path was a large group of teenage boys (perhaps 20 or 30); they had just gotten out of South Orange Middle School for the day.  Like most teenage boys, they were rowdy and loud, happy their school day was over.

As my mother approached, she was somewhat uneasy around so many rambunctious kids.  As she was literally walking through the crowd, two of the boys started wrestling with each other, very close to where Estelle was walking.  She was concerned about being accidentally trampled or knocked over.  She stopped short, faced the mob, and shouted, "Hey, cut it out!"

This got everyone's attention, and all the boys froze as they turned and silently stared at my mother.  She maintained her angry glare.  After a few awkward seconds, one and then several and then the rest of the boys burst out laughing.  And then so did my mother.  Everyone present had a good time with that one.  She continued her walk home, laughing all the way.  That was Estelle...in your face, feisty, and loved to laugh.

Talkin Trash

My sister Dale and I both had the habit of climbing into bed with our parents almost every night.  Dale stopped when she was four or five, while I broke myself of the habit when I left for college.  Okay, maybe a little before that.

One hot, humid night I climbed in with my parents.  Swede began a stern lecture, saying it was time for me to be a big boy and stay in my own bed, no more being a baby, etc.

His lecture in the dark of night lasted a couple of minutes.  When he finished, the room became quiet.  My parents were waiting for some kind of response, and they got one.  I gave my father a solid backhand to the face--not a light tap, but a hard smack.  Evidently I did not care for the content of my father's lecture.  Swede's reaction was to explode in laughter, which got my mother laughing.  What a break!  My father's reaction could easily have gone in a different direction.  Swede and Estelle told that story often.  The moral:  If I'm in bed with you, don't criticize me.

The Great Race

I've always loved the picture of Julie (age 7) racing her grandfather (age 71) toward the camera.  Two fierce competitors, neck and neck.  I love their broad smiles and the fact that their strides and body lean were so similar.  

Julie always claimed her grandfather won, while Swede was sure Julie won.  Let's call it a draw.

What Happened to Me??

My parents were both extremely good looking.  My mother, Estelle, (one of her male classmates told me all the guys wanted to marry her) was quite the knockout, and Swede was just a big, handsome guy.  I remember the frequent instances when people would come up to me and say "Bobby, your parents are so good looking...what happened to you?"  Oy.

Versatility

About 10 years ago there was a column written in the Star-Ledger of Newark by John McGlaughlin.  He referred to Swede as an athlete of "extraordinary versatility".  Upon reflection, my father sure was remarkable in the range of sports that he not only participated in, but starred in.  He was dominant on the football field, as a runner, passer, linebacker, punter and receiver.  In basketball he excelled at scoring, rebounding, passing, and defending.  In track and field he excelled at the shot put, discus, sprints, high jump, and hurdles, and in college, when he took up soccer, he was named to the coaches All-American team.  He was a great volleyball player, swimmer and diver, and he became an excellent tennis player when he took the sport up later in life.  His college basketball teammate told me he was "by far" the best wrestler in the school.  

He was always lauded for his sportsmanship and for his effort; indeed, the thing I admired the most about my father's athletic achievements is that he was never very impressed with himself.  As different as he was as an athlete, he was best known for the way he carried himself...with total humility.  The title of his obituary was "Swede Masin, Humble Newark Sports Icon".  I was so glad his humility was stressed.  That was Swede.

The Gentle Giant

When I first started researching the book about my father, "SWEDE", I was astounded by the way he was described.  Obviously I knew he was a big, powerful guy and a great athlete in his day.  But some of the comments were more than a little attention-getting.  I asked Hal Braff, founder of the Weequahic Alumni Association, if he knew of Swede.  He responded "Let's see, there was Superman, and then there was your father.  He was huge...a legend."  I asked Jerry Izenberg, the great syndicated sports columnist about Swede, and he casually replied "you father was God-like."  Other teammates and classmates responded with comments like: "we all worshipped your father", and "we all tried to emulate Swede".  It was after several of these conversations that I decided that the book should be targeted to a broader audience than just family and close friends.  As NBA great Al Attles told me, "your father sure impressed a lot of people." 

Welcome to SWEDE

This is a site created to support my first book, "SWEDE: Weequahic's Gentle Giant," a true story about my father, Seymour Masin. Writing about my father has been a labor of love. Originally targeted to my extended family and close friends, I was pretty astounded by the way people remembered Swede. He was universally referred to as a legend, and truly a gentle giant. I believe the potential audience is much wider than I ever would have guessed.
I will send along some photos and blurbs in the coming days and weeks. I hope you find it interesting. Parts of the book are warm, funny, and informative. I think the pictures will be a major plus as well. I will keep you posted....