I inadvertently came across a post/comment by one Bob Knuppel.  He was responding to someone else's post about Swede on a website that discusses various novels...in this case "American Pastoral".

Bob Knuppel's father, Herman Knuppel, was the great 6'8" center, and Swede's teammate, on Panzer College's dominant, record breaking (44 straight victories, which at the time was an all-time collegiate record) basketball team.  Like Swede, Herman went on to play professional basketball in a league that was a precursor to the NBA.

In his post, Bob said that his father received plenty of acclaim for his basketball ability.  But Herman always talked about Swede Masin, and that he was easily the star of the team. He said his father claimed Swede was by far the best all around athlete he'd ever known, and added that besides being competitive, was also gracious.  He also remarked that it was interesting how well they got along...the German and the Jew.

I love the accolades I've been hearing about my father since I wrote "SWEDE".  They just keep on coming.

Another Contemporary Reaches Out

Yesterday I heard from yet another contemporary of Swede.  He was two years behind my father, and he was very emotional on the phone as he remembered the big guy, despite the fact they were not close friends.  He was particularly saddened by the last chapter, which describes my sadness and frustration of being 3000 miles away as Alzheimer's Disease was taking it's toll on Swede.

Coincidentally, this man related that he lived downstairs from "Iron Mike" Purzycki, South Side High's super athlete and my father's direct competitor whom I highlight in the book.  Iron Mike and Swede would become good friends later in life.

One of the things this gentleman said was that my father's "name was so famous!".  It seems every person I talk to about Swede introduces another superlative to describe him.  And nothing would make him more uncomfortable than to hear people talk about him that way!  

 

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/