 |
|
 |
The Roundtable Reports
There's a Warmth in the Air 9 February 2004, New York City--There was a hint of warmth flowing through the air on Monday night at O'Lunney's in beautiful Times Square and the Roundtable was more sparkling than ever. Howie Comen was back in town and we were all so happy to see him again. Everyone was laughing about the previous Roundtable and we had to situate everyone so the sparks could REALLY fly this time around. Howie opened with an introduction, "We are the compassionate roundtable," an update on the Afghanistan book program with the Princeton Library - that they're having some logistical problems and also dangers with the mullahs burning the books. And he filled us in on some of his agency's progress, the new Web design, and some of his ideas about a news service and a possible radio show. He told us he's got private eyes and attorneys, top level people, in 48 states now and is going international. Howie had talked to Phil Paleologos on his last show, which aired in January, about his idea for a radio show and Phil expressed interest in joining forces. Howie hit it off with New York City radio talk show personality, Kevin McCullough who was a first time Roundtabler, with his lovely new bride. They beamed as they told us their "30-Day wonder" story (they were married, moved from Chicago and LA to NYC, started new jobs, a brand new radio show and bought a brand new house all in 30 days in August!). Kevin told us about his show and we soon found in him a true renaissance man - a musician, actor, former minister and now a full-time radio host. We were so impressed with his accomplishments and ambition! Howie sparked an interest in Kevin - a friend of legendary radio talk show personality Barry Farber (a charter member of the Roundtable), currently on WMCA in NY 1-4 PM - to grant the Comen International News Service a weekly presence on his show. Kevin told us within 6 weeks he should be expanding his show into 23 major markets. Among the markets are NY, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Illinois, and Pennsylvania via the Salem Radio Network. In the initial discussions they are talking about having a weekly segment where participating Comen International detectives would comment on the week's events based on their geographic proximity to the story or their areas of expertise germane to the subject of the event. Then they would offer each local talk show host following Kevin's national show our local member to give localized commentary. Charter Roundtable member, Carl Limbacher, is a regular on Kevin's show and offers Kevin's audience a regular NewsMax update. Tobi Zausner gave us a generous helping of her warmth and humor and updated us on what's been going on in her life. She's working with her publisher on a series of religious textbooks and they've expressed great interest in Sandy's Pope painting/collage and may use it as an illustration. (The painting expresses the Pope's pain with the weight of the world upon his shoulders.) Tobi was almost as excited as Sandy as she explained to us that her great joy in life is promoting other living artists! One of her many accomplishments includes working for the American Bible Society on The Learning Bible. Tobi had requested a slide of Sandy's latest self-portrait to use in one of her lectures. So Sandy had brought a nice portfolio for Tobi, which she passed around to all the Roundtablers to peruse. Betty Dornheim from the Princeton Library gave us all flyers about some fascinating events at the Small Press Center - The Algonquin Round Table Lives Again:
Betty talked to us about the organization that sponsors the Small Press Center - The General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen of the City of New York, which was founded as a charitable organization in 1785 to provide cultural, educational, and social services to families of skilled craftsmen. She told us her father had gotten his degree in Mechanical Engineering and it's the only place offering a free education. We were so happy to see Sue La Magra had returned and gave us an update on the New York chapter of the Friends of Dickens. And very glad that Gail Lefkowitz joined us again for more great food and conversation. Brian & Florence Moffatt, of the infamous "Books for Booze," brought gifts of little bottles of Italian liqueur for everyone. Florence & Brian just celebrated their 30th anniversary and gave us all the juicy details about the fun and festivities. Howie brought his young son, Casey Comen, who is at the crossroads of life trying to decide whether or not to live in New York or Connecticut or return to Charleston. Richard & Jana were their usually snuggly selves and they both looked much more relaxed and settled, Jana as gorgeous as ever and Richard looking handsome, trim and fit. (Jana's influence is definitely showing!) Jana talked to us about tennis and most of us explained that we couldn't find the ball, much less get it across the net! It was a glorious night in Times Square as we headed out into the open air. I made a remark... or perhaps it was "A Remark You Made" that all those years ago when Howie and Elizabeth came to Times Square to find the ghost of George M. Cohan, he was trying to tell us of things to come... and back at the parking lot, I noticed Howie had parked right across from Jaco's old haunt and the namesake of his most famous song, "Birdland". Announcement: Elizabeth Baron will be flying in to NYC in March and is excited to be attending the next Roundtable on March 8th. It will be her first time as a Roundtabler... and as much as we all have included her in spirit in our conversations, it'll be exciting for her to be there in the flesh! Elizabeth is currently working with a ghostwriter on rewriting her book of meditation. We'll keep you posted as to when the book will be out on the market.
The Comen International Roundtable will meet the second Monday of every month. For more info on the Roundtable, contact Howard Comen at 843-571-2667, www.comeninternational.com or Sandy Frazier at 516-735-5468, sandy@mystic-art.com
|
