Month: May 2020

A retired university philosophy professor who was, at one time, one of the most famous children in the United States but was frustrated and torn by his fame, has died of the coronavirus.The family of Joel Kupperman said Wednesday he died last month at a nursing home in Brooklyn at 83. He had been suffering from dementia for several years. From age 6 to 16, Chicago-born Kupperman was a regular panelist on “The Quiz Kids,” a radio game show in which a team of extraordinarily bright youngsters answered complex questions sent in by listeners.The audience won a prize if they stumped the panel and the kids were awarded savings bonds if they answered the difficult questions.The kids were dressed in robes and mortar boards. Kupperman spoke with a lisp and smiled brightly when reciting obscure facts and complicated mathematical equations, endearing him to the audience.He and the rest of the kids became major radio personalities, hobnobbing with movie stars and politicians and appearing in films and on radio comedy shows. Kupperman was even invited to address the United Nations.But when the show moved to television, Kupperman was no longer a cute little boy but a gangly and somewhat annoying teenager who was overshadowed by the younger panelists.He left the show when he was 16, entered the University of Chicago and was the target of bullies. Feeling as if he had been exploited, he refused to ever talk about “The Quiz Kids” and warned his family against ever asking him about it.Kupperman later earned a Ph.D. in philosophy at the University of Cambridge in England and taught at the University of Connecticut for 50 years. He wrote several books.In one of the rare moments when he did talk about his past, Kupperman told The New York Times that “being a bright child among your peers was not the best way to grow up in America.”“There’s this weird notion that intelligence is a single thing, but people can be smart in some ways and stupid in others,” he once told his son.The New York Times reported that he is survived by his wife, Karen; son Michael; daughter Charlie; his sister, Harriet Moss, and a grandson. 
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The Catskills village that calls itself “Trout Town USA” is all but a ghost town this spring.  Fishing shops in Roscoe, New York, that should be overflowing with anglers are empty, due to the coronavirus outbreak. Guide services are idled, since they are nonessential businesses.  Yet the region’s famed rivers remain open, mercifully.  Like many who love the outdoors, I’ve been pinned down lately by stay-at-home guidance along with work, house chores and storms that have struck during days off.  When I finally see a one-day window of clear weather, I leap through it.  ___I have always found spiritual connections in rivers. As a child in Erie, Pennsylvania, I caught chubs and suckers in a polluted creek down the block. Later there were trips with my older brother for Allegheny Mountain brook trout. During Army tours, I caught golden trout in the Sierra snowmelt, and rainbows in brawling Alaskan waters.There’s a tune by “The Band” entitled “The River Hymn,” a gospel reverie:”The voice of the rapids will echoAnd ricochet like an old water wellWho’d ever want to let goOnce you sit beneath its spell”___It’s noon when I park at the trailhead of a hike-in Catskills fishing spot. There’s not another soul. Social distancing will be easy. I head down the path under vaulting blue skies, and tranquility enters.  When I arrive at the shore, the river is high, cold and discolored from a storm. Mayflies hatch on the water and drift on the breeze, but no trout rise.  I rig up anyway and cast a dry fly, a bit of fur and feathers resembling natural bugs that trout eat. I cast for hours. Nothing.  Hope springs, so I tie on fly after oddball fly. Beadhead stone nymphs, partridge-and-orange wets, zonker streamers that mimic baitfish. If I had a Rat-Faced McDougal, I would throw it.  Nothing. The fish have lockjaw.  ___Out here in the woods, there is at least one reminder of the virus: This river is on a local airport’s approach path. Normally, commuter planes and military transports sometimes break the spell. Now the skies are still, no contrails, only mare’s tails.  ___It’s evening, the breeze has died. Mayflies fill the amber air.The river has pitched a shutout. The wise angler says catching trout is icing on the cake – the river is joy enough. Fact is, getting skunked hurts.  I break down my rod, kick off my waders.  I hear the sound my ears have been tuned for: a trout sipping mayflies.  I spot the rings of the rise that blossom in the evening current. The fish rises again. Shivering, I pull clammy waders back on, re-string my rod, knot on a fly.  ___I get into casting position, one suspender trailing, cold water slopping over my waders.  My achy shoulder balks. The line snags a branch and the fly snaps off. I grumble, tie on another.  I get a drift over the rise and this time the trout inhales. My brain catches fire.  The rod comes alive, the reel ratchets and the fish dives. It leaps, droplets spray.  I gain line and the trout tires. I net it.  It’s a wild brown, maybe 15 inches, silver sides flecked with black specks and faint red embers. I snap a photo and release it to become part of the river again.  A few more trout rise. I wade to shore and listen as I pack up at dark. All around, day creatures find shelter as night creatures stir. A beaver glides to its lodge. Wood ducks wing to nest. An owl calls, “who-cooks-for-you.” The current whispers.  That’s the river hymn. 
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The pandemic has kept many people quarantined at home with family and pets for weeks. A grassroots photography initiative called the Front Steps Project has inspired hundreds of photographers to document people in front of their homes during this extraordinary time. Matt Dibble follows one photographer connecting with neighbors in Oakland, California.
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Tina Fey shed tears after announcing that more than $115 million was raised toward supporting New Yorkers impacted by COVID-19 during a virtual telethon.  
“Thank you, thank you,” said a tearful Fey, the host of the Rise Up New York! event Monday evening. The Emmy-winning actress along with other A-list celebrities from Barbra Streisand, Jennifer Lopez and Michael Strahan asked for donations to help relief and recovery efforts.
“Our city is under attack, but we’ve been here before,” Robert De Niro said. “In the last 20 years, both 9/11 and Hurricane Sandy. You can take your best shot but you cannot break our spirit.”
The one-hour benefit was presented by the New York-based poverty fighting organization, Robin Hood, and iHeartMedia.  
Robin Hood said all the donations will provide support for food, shelter, cash assistance, mental health, legal services and education.  
“If you had breakfast today, you are better off than 2 million of your neighbors who woke up hungry,” Fey said.
Mariah Carey performed her 1992 song “Make It Happen.” She sang while her backup singers and pianist performed on separate screens to the upbeat tune.  
“We can make it through this together,” Carey said.  
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Cynthia Erivo, Idina Menzel, Ben Platt and others performed a rendition of Frank Sinatra’s classic song “New York, New York.” Lopez introduced PS22 Chorus, a collection of New York elementary school students who sang Andra Day’s “Rise Up.”
“New York, I know your strength,” said Lopez, a New York native.
Spike Lee shared encouraging words that sports would return someday soon. Streisand and Audra McDonald showed the same optimism about New York City’s Theater District coming back “stronger than ever” after being closed due to the pandemic lockdown.  
New York Giants greats including Strahan, Eli Manning, Phil Simms and Justin Tuck announced an opportunity through a sweepstakes for one fan to play a game of touch football with the players in their own backyard and get a Super Bowl ring. The winner of the sweepstakes and three friends will have a chance to play against the players.
Other musical performances included Sting’s “Message in a Bottle” and Bon Jovi’s “It’s My Life.”
Billy Joel closed out the benefit performing “Miami 2017” after being introduced by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The performance was simultaneously shown on 13 of Time Square’s digital billboards. A choreographed lighting show debuted at the Empire State Building that will repeat at 9 p.m. EST throughout the week.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death. The vast majority of people recover.
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