A Lower Moymensing dance studio director created a short film inspired by one of his most-inspiring students. Plus more South Philly news, opinions, and entertainment.
28
southphillyreview.com /southphillyreview @southphillyreview @sophreview n a few different ways, “Nikki” is what Jason Douglas calls “so South Philly.” The 46-minute film that he produced and di- rected with the help of James Daly and screenwriter Steven Ziegler tells the story of Nikki Milano, a dancer with Down syndrome and indomitable spirit. Milano, a South Philly girl with a loving mother and sister, found a safe space to dance at Douglas’s DanceAdelphia, 1100 Snyder Ave., for decades, inspiring peers, defying naysayers and teach- ing the teacher a few things along the way. “It all comes from the heart. When you have someone who wants to do something, give them time and a chance,” Douglas said before the Monday premiere screening of the short film at Ritz East in Old City. And that he did, alongside his mother and grandmother, his fore- bears and progenitors of the origi- nal dance studio they ran at 1159 S. Seventh St. “I can still see her in her Cookie Monster costume in the ’70s with my mother teaching her. She was at my mother’s dance studio in the ’70s and was there until the 2000s,” Douglas, who now calls the Penns Landing section of Old City home, recalled. “Nikki comes to our stu- dio every year for a birthday party – she’s part of the family. She’s been here as long as I have.” It hasn’t always been roses. Mila- no experienced a lot of discrimi- nation from dance peers and their parents. As Douglas says, we didn’t always have appropriate terms to use to describe the genetic disorder characterized by a third chromo- some 21. “Retard” was too often tossed about by callous classmates and their scornful parents – both camps didn’t want to be next to her, pair up with her, or see her in their son’s and daughter’s shows. Doug- las wouldn’t have it and wouldn’t stand for Milano’s tears. “She would cry and get upset,” Douglas said, but he’d push her to NIKKI Giving the biggest gift of all Like many, a South Philly man is waiting patiently for a present that can’t be bought, the gift of life. 9 S TAFF P HOTO BY B ILL C HENEVERT inspired by one of his most-inspiring students. Review Staff Writer
Transcript
southphillyreview.com
/southphillyreview
@southphillyreview
@sophreview
n a few different ways, “Nikki” is what Jason Douglas calls “so South Philly.” The 46-minute fi lm that he produced and di-
rected with the help of James Daly and screenwriter Steven Ziegler tells the story of Nikki Milano, a dancer with Down syndrome and indomitable spirit. Milano, a South Philly girl with a loving mother and sister, found a safe space to dance at Douglas’s DanceAdelphia, 1100 Snyder Ave., for decades, inspiring peers, defying naysayers and teach-
ing the teacher a few things along the way.
“It all comes from the heart. When you have someone who wants to do something, give them time and a chance,” Douglas said before the Monday premiere screening of the short fi lm at Ritz East in Old City.
And that he did, alongside his mother and grandmother, his fore-bears and progenitors of the origi-nal dance studio they ran at 1159 S. Seventh St.
“I can still see her in her Cookie
Monster costume in the ’70s with my mother teaching her. She was at my mother’s dance studio in the ’70s and was there until the 2000s,” Douglas, who now calls the Penns Landing section of Old City home, recalled. “Nikki comes to our stu-dio every year for a birthday party – she’s part of the family. She’s been here as long as I have.”
It hasn’t always been roses. Mila-no experienced a lot of discrimi-nation from dance peers and their parents. As Douglas says, we didn’t
always have appropriate terms to use to describe the genetic disorder characterized by a third chromo-some 21. “Retard” was too often tossed about by callous classmates and their scornful parents – both camps didn’t want to be next to her, pair up with her, or see her in their son’s and daughter’s shows. Doug-las wouldn’t have it and wouldn’t stand for Milano’s tears.
“She would cry and get upset,” Douglas said, but he’d push her to
NIKKI
Giving the biggest
gift of allLike many, a South Philly
man is waiting patiently for a present that
can’t be bought, the gift of life.
9
S T A F F P H O T O B Y B I L L C H E N E V E R T
inspired by one of his most-inspiring students.
Review Staff Writer
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14 Lifestyles:
By Joseph Myers
Police Report: Distressing homicide still unsolved
6By Joseph MyersJurors issued a not guilty verdict in the 2008 slaying of a Passyunk Square resident.
Cardella: Radio daze: Part 4
16By Tom CardellaI covered the transition of WIP from a middle-of-the road music station to its current all-sports format in my column “Present at the beginning” (Aug 9, 2012). I was about to get the opportunity to work with a new set of personalities.
Restaurant: Abe Fisher
19 By Phyllis Stein-Novack As soon as I sat down to dinner at Abe Fisher, I wondered “Where is the bottle of schmaltz?”
HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL OUR CUSTOMERS, FRIENDS AND FAMILY!
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“My niece died 15 years ago. She was just shy of 17 years old, and she was my little girl. I would love to have her back.”
Alex Viscidi, Aston
“I would like longevity and good health because I feel I still have so much more to learn and so much more to see.”
Betty Wilson, Southwest Philly
“I want for people to be kinder to each other. There’s not enough nice-ness going around these days.”
Karin Simms, Glen Mills
To our Readers:I have always been someone who enjoys
giving far more than receiving, so Christmas has yielded many smiles when I have watched my loved ones inspect presents. No matter the time of year, though, I have never really yearned for endowments and have refrained from even treating myself too often. Because of that, I know I have drawn frustration from those with great intentions and have inspired inquiries on why I eschew rewarding myself. Well, I foresee continuing to shun questions about what tangible goodies will gratify me because my acquaintances’ presence matters far more than presents. However, I am going
to go against my grumpy attitude toward be-ing a personal benefactor by saying that this Christmas, I will be gracing myself with the best gift imaginable, a new lease on life.
2015 will go down as a frequently frustrat-ing year for me, a span of time during which I learned that God’s ever-unfolding plan for me will include a divorce. We have all taken our lumps, and my news does not register much in the grand scheme, but it stinks and stings with incredible aplomb. Despite that, I have also found the conviction to consider myself a fighter, with this time of year be-ing a perfect time to give birth to an updated identity and an even more compassionate
mindset. I love Christmastime and, know-ing the reason for the season, I will still find myself considerably blessed, needing only to look at my son for the ultimate proof. I hope that you celebrate your triumphs and thank your trials, too, on Christmas Day. The for-mer win you admiration, but the latter bless you with diligence. That surely beats a must-have gift to me.
Joseph Myers South Philadelphia Review editor
To the Editor:The ghost of Christmas pastSits around moping while the other two
ghosts are having a blast.He’s the ghost that doesn’t care about any-
thing at allWhile the other two ghosts are out having
a ball,The one that always has a frown on his
face,Ready to eat dinner without saying his
grace.His attitude stays out of place.The ghost of Christmas presentGot an attitude that’s sweet and pleasant.He’s the ghost with a really good heart,and when he talks, you can tell he’s intel-
ligent and very smart.The ghost that will give himself to you...No matter what you say or do,He has nothing but love for you.The ghost of Christmas future,He just might turn you into a creature.If you don’t start doing the right thing,He’ll drive you crazy and put you in Sing
Sing.So get yourself together right now,Or get your butt out of townBefore he turns you into a clown.
Melvin Weaver South Carolina (native of South Philadelphia)
To the Editor:Everyone’s house is decorated, some sim-
ply, some extravagantly. Some took a little time to do. Some may have taken hours.
But it seems to me, nobody took the time to sweep and pick up all the litter on their sidewalks and in the street in front of their sidewalks.
Rose Rafferty South Philadelphia
To the EditorDebbie Russino’s fantasy about the dan-
gers to Santa Claus from Islamic radical terrorists (“Christmas mourning”) would be frightening, if it were not just that - totally imaginary. The problem with this thinking is that we have real dangers in our everyday lives - like a falling cornice that came crash-ing down recently on a doorstep on Tasker Street near Tenth or the threat of a winter flu epidemic. Or, God forbid, a car accident.
The chances of any American, let alone Santa, being harmed by a terrorist are about four million to one. But thanks to some of the demagoguery that passes for political dis-course in this country, we are being told to fear for our lives on a daily basis. As a result, there has been cruel and sometimes brutal backlash on anyone who remotely reminds us of a terrorist. This includes acts of van-dalism upon peaceful mosques or attacks on anyone who looks like a Middle Easterner.
I agree with Debbie that we have to be grateful for all our blessings this Christmas, and we do owe much to our brave service men and women. But let’s not allow ourselves to be terrorized by imaginary fears. Real life is scary enough.
Gloria Endres South Philadelphia
Comment on these letters or topics at southphilly-review.com/opinion/letters.
By Tina GarceauComment at southphillyreview.com/opinion
Looking south
Letters
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Contact Editor Joseph Myers at [email protected] or ext. 124. Comment at southphillyreview.com/news/police-report.
southph i l l y rev iew.com
Review Ed itor
n Dec. 9, after three hours of deliberation, a jury found Marcellus Jones not guilty in the June 15, ’08 shooting that left Beau Zabel dead. The 23-year-old victim, who
had moved to Philadelphia from Minnesota for inclusion in the Philadelphia Teaching Fellows program, lived a block from the Eighth-and-Fed-eral-streets crime scene and was walking home from his summer job when someone killed him and made off with his iPod.
Though the jury did not convict Jones, the 37-year-old will remain in prison for the rest of his life based on his conviction in the shooting death of Tyrek Taylor, whom prosecutors con-tend was the getaway driver the night of Zabel’s murder.
A former prison guard with a local zip code admitted to smuggling contraband into Phila-delphia facilities.
On Dec. 14, Joseph Romano pleaded guilty to attempted extortion that interfered with inter-state commerce and two counts of attempted distribution of controlled substances. According to the United States Attorney Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the 31-year-old, whom authori-ties revealed has a 19145 zip code, agreed to de-liver OxyContin pills to a prisoner in exchange for $1,000. Their fi ndings note that to obtain the substances and the cash, the former employee at the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Cen-ter and the Riverside Correctional Facility ar-ranged a meeting with the inmate’s supposed associate at Philadelphia locations. A report says that Romano then smuggled the drugs past his peers and delivered them to an inmate.
Romano, who is scheduled for a March 14 sen-tencing hearing for, faces a statutory maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, possible fi nes, supervised release, and a $300 special assess-ment.
Authorities are looking for a man who stole goods from vehicles in Marconi.
At 2 a.m. Dec. 2, surveillance video captured the image of the male as he cased parked cars on the 2700 block of South 16th Street. He then
fl ed with several bags from the automobiles, with the footage last capturing a glimpse of him on the 2600 block of South Ban-croft Street.
Call South Detectives at 215-686-3013 with DC#15-01-053403, text PPDTIP (773847) or visit phillypolice.com/forms.
Police desire the detention of two men who assaulted a woman in Queen Village.
Law enforcement offi cials reported to the 600 block of South Fifth Street at 11:15 p.m. Dec. 15 for a report of a robbery that occurred at 9:30 p.m., Detective Danielle Tolliver of South Detec-tive Division said. The complainant told them she had been standing in front of the T-Mobile store at Fifth and South streets when a pair of unknown males ran around the corner from South Street to accost her. The fi rst threw a cup fi lled with ice water at her face and tried to grab her purse, with the second delivering a punch to her wet visage.
The accomplice also kicked her and demand-ed “Give me my phone.” He then pushed her to the ground and grabbed her gold T-Mobile iPhone 6 plus before he and the other criminal fl ed the area, fi rst heading southbound on Fifth Street and then westbound on Kater Street. The complainant, who sustained a minor scratch to the right side of her neck, described the attack-ers as black, with the fi rst being in his mid to late teens and 5-foot-7; having a short box haircut, a light brown complexion, and an athletic build; and wearing a red hoodie; and the second as being within the same age range, having a dark brown complexion, and a low haircut; and wear-ing a dark hoodie and dark jeans.
Call South Detectives at 215-685-1635, text PP-DTIP (773847) or visit phillypolice.com/forms.
A teenager lost his left ear lobe in a Pennsport-situated altercation.
At 7:05 p.m. Sunday, the complainant became involved in a large fi ght within the schoolyard at Horace Furness High School, 1900 S. Third St. During the incident, an unknown person bit off the aforementioned body part, with the victim also sustaining a cut under his right eye, another bike mark to his left chest, and numerous abra-sions. He could relay only that the attacker was white and 5-foot-3.
Call South Detectives at 215-685-1635, text PP-DTIP (773847) or visit phillypolice.com/forms.
A man dressed completely in red led an as-sault on a man in Queen Village.
The complainant parked his vehicle on the 400 block of Bainbridge Street at 2:45 a.m. Sun-day and encountered the scarlet-clad man, who asked if the motorist needed anything, Detec-tive Danielle Tolliver of South Detective Division said. The offender and others, having exited a white sedan, struck him several times with fi sts and kicks, gaining his wallet, car keys, and iPhone 6 before fl eeing in the sedan, last seen heading westbound on Bainbridge Street.
The victim, who sustained swelling and bruis-ing to his right eye, scratches to his forehead, and a possible broken wrist, described the at-tackers as black, and all approximately 25 years old. No further descriptions were available as of press time.
Call South Detectives at 215-685-1635, text PP-DTIP (773847) or visit phillypolice.com/forms. SPR
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HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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10) “The Santa Clause”: Never a fan of Tim Allen, I have consistently passed on watching this 1994 offering in its entirety. Have I been unfair in letting decades of disdain for Allen rob me of a possibly very enjoyable 97-minute experience?
9) “The Apartment”: With regards to Jack Lemmon, it seems I will have to go backwards to track his career, as I am knowledgeable of the two-time Oscar win-ner’s later works but laughably unaware of his early output, including this 1960 fi lm. I will “rent” it soon, rest assured.
8) “Holiday Inn”: Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire have earned my admira-tion through many endeavors, yet I can-not count this one among them, as I have never watched a second of it. Pardon my vacant taste.
7) “Die Hard”: I have watched 1995’s “Die Hard with a Vengeance” numerous times but never its ’90 or ’88 predeces-sors. I have caught parts of the fi rst fi lm and have always respected Alan Rickman, so this no longer deserves to be a casualty of my neglect.
6) “The Muppet Christmas Carol”: Nerve.com ranks this as the second-greatest Christmas movie of all time, andthough I know ranked lists thrive on sub-jectivity, I take that placement seriously. Michael Caine, forgive this gent, good sir.
5) “The Nightmare Before Christ-mas”: My son has begun to take an in-terest in this 1993 Tim Burton tale, even dressing as Jack Skellington this Hal-loween, but I have yet to catch all of the Pumpkin King’s antics. I will bone up onthe revered creation and am sure to fall forits protagonist as fondly as Sally does (orso I have heard).
4) “The Polar Express”: His politi-cal stances have often irked me, but TomHanks has skills! I consider “Big,” “Phila-delphia,” and “Forrest Gump” brilliant works and might think of “The Polar Ex-press” as one, too, if I do not keep catch-ing it half-way through the action. Comeaboard, Joe!
3) “White Christmas”: Oh, the hu-manity! Yes, dear readers, how can I sayI revere Crosby when I have not seen thismasterpiece in its entirety? I should counmy blessings, instead of sheep, and pine for fl akes like the beloved singer.
2) “Elf”: Will Ferrell has rarely been funnier, so I have heard, than he is in this2003 work. With a tremendous cast and acreative plot (Thank you, Wikipedia.), it would certainly win my favor if I were tomake its star my “buddy.”
1) “It’s a Wonderful Life”: Beingsomeone who often ponders infl uence andthe results of his actions, I should considerthis my cinematic Bible, but, alas, I haveseen only snippets of it. Maybe I will re-ceive a set of wings when I fi nally stop bailing on George Bailey. SPR
Contact Editor Joseph Myers at [email protected] or ext. 124. Comment at southphillyreview.com/news/features.
southph i l l y rev iew.com
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Like many, a South Philly man is waiting patiently for a present that can’t
be bought, the gift of life.
Review Staff Writer
ike Farulo often goes to bed thinking “Is tonight going to be the night? Any day now my life could change for the better.” Farulo suffers from Polycys-
tic Kidney Disease (PKD), a genetic disease that fi lls one’s kidneys with cysts and zaps their functionality. Dialysis and donations-turned-transplants are the only solution.
It’s a tiring and frustrating daily existence and Farulo, a resident of Broad and Ells-worth streets, has an impressively balanced perspective on it all.
“I knew from a kid that I might have to deal with it when I got older” – his mother had PKD, too, and went through 22 years of dialysis and two donations. “My mom had it, my grandmother had it, my uncle, my mom’s brother had it,” Farulo said; it’s genetic and hereditary.
Farulo works with Gift of Life, the re-gional donor organization that covers east-ern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware. He volunteers by driving patients, donors and family members to ap-pointments in conjunction with the Gift of Life Family House in Northern Liberties.
“Gift of Life oversees 40,000 organ trans-plants a year: kidneys, hearts, lungs, livers, pancreas, intestines, all the internal organs,”
Howard Nathan, president and CEO of Gift of Life, explained. “In the U.S. there are 122,000 people waiting for an organ – 101,000 are waiting for kidneys. There are 444,000 people on dialysis in the U.S. Re-gionally, 5,900 people are waiting [for an organ], of which about 4,900 are patients waiting for kidneys.”
Farulo’s childhood was rooted in Elizabeth and Somerset, N.J. He came to Philadelphia at 18 to go to LaSalle University but ended up getting associate degrees from the Art Institute of Philadelphia and the Commu-nity College of Philadelphia. He’s sustained himself in the service industry and had a great run of working on Linblad Expedi-tions cruise boats, which travel the world. He bartended and managed a 65-passenger cruise boat for about 10 years and had to give it up for dialysis. Now he works a few
hours a week at Pumpkin, 1713 South St., simply to engage with life outside dialysis and Gift of Life patients.
“The littlest bit of exertion and I start get-ting very fatigued,” he explained. “I can do some light bicycle riding. I can’t work full-time anymore. I can’t have soup or ice cream. I can’t have beer or alcohol.”
He can ingest up to only 32 ounces of liquid per day. And on days like last Mon-day, his dialysis wasn’t enough and he had to throw in a fourth session to remove his blood of all liquids.
Nathan explained that the Center for Dis-ease Control establishes criteria for kidneys that may or may not be at-risk due to the deceased’s medical history. They “evaluate nearly 40,000 deaths in [a network] of 129 area hospitals, almost 110 per day. Only about 750 are suitable donors,” he said.
“Mike’s getting called because he’s been on the waiting list for a while,” since 2012 in his case. Even before the dialysis began.
The fi rst four calls that Farulo’s received haven’t materialized into a donor. The ini-tial three were highly at-risk and, being even a little sluggish on the chance to jump on the fourth combined with being fi fth on the list, both kidneys from the fourth call just missed him.
Every once in a while, the Point Breeze resident tells his story to interested parties, and they swear they’ll consider being a live donor. Although he doesn’t hold his breath, he seems hopeful that his luck could change at a moment’s notice.
“I tell my story to people who want to lis-ten,” he said humbly.
When his mother was dying, his father went to the local newspaper and swears her story resulted in 10 or 12 people who went into the nearby hospital to test their kidney compatibility.
“4.7 million people have it on their license out of 9 million drivers [in PA],” Nathan re-ported on offi cial organ donor registration. “In the U.S., 125 million have it on their state ID or driver’s license and that’s half of the driving public. Over 90 percent say that organ donation is a good thing” but, he notes, trauma scenes often don’t include a state ID and that’s why it’s important to register as an organ donor with PennDOT. “One to two percent of all potential people who die are potential donors,” he says. “The need is great [for donors].” SPR
Contact Staff Writer Bill Chenevert at [email protected] or ext. 117. Comment at southphillyreview.com/news/features.
Staff Photo by B ill Chenevert
hirty-fi ve dollars doesn’t seem like a huge sum for the price of storing vehi-cles on public Pennsylvania property. With a piece of legislation, Bill no.
150670 introduced September 10 by City Council members Cindy Bass and South Philly native Mark Squilla, the registration fee will grow by $5 for the explicit purpos-es of creating safer streets in line with the Vision Zero philosophy. Vision Zero sim-ply articulates an imperative that all kinds
of politicians, non-profi ts, public agencies and citizens are rallying behind – let’s aim for zero deaths on our streets with smarter, more aggressive policy and design.
“The Pennsylvania General Assembly authorized municipalities to raise new revenues in connection with vehicle reg-istrations for maintenance, repair, and en-hancement of safety in the right of way,” the bill reads. “City Council fi nds that fur-ther funding for these purposes is essential to improving the condition of our streets for vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, and all other users.”
“[General Assembly] allowed municipal-ities to raise revenues in conjunction with vehicle registration, it was under authori-zation by the state that we’re allowed to do this,” Anne Kelly, 1st District Councilman
Squilla’s chief of staff, said. “We’re in fa-vor of Vision Zero.”
She reported zero phone calls of com-plaint and little-to-no backlash.
Though the money will be raised locally via PennDOT services and circulated back to Harrisburg, which in turn comes back to Philadelphia, as much as $3.5 million could be raised, and Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia’s policy coordinator Bob Previdi is thrilled to see money com-ing in at all.
“Historically, the Streets Department budget has been severely underfunded,” he said. “Of our 2,500 miles of streets, there’s a backlog in paving of 1,100 miles. We are counting on the [Jim] Kenney [mayoral] administration [team] in fi nding more money for safety. He’s committed to in-
creasing the Streets Department budget by $10 million, which could go a long way in reducing that backlog in paving.”
Previdi also said Kenney plans on launch-ing a Vision Zero task force next month.
The BCGP policy advocate says PennDOT reports 11,000 crashes annu-ally, which cause infrastructure damage, plus auto insurance and health care costs that add up to more than one billion dollars (“Billion with a B,” he emphasized).
“We’re not going to get bike lanes on every street,” Previdi admitted. “The Bi-cycle Coalition wants to break down this animosity between drivers and cyclists; everyone deserves respect on the roads out there.” --- By Bill Chenevert SPR
Comment at southphillyreview.com/news/briefs.
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keep going. “If you want to be with them you have to get past them,” he’d say and used a great trick to put things in a little perspective for other students.
Milano had an uncanny memory for birthdays from Justin Bieber to Don-nie Wahlberg. He’d ask her “Hey Nik, when’s Michael Jackson’s birthday?” She’d throw out the answer and turn to her taunter and say “Oh, you’re not that smart, are ya?!”
Most of this makes it to the movie, a representation of her life with a bit of em-bellishment and all local talent. But the complaints about Milano came on early and were met with no patience, both on Snyder Avenue in real life and in a tanta-mount scene with Douglas portrayed by Andrew Ruggieri.
“I had parents complain to me,” Doug-las said. To which he’d say “Here’s your money back – if you have a problem with [Nikki], this studio’s not for you.”
“IT’S REALLY SOUTH Philly to the T,” Douglas said, and it wasn’t always the case.
The fi lm was a nearly three-year pas-sion project that had fi ts and starts, in-cluding a brief dance with a production fi rm in Brooklyn who started to hire ac-tors in New York who couldn’t get the South Philly accent.
“They wanted to fi lm in six to eight days,” the dance director remembered. “I’m not paying for you to tell me who can play these parts.”
Daly did most of the shooting and ed-iting of “Nikki” after hearing about Ja-son’s passion for her story because he and his comedy group, Comic Energy, rent Douglas’s studio.
“We realized [Comic Energy] were do-ing a lot of video stuff and he was a little
frustrated that the project was stalled,” Daly, a Second Street native, said.
He wasn’t used to working with chil-dren, but the local angle made it all come together, even as the youths helped build characters and inform scenes.
“We have shots of the Passyunk [Ave-nue] Fountain and shots around Philadel-phia that we use. The whole South Philly thing is really cool,” Daly said. “The kids were amazing. The dancers did really well and being able to work with these kids, it was really amazing.”
The story that Douglas, Daly and Ziegler began with as a loose script in-
cludes Douglas’s character falling for Milano’s older sister, played by Alyssa Marie Canalichio. Their romance serves as a backbone to the fi lm’s narrative. The challenge of portraying Nikki was as-signed to Sarah Samara and she did an excellent job with a tall task.
“We were really excited about it from the get-go just to be able to tell this story,” Ziegler, who grew up on South Chadwick and Porter streets, and has seen countless young females fi le through DanceAdel-phia’s doors, said. “The sense of unity and the sense of family at the school… virtually almost every girl in high school
has been through DanceAdelphia, and they always say good things about it.”
“I have kids of every culture and reli-gion,” Douglas said, pulling the phone away to ask AJ, the 15-year-old rapper who makes a couple cameos in “Nikki,” how far he travels to make it to Snyder Avenue – 20 to 30 minutes on the bus from West Philly. “[We have] a lot of peo-ple come in from Jersey, from Delaware, from the suburbs and Delaware County. Nobody walks into my doors thinking it’s a neighborhood place that’s clique-y. Ev-eryone feels welcome.”
Douglas shouts out Frank Perri, the longtime leader of the Neumann-Goretti High School, 1736 S. 10th St., Neumann Players, who encouraged him to go for a life in entertainment. And points out the many ways in which the production team’s histories are interwoven.
“The kid that plays my part, our grand-mothers were cousins. He’s a U Arts grad and when I met him I said ‘You’re gonna be a movie star,’” Douglas said. “[Daly], his mother used to teach with my mother, and she taught me.”
There’s a powerful scene in the movie when Milano’s mom and sister break some bad news – they don’t have money for Nikki to keep dancing at DanceAdel-phia. She wails and runs for her piggie bank. Dance meant a lot to Nikki and, clearly, she meant much to DanceAdel-phia.
“There’s nothing like it when you do something positive like this and Nikki’s such an amazing person,” Daly said. “We all have challenges and obstacles in our lives, but for some people it’s not a choice. When you’re born with Down’s syndrome and people look at you and label you immediately, they don’t know you as a person. But I think the world’s getting better with that.” SPR
Contact Staff Writer Bill Chenevert at [email protected] or ext. 117. Com-ment at southphillyreview.com/news/features.
Charles Santore Branch: One-on-
one computer tutoring for seniors daily by
appointment; Baby and Toddler Storytime
10:15 a.m. and Toddler and Preschool Sto-
rytime 11 a.m. Dec. 29. 932 S. Seventh St.
215-686-1766.
Fumo Branch: Toddler Storytime 10
a.m. Dec. 29. 2437 S. Broad St. 215-685-
1758.
Queen Memorial Branch: Fall
Family Storytime 10:30 a.m. Dec. 29.
1201 S. 23rd St. 215-685-1899.
Parkway Central Branch: The Art-
ists of The Print Center through Dec. 31;
“Sacred Stories: The World’s Religious
Traditions” through Jan. 30; Job Search
Basics 101 noon Dec. 26; Baby and
Toddler Story Time 11 a.m., Monday
Funday 4 p.m. and Mysterious Travel-
ers featuring Anthony DeCarlo 7 p.m.
Dec. 28; Preschool Storytime with Miss
Leigh 11 a.m. Dec. 29. 1901 Vine St.
215-686-5322.
Thomas F. Donatucci Sr. Branch: LEAP Afterschool activities 3 p.m. Mon-days through Thursdays; Crochet and Knitting Circle 6:30 p.m. Dec. 29. 1935
W. Shunk St. 215-685-1755.
Whitman Branch: Literacy Enrich-ment Afterschool Program 3 p.m. Mon-days through Thursdays; Let’s Speak English Conversation Circles for New Americans 6:30 p.m. Dec. 28; Yoga Class for Children 5:30 p.m. and for adults 6:30 p.m. Dec. 30. 200 Snyder Ave. 215-685-1754. SPR
Visit freelibrary.org.
Branching out
NIKKIcontinued from page 1
Staff Photo by B ill Chenevert
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sou thph i l l y r e v i ew.com
PHOTOS PROVIDED BY CHRIS DI LOLLE, JESSICA GOULD, THE PHILADELPHIA POLICE DEPARTMENT, THE WHITMAN BRANCH, JOSEPH MYERS, AND PHILABUNDANCE
Photo 1: St. Edmond Church, 21st Street
and Snyder Avenue, presented its Night of
Carols Dec. 10. Photo 2: Grubhouse, 2340
S. Hemberger St., hosted the West Passyunk
Neighbors civic organization’s Dec. 9 holiday
party. Photo 3: The Philadelphia Police De-
partment took to Fifth and South streets Dec.
16 to punish stormtroopers for posting online
spoilers to “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,”
which has proven a massive hit since its Friday
opening. Photo 4: The Whitman Branch,
200 Snyder Ave., welcomed fans of the “Star
Wars” franchise on Dec. 16 for a well-received
craft program. Photo 5: For its New England
Clam Chowder offering, Riverfront NYA
won Sunday’s fourth annual Golden Ladle
Soup Contest at the Mummers Museum, 1100
S. Second St. Cara Liom NYA and Golden
Crown took second- and third-place prizes.
Photo 6: A convoy of 75 Toyota Tundras con-
cluded its 7.9-mile mission for Philabundance
by delivering thousands of pounds of food
to Citizens Bank Park, 1 Citizens Bank Way,
Friday. SPR
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While every section of the city takes pride in its Christmas decorations, who has any doubt that South Philly folks come out on top with their homage to the holiday? Each year, the South Philly Review looks for stellar examples of
homeowners’ creativity, and our photographers have never found themselves short on options when flashing their lenses. May the celebration of the day be as thrilling as your preparation for it. We hope that the occasion strengthens or renews
your families and friendships and that all is calm and bright. --- South Philly Review editor Joseph Myers
PHOTOS BY TINA GARCEAU
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To all of our friends, families and students!From The Jason Douglas Danceadelphia Staff
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PORTRAIT PHOTO BY TINA GARCEAU PRODUCTION PHOTOS BY CHRISTOPHER SAPIENZA,
OF WISEMAN PRODUCTIONS
osh Totora considers contemplating the convergence of cultures in South Philly a captivating endeavor, holding that residents and their pursuits offer observ-
ers great examples of optimism and liveliness. Four years into his tenure as a Philadelphian, with
one-and-a-half years of that stretch on the 1000 block of Tasker Street, he has found personal
happiness and professional success, the latter presently apparent through his
acting and music playing con-tributions to “The Three
Maries,” a world pre-miere musical that
he tabs “a total love letter” to the city.
“It provides a great sense of how appealing
Philadelphia
and the people here are,” the 32-year-old said of the work by composer and lyricist Michael Ogborn. “Plus, it pokes fun at everyone and everything, so that ensures that there are memorable laughs to be had.”
The Passyunk Square inhabitant and his peers are performing their execution of the city’s charm through Jan. 10. The Prince Theater-situated action exists as a mash-up of “Cinderella” and “Pygmalion” and fi nds the 1926-set narration occurring in a Mummer’s club-house, with the characters preparing for a sesquicen-tennial visit from Romania’s Queen Marie.
“It’s an especially wonderful introduction to Phila-delphia’s identity for those who are unaware,” Totora said. “Plus, the music is absolutely amazing.”
The script calls for the happy hire to play the banjo, glockenspiel, and ukulele as Al, the music director of the Dock Street Troubadours. Bearing “The Profes-sor” as his moniker, the leader adds his kindhearted and loyal nature to the plot, with Totora saying “He’s me,” with a laugh, when confi ding that Al is “a little
A Passyunk Square dweller is adding his acting and musical ability to a world premiere work treating life in
Philadelphia, with a huge nod to the Mummers.
Review Ed itor
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neurotic.”“He cares about his people, and that’s en-
dearing,” the dual dynamo said of portray-ing a fi gure who contributes to the score’s infusion of Mummers string band music and era-specifi c jazz, vaudeville, and Tin Pin Alley pieces. “There’s a bond between him and the troubadours that’s akin to the connection between this city and those who are well-versed in its history in that there’s and admirable amount of apprecia-tion for what’s to come and how we can accomplish great things together.”
Abounding in heartfelt devotion to the metropolis, “The Three Maries” has picked up praise for its treatment of life in its southern portion, particularly its humorous handling of residents’ accents. Thrilled to throw his cares to the wind ar-tistically, Totora deems the show “a per-fect vehicle” for his talents, which he also showcased courtesy of Ogborn through the 2013 remount of “Cinderella” at the Malvern-headquartered People’s Light & Theatre Co., and hopes it helps to add more appreciation for life in such an in-teresting location and more warmth to the holiday season.
“It’s going on during the approach to Christmas and New Year’s Day, but I think it can have a fruitful existence way beyond that,” he said. “It’s so full of heart and so spot on brilliant with regards to this home of ours. It’s a real treat.”
TOTORA IS TOUTING the City of Brotherly Love as a product of New Jersey who of-ten caught theatrical performances within its confi nes when coming of age. Music and theater thoroughly enthralled him courtesy of his brothers, with the rapid realization of his competence helping to increase his confi dence in considering the creative world as his career yielder.
“I was totally a ham growing up, espe-cially with regards to being on stage,” To-tora, whose music enthusiasm hit a high note thanks to being in a band with his siblings and a friend, said. “I felt I could go after these goals with my whole heart and be perfectly content.”
Acquiring awareness of his infatua-tion’s business components through New Jersey State Aquarium acting colleagues, he took his ambition to Rowan University, where being a “total music theater nerd”
helped him to measure his journey’s beats. Knowing its reputation as a renowned the-ater town for established professionals and burgeoning practitioners, he settled in Philadelphia, with Fishtown as his fi rst expanse.
“It’s so enriching to hear about and take in all these great shows and wonderful to ponder what’s coming,” Totora said. “There’s so much variety here that I want-ed to explore what might be possible for me.”
Doing so meant rekindling interest in composition and sound design, passions that he had let simmer to focus on acting, with his most recent point of pride in those callings being last month’s Simpatico Theatre Project production of “Watership Down.” With the Arden Theatre Co.; Bck-seet Productions; EgoPo Classic Theater; the Philadelphia Artists’ Collective, for whom he will act and music direct April’s “He Who Gets Slapped,” with direction by South Philly native Damon Bonetti; Wal-nut Street Theatre; and the Wilma Theater as other employers, Totora feels the future will continue to be a supplier of copious delights due largely to his cohorts and
Sarah, his wife of fi ve years and Simpa-tico’s dramaturg.
“Just like the Mummers, we stick to-gether pretty well,” he said of his fortune. “There’s so much creative diversity here that I can’t help but feel fortunate.”
Accustomed to one form of southern hospitality, Totora hopes to experience an-other next month when he heads to North Carolina to assist the Children’s Theater of Charlotte. When back in Passyunk Square, he will continue to court cordial encounters with his contemporaries akin to the interactions that Al and the crew have in “The Three Maries.”
“I love South Philly,” Totora, who plays in the bluegrass folk rock band The Nim-ble Cats with locals Cindy Spitko and Ed Swidey, said. “I made a great move com-ing here, and I’m excited about enjoying great times with great people.” SPR
For tickets, call 215-422-4580, or visit princetheater.org.
Contact Editor Joseph Myers at [email protected] or ext. 124. Comment at southphillyreview.com/news/lifestyles.
215.271.72591707 W. Passyunk Ave., Phila., PA 19145
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Columnist
covered the transition of WIP from a mid-dle-of-the road music station to its current all-sports format in my column “Present at the beginning” (Aug 9, 2012). I was about
to get the opportunity to work with a new set of personalities. The Ken Garlands were gone. The station was going sports talk. Enter Howard Eskin.
Eskin is a complicated guy and an intensely competitive fellow. He had little time for his peers back then, and they had little time for him. I think some of the local media were jealous of Eskin’s omnipresence at seemingly every sporting event in town. Some were jeal-ous of the fi ne threads he favored. Some of them just didn’t like him. I fi lled in for Eskin on his 5 p.m. shift a number of times. Howard arrived minutes before going on the air. He needed no script and no studio prep. Some-times he’d end up caught in traffi c, and if I were on the air prior to his show, I’d hang around until he arrived. Eskin was usually only minutes late, but that wasn’t the point. It was as if he were proving that he was the dominant fi gure in the sports business, free to come and go like none of the other personali-ties. At fi rst, I found him aloof, but, over the years, he seemed to warm to me. He is espe-cially good with fans.
During the early days of all-sports radio at WIP, the station employed Joe Pellegrino as one of its hosts. Pellegrino was a friendly guy, but one who, like Eskin, did little or no studio prep. Unlike Eskin, Pellegrino was un-able to carry it off. Handsome Joe had once been a Channel 6 sports anchor, but was sadly miscast as a radio sports talk host. Once in the studio, his producers would joke, Joe would turn the pages of his little black book and command that one of them get the Pope on the line for a 15-minute segment. The joke was that no “A” list guest was going to be available to Pellegrino on such short notice. Still and all, there wasn’t anyone who didn’t like Joe. I was preparing to do sports head-lines one day when Joe walked into the room to clear out his desk. He’d been fi red.
Pellegrino’s replacement ended up becom-ing the most meticulous professional with whom I ever worked, Bill Campbell. When I heard the news that Campbell was coming to WIP, I fl ipped out. I put a note in his mail slot that I was excited to have the honor and privilege to work with him. It turned out that
I would fi ll in often for Bill in his 10 a.m.-1 p.m. time slot because of a series of ill-nesses that plagued him. Campbell would arrive hours before his shift, busily typing out his ideas for his show that day. In his way, he was a symbol of the old days of ra-dio journalism while Eskin symbolized the new brashness of sports talk radio.
My days at the station were pre-Angelo Cataldi, but I believe I was the fi rst or one of the fi rst to get him on the air by phone as a guest on my Eagles postgame show. In those days, the print media guys were often used as guests. None of them, including Cat-aldi, had yet to make the transition to better paying radio jobs on WIP. I’m betting none of them dreamed it could happen. I often used the print guys covering the Eagles as postgame guests after program director Tom Bigby had decided to dump the co-host on my show.
Cataldi was the Eagles beat writer for The Philadelphia Inquirer. The Eagles were coached by the charismatic Buddy Ryan at the time. Though Ryan was immensely pop-ular with the fans, Cataldi didn’t share their appreciation for the controversial coach. As was normally the case, I took phone calls from the fans while Cataldi faced them down by phone. The sparks fl ew. The phone lines lit up. I wish I could say I predicted Cataldi’s future as a bright star in the fi rma-ment of Philadelphia mornings. I didn’t. It was Bigby who sensed Ange’s potential, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Bigby was brilliant in realizing that sports radio could be expanded into areas outside sports that appealed to men up to the age of 35, the main demographic that many radio stations aim for. Bigby envisioned his sta-tion’s shows as a locker room where males chatted not only about the Eagles, but girls, and he didn’t worry about political correct-ness. That philosophy still prevails on the Morning Show today and with the station’s new darling, Josh Innes. Bigby was insen-sitive. Bruised feelings without regard. He was the worst human being for whom I have ever worked.
WIP was sold to Spectacor while I was there. The purchaser was the brainchild of Ed Snider, owner of the Flyers. I found thereafter that it was tough for me to criti-cize the Flyers on the air without their PR guy or even Gene Hart getting on the phone to rebut me.
Bigby grew disenchanted with me. Stopped using me much in 1989. I spent ’90 in radio exile, but then WIP lost the Eagles broadcasts to WYSP-FM and Merrill Reese rescued me from the scrap heap again. SPR
Comment at southphillyreview.com/opinion/
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Through Dec. 27. Tickets: $30-$35. Walnut Street Theatre Independence Studio on 3, 825 Walnut St. 215-574-3550. walnut-streettheatre.org.
Though Dec. 27 (closed Christmas day). Free. JFK Plaza, 1500 Arch St. philachristmas.com.
Through Dec. 27. Tickets: $20-$30. Christ Church Neighborhood House, 20 N. American St. 215-922-1695. pigiron.org.
: Through Dec. 27. Tickets: $15-$62. Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad St. 215-985-0420. philadelphiatheatrecompany.org.
Through Dec. 27. Tickets: $134-$515. The Forrest Theatre, 1114 Walnut St. 800-447-7400. telecharge.com/mormonphilly.
Through Dec. 31. Tickets: $28-$42. Plays & Players, 1712 Delancey Pl. 215-592-9560. 1812pro-ductions.org.
Through Dec. 31. Tickets: $30-$135. The Academy of Music, 240 S. Broad St. 215-893-1999. paballet.org.
Through Dec. 31. Tickets: Free-$15. Independence Seaport Museum, 211 S. Columbus Blvd. 215-413-8655. phillyseaport.org.
Through Jan. 3. Tickets: Free-$17. Please Touch Museum, Memorial Hall, Fairmount Park, 4231 Ave. of the Republic. 215-581-3181. pleasetouchmuseum.org.
Through Jan. 3. Tickets: $24.95-$29.95. The Franklin Institute, 222 N. 20th St. 215-448-1200. fi .edu.
Through Jan. 3. Tickets: $16-$29. Arts Bank Theater, Broad and South streets. 215-496-9160. enchantmenttheatre.org.
Through Jan. 3. Tickets: $8-$14.50. National Constitution Center, 525 Arch St. 215-409-6600. constitutioncenter.org.
Through Jan. 3. Tickets: $8-$14.50. National Constitu-tion Center, 525 Arch St. 215-409-6600. constitutioncenter.org.
Through Jan. 3. Tickets: $15-$27. The Sedgwick Theater, 7137 Germantown Ave., Mt. Airy. 215-987-4450. quintessencetheatre.org.
Through Jan. 7, Tickets: Free-$16. Thomson Gallery at the Mütter Museum, 19 S. 22nd St. 215-560-8564. mut-termuseum.org.
Through Jan. 10. Tickets: $20-$95. Walnut Street Theatre, 825 Walnut St. 215-574-3550. walnutstreettheatre.org.
Through Jan. 10. Tickets: Free-$25. Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway. 215-763-8100- philamuseum.org.
Through Jan. 10. Tickets: $13.95-$17.95. The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, 1900 Ben
features Christmas-oriented gallery tours, holiday-inspired concerts from area singing groups (1 and 2:30 p.m. Dec. 26-30) in the Great Stair Hall, and even a Yoga White Party (5:30 to 8 p.m., Dec. 30), through Jan. 1. Tickets: Free-$25. Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2600 Benja-min Franklin Parkway. 215-763-8100- philamuseum.org.
at the Franklin’s got a Creation Station with
Giant Tinker Toys, paperkmaking, eye and heart dissections, Science of Sport and
Fireworks shows, and Genghis Training Grounds, through Jan 2. Tickets: Free-
$19.95. The Franklin Institute, 222 N. 20th St. 215-448-1200. fi .edu.
at the Please Touch features tons of programming, storytelling, Universal African Dance performances (Dec. 26-27) and Tucker’s Tales Puppet Theater (Dec. 28-30), Dec. 24-30. Tickets: Free-$17. Please Touch Museum, 4231 Ave. of the Republic. 215-581-3181. pleasetouchmuseum.org.
, an annual day of fun for the family at the Jewish Museum, becomes fi ve fl oors of activities, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 25. Tickets: Free-$12. The National Museum of American Jewish History, 101 S. Indepen-dence Mall E. 215-923-3811. nmajh.org.
spans fi ve days of science with Dinosaur Day (the 26th), Bug
Day (the 27th), Reptiles Day (the 28th), Fur, Feathers and Scales Day (the 29th),
and Weird-things-in-jars Day (the 30th), Dec. 26-30. Tickets: Free-$17.95. The
Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, 1900 Ben Franklin Pkwy.
215-299-1000. ansp.org.
compete for NFC East supremacy in their last game at home before next week’s big Giants tilt 8:25 p.m. Dec. 26. Tickets: $55-$250. Lincoln Financial Field, 1 Lincoln Finan-cial Field Way. 215-463-5500. ticketmaster.com.
features Philly-area indie rock-ers raising awareness of hunger and benefi ting Philabundance, 8:30 p.m. Dec. 26. Tickets: $10 (donate fi ve non-perishable food items and receive a screen printed poster). Milkboy Philly, 1100 Chestnut St. 215-925-6455. milkboyphilly.com.
could be the perfect gift for visiting guests with a fondness for hops and warming brews, noon to 4 p.m. Dec. 27. Tick-ets: $45. World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St. 215-726-1106. worldcafelive.com.
, a curated slew of sitcoms, commercials, oddities, and music videos from the ‘80s and ‘90s, even TV dinners will be had (sweatpants encouraged), 8 to 10 p.m. Dec. 28. Free. The Foundry at the Fillmore Philadelphia, 1100 Canal St. 215-625-3681. lnphilly.com.
mixes up the hunt with seasonal clues 5 to 9 p.m. Dec. 30. Tickets: Free-$15. Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, 118-128 N. Broad St. 215-972-7600. pafa.org.
Franklin Pkwy. 215-299-1000. ansp.org.
Through Jan. 10. Tickets: $27-$52. The Prince Theater, 1412 Chestnut St. 215-422-4580. princetheater.org.
8 p.m. Dec. 30. Tickets: $14-$18. Ardmore Music Hall, 23 East Lancaster Ave., Ardmore, PA. 610-649-8389. ardmoremusic.com.
9 p.m. Dec. 30-31. Tickets: $29.50-$59.50. Electric Fac-tory, 421 N. Seventh St. 215-627-1332. electricfactory.info. SPR
Classics cooledDisney On Ice celebrates 100 Years of Magic with Mickey as the Mouse-ter of Ceremonies, his crew in-cluding Minnie, Donald and Goofy, plus a slew of Dis-ney princesses including Elsa, Dec. 24-Jan. 3. Tick-ets: $15-$100. Wells Fargo Center, 3601 S. Broad St. 215-336-3600. wellsfargocenterphilly.com.
Technically Broadway“Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” the Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyed Webber musical, is the Biblical story of Joseph, his 11 brothers and the coat of many colors from the Book of Genesis and was nominated for six Tony Awards in 1982. Dec. 29-Jan. 3. Tickets: $45-$95. Merriam Theater, 250 S. Broad St. 215-893-1999. kimmelcenter.org.
HighlightsTHIS WEEK
OTHER GOODIES
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All’s fare
southph i l l y rev iew.com
Comment at southphillyreview.com/food-and-drink/recipes.
Bistrot La Minette, 623 S. Sixth St., is offering its fi ve-course
Christmas menu through Dec. 30. For $65, with a matching wine pair-ing for $35, patrons can partake of such wonders as porcini and chestnut soup, oysters, seared scallops, bacon-wrapped venison loin, pear sorbet, chocolate butter cream, and pistachio jaconde yule log. Contact 215-925-8000, send email to [email protected], or visit bistrot-laminette.com. --- By Joseph Myers SPR
I N G R E D I E N T S : D I R E C T I O N S :
Megan’s Apple Roses
M egan West McFarland has crafted a highly commendable identity as a foster parent for area pooches, with her efforts helping to lead to distinction as a 2012 South Philly Review Difference Maker. As she proves with this recipe
for Apple Roses, the resident of the 300 block of Roseberry Street delights in delight-ing her two-legged friends’ nutritional needs, too, offering a treat that could come to blossom as a treat for your Christmas guests.
The Whitman resident noted the creations are “yummy” and turn out “really cute.” ’Tis the season for such words to reign supreme, so make these for your loved ones, and see how their appreciation unfolds. --- By Joseph Myers SPR
Photo - Recipehubs.com
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Photos by Tina Garceau
Restaurant Rev iewer
s soon as I sat down to dinner at Abe Fisher, I wondered “Where is the bottle of schmaltz?”
When I read a few years ago that Chef Michael Solomonov was to open a restaurant featuring Jewish dishes from Western and Eastern European countries, which ultimately became the aforementioned Center City-based eatery, I felt it was about time.
I fi rst met this talented individual a number of years ago when he was in charge of the kitchen at Marigold in University City. A few years later, he opened Zahav, his award-win-ning Israeli restaurant. I have always enjoyed my dinners there.
I am trying to fi gure out why my meal at Abe Fisher’s was so disappointing.
The menu is a bit confusing. One can order a la carte, put together a four-course small plate meal for $39, or order certain dishes like the Hungarian duck, but the dish is for two. A straightforward menu would be easier.
I applaud the lighting at Abe Fisher’s. The sound was fi ne as well. Seating is most com-fortable and we took a bit of time trying to fi g-ure out what to order.
Cocktails ($12 and $15) arrive in pretty coupes, which has been the custom in certain restaurants for the past few years. A server brought over what appeared to be a tea box but which contained tiny bite-sized savory ruge-lach laced with garlic.
We decided on the four-course dinner.Thinly-sliced gravlax was set on tiny potato
latkes that were cold and a bit salty. When I saw chopped liver on the menu, I yearned for the version I learned from my Viennese-born grandmother. I received a tablespoon of very smooth pate that one would fi nd in any French bistro. Two thick slices of toasted brioche and a few pieces of pickled onion, which contained so much vinegar I could not eat them, arrived, too.
Next up were spinach kugel and pickled mackerel. I prepare a spinach noodle kugel, but this version was made with fi nely grated potatoes. The tiny portion was cold and salty. I made pickled herring with onion with my grandmother when I was a girl. The mackerel version was delicious and not a bit salty. The pickled onions, which I suppose spent time in the jar with the fi sh, were in perfect balance. The amount of vinegar was just right.
Our entrees were lamb cholent and halibut. Edward decided on a Bell’s Two-Hearted IPA ($6.50) while I chose a glass of wine. Our server gave me a sip of Syrah and Cabernet be-
fore I chose the Cabernet Sauvignon ($12). Both wines had a bit of a cough syrup texture, with the Cabernet being superior.
A small piece of halibut was encrusted with challah. It arrived cold with a soggy crust.
Cholent is an Eastern European dish of meats and beans that is cooked very slowly on a very low fl ame. Orthodox Jews do not cook on Shabbat, so this one pot meal is available all day. I did not grow up on cholent, but when I saw Abe Fisher prepares a lamb version with barley and beans done up as a pot pie, I had to try it. I loved the homemade savory fl akey pie crust. This was the fi rst hot dish that arrived hot. Steam emerged as I broke the crust. Lamb is the signature meat at Zahav, so I had high expectations. The bits of lamb were tender, but the gravy was a bit salty. Undercooked beans and barley mingled with the tender lamb.
Desserts had little to do with Jewish cuisine. A slice of Devil’s food cake sitting on an unap-pealing chocolate smudge was just okay. The small honey tart fared better and was quite de-licious.
Service was excellent on a busy evening. The staff kept a watchful eye on the tables and fi lled my complimentary glass of seltzer when it was needed.
Schnitzel is on the menu. Certain dishes in-voke pleasant childhood memories in all of us. Veal schnitzel was a hallmark dish my grand-mother gave to me. At Abe Fisher, the cooks place it in a taco, cover it with anchovy aioli and top it with a health salad.
I just couldn’t.One and one-half tips of the toque to Abe
Fisher. SPR
Abe Fisher
Comment on this restaurant or review at south-phillyreview.com/food-and-drink/reviews.
Photo by Tina Garceau
John’s Roast Pork’s Stuffed Calamarihen John Bucci, who had been assisting op-erations for most of his life beforehand, ac-quired a more prominent role in promoting the wares at John’s Roast Pork, 14 E. Sny-
der Ave., he found himself slightly perturbed, hav-ing thought he would become a sport psychologist. Nearly three decades and thousands of sandwiches later, he revels in regaling people with elements of his remarkable journey, including his beloved role as a humanitarian.
“I’m such a fortunate guy,” the 49-year-old said from his Whitman eatery. “I’ve had such wonderful support in my life overall and especially through my time here.”
The New Jersey inhabitant, who runs the 85-year-old establishment with mother Vonda, whom he said helps to give their operation a “good combination of the old school and the new school,” counts himself as a third-generation tender of hungry tummies, with an admirable list of accolades, including distinction as a James Beard Foundation American Classics win-ner and a South Philly Review Readers’ Choice vic-tor. He also gained tremendous exposure Oct. 31 and Dec. 12 by catering for the College GameDay crew on its stops at Lincoln Financial Field. Like the ath-letes he would have aided had he been able to bring his initial career plan to fruition, he also possesses an admirable appreciation for adversity, having survived a horrendous bout with leukemia.
“I feel I have so much more I want to accomplish, particularly for others,” the native of the 2300 block of South Rosewood Street, who serves as a spokesman for Be The Match and who will donate his Game-Day earnings to a charitable organization, likely the Wounded Warriors Project, said. “I had so much help when I was sick, and I want to be a part of making people wipe their tears and fl ash their smiles.”
Readers are sure to engage in the latter activity through his mother’s Stuffed Calamari recipe. The end result does not appear on John’s Roast Pork’s menu, but Bucci said that if he were to hear over-whelming support for its inclusion, it could join his signature roast pork options, hoagie selections, and grill offerings as yet another reason not to say fare-well to the fl esh.
“It’s so good, I’m not going to lie,” the proprietor gushed. “The difference is the Crock-Pot, and once it’s done, I suggest serving it over spaghetti. It’s per-fect for the holidays, too.”
I N G R E D I E N T S F O R T H E S T U F F I N G :
I N G R E D I E N T S F O R T H E G R A V Y :
D I R E C T I O N S :
In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs lightly, and add the cheeses, black pepper, garlic powder, and parsley. Fold in gently. If the fi lling is dry, add the half and half. Gently fold in the crabmeat, trying not to break it up.
Use a small teaspoon to fi ll the calamari tubes with stuffi ng, making sure not to overstuff, as the tubes will break open. Cinch at the end with a toothpick.
For the gravy, add the oil to a stock pot, and include the vegetables to sauté on medium high, stirring con-stantly to avoid burning. When vegetables become slightly tender, add the tomato sauce and a 1/4 cup of water, and turn up the heat. Add the pepper, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning. Gently add the stuffed squid and tentacles to the gravy. Cook on the stovetop on medium heat for one hour, gently stirring intermit-tently.
Transfer the contents to a Crock-Pot, and cook on low for four to six hours. During the fi nal half hour, add a small bag of frozen peas and perhaps diced car-rots. SPR
Comment at southphillyreview.com/food-and-drink/features.
Owners: John and Vonda Bucci Opened: 1930
14 E. Snyder Ave. 215-463-1951
johnsroastpork.com
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hCAPRICORN (Dec. 22 to Jan. 19): Put your
ideas forward. Your clever interpretation of a situa-
tion will win respect and words of admiration from some-
one you would like to impress. Group efforts will bring
more reward and satisfaction than solo pursuits. A gamble
could pay off generously this week. Lucky number: 937.
AAQUARIUS (Jan. 20 to Feb. 18): It’s a great time
to make travel plans. Good news about an upcom-
ing trip gives you something special to anticipate. You’ve
been working hard and deserve this break. Invite someone
close to share this lovely time with you. Bonds between
friends will grow stronger. The weekend should be good
for dating and fun pastimes. Lucky number: 412.
SPISCES (Feb. 19 to March 20): Taking part in so-cial events connected with your job will be impor-
tant for your career. Accept an invitation to a festive gala or weekend workshop. Benefi ts will come through friend-ships and working relationships. Are you in a committed romance? You will both be happy making future plans. Lucky number: 287.
DARIES (March 21 to April 20): Friends and fam-ily will share your happy feelings. Expect to enjoy
fascinating conversations and to receive intriguing invita-tions. A group project will bring unexpected joy. Funds raised will go toward helping the underprivileged in your community. Have fun, but avoid excess. Lucky number: 029.
GTAURUS (April 21 to May 20): Benefi ts come through friendship and group activities. You’ll be
introduced to someone who appeals to you romantically. If you are single, encourage this, as it would be a great time to embark on a romance. If partnered, put some distance between you and the temptations that confront you. Lucky number: 896.
GGEMINI (May 21 to June 20): Some people are touchy and hard to get along with. You and your
partner or best friend aren’t seeing eye to eye over festive arrangements. Strive to avoid arguments over travel, in-laws and joint fi nances, as sometimes it pays to keep your mouth shut. Lucky number: 735.
HCANCER (June 21 to July 22): An old friend will send a special invitation. You could fi nd your-
self shopping for a new outfi t on the spur of the moment. Expect happiness in affairs of the heart. If you are single, someone sexy will catch your eye. Chances for a passion-ate affair are strong. Lucky number: 904.
aLEO (July 23 to Aug. 22): In-depth thinking will lead to some great accomplishments. Useful busi-
ness information will come through unexpected channels. Let your imagination run wild. You could be surprised by how keen people are to hear your suggestions. Put into practice your innovative ideas about how to further an am-bition. Lucky number: 780.
sVIRGO (Aug. 23 to Sept. 22): You’re prepared to put in the effort because you can visualize a cre-
ative project’s outcome. An inspirational new venture will bring pleasing profi ts. Others, too, stand to benefi t. Neigh-borhood changes bring an upsurge of interest and activity in your community. You and a neighbor are speaking the
same language. Lucky number: 378.
dLIBRA (Sept. 23 to Oct. 22): Do whatever it takes to get a desired outcome. Take the time and trouble
to think things through thoroughly. Ask others to clarify hazy areas if you’re tackling new jobs. Joining forces with a partner will help you to push past obstructive barriers. Lucky number: 347.
fSCORPIO (Oct. 23 to Nov. 21): Modest specula-tion could be rewarding. A fi nancial refund, holi-
day bonus or insurance settlement is coming. You’re on a lucky streak, making this a good time to sign legal or fi nancial documents. You might also discuss family proj-ects and address romantic issues that have caused confl ict. Lucky number: 673.
gSAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 to Dec. 21): You are tempted to pull out of a joint effort since it isn’t
meeting with your expectations. Don’t spoil it for others or yourself by giving up on anything before it has had a proper chance. Lucky number: 520. SPR
To inquire about a personal reading, call Mystic Terry at 215-467-5162. Comment at southphillyre-view.com/arts-and-entertainment/horoscopes.
CHRISTMAS COMES AGAIN! ACROSS 1. Pole or Croat 5. Bazaars 10. Likelihood 14. Your 15. Congenital 17. Law expert 20. Christmas 23. Feller 24. Pen point 25. Mariner 26. Inexplicable 28. Hitchcock or
Scorsese: abbr. 29. Kernels’ place 31. Bovine feature 34. Holiday __ 35. Urgent request 36. Calendar abbr. 39. On the town 40. Mighty trees 41. Christmas 48. Over 49. Like icicles 50. City in Florida 54. Servant 55. Buried box 58. DE followers 60. Stunned 61. Connector 62. Hoopla 63. Highland Scot 65. __ to; made
aware of 67. Pudding choice 70. Good, long looks 72. Mexican dishes 75. Be __; carp at
one’s hubby 77. Ones with feast
days: abbr. 78. Young animal
81. Video game maker
82. Kirkcaldy accessory
84. Least restricted 86. Top rating 87. Mediterranean
tree 88. Adapt one’s
machinery 90. Nostalgic song 91. Christmas 97. Decorates
90. Poet’s word 92. Sinatra’s third 93. Univ.’s Internet
domain suffi x 94. AP rival 95. Bike part 96. Shrink 97. UN member 98. Shore 99. Albert, for one 104. Impudent 105. Chicago paper,
familiarly
107. Yens 108. German river
valley 109. Holey item 111. Word of lament 113. “__ Around”;
Beach Boys hit 114. Former Iranian
leader 115. Words to Brutus 116. Get rid of 118. For a 2nd time 121. Modern: pref. 122. Credit record
agcy. 123. Conjunctions 124. Solemn promise
Crossword solution on page Sudoku solution on page 26
Psychic Reader
Follow us on
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36
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3 C
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DA
Y!
In Loving Memory Of
Charles “Tank” WrightIT’S BEEN ONE YEAR SINCE YOU LEFT US.
I STILL SEE YOU HERE.YOU ARE MISSED VERY MUCH.HAVE A HAPPY CHRISTMAS
AND A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR.
LOVE DEBBY, JENNY, CHUCK & DANA, DANI & DREW
01.30.50 12.22.14
Dominic Pinto
It’s Christmas again, 10th Christmas without you, your smile, your jokes and more...
We love you and miss you so much, we are thinking of you all the time.
You will be forever in our hearts.
Merry Christmas Dominic and Happy New Year.
Love you, Mom, Tony and family
Merry ChristmasIn Loving Memory
ofDolores A.In life we loved you dearly,In death we love you still.
In our hearts you hold a place,
No one can ever fi ll.
Sadly Missed As Always,Your Loving Family
Andrew Merry Christmas Baby GirlAnother part of Christmas was taken away.Another part of my family has gone away.
It’s hard to put into words what I really want to say,because we’re still hurting in every way.
But it’s there Christmas too and they don’t want us to be sad.So let’s try to enjoy this Christmas Day.
We still have loved ones and friends with us on this day.
From Me & Marie , John & BarbMERRY CHRISTMAS
To all our family and friends.HAVE A SAFE NEW YEAR
P.S. to Marie, Mom, Charles, my Mom, Jimmy, Vicki, JoannYou’re always with us
Memories Live on ForeverT.T.S.D
MARIE &LEO
M�ie Clark 4-18-56 5-27-93
MARIE &LEO
Christmas is here once more and we all wish you were
here to spend it with us.
You are forever in our hearts.
Love from your wife Susan, Sons; Ralphie, Anthony Jr., Joey and
Michael
MERRY CHRISTMAS
3.19.41 - 10.12.13
MICHAEL FINACARO
12.26.41 - 07.09.93
Miss & Love You more than ever.
Love Always, Jeannie
Merry Christmas & Happy Birthday
To My Special Angel.
PHOTO QUALITY NOTE: We cannot be held responsible for reproduction of poor quality photographs. This includes those with a high percentage of red or orange, far away shots, poorly lit, low resolution or out of focus images. We will always try to get the best quality reproduction, but can not guarantee.
SOCIAL AND OBIT DEADLINE: THURSDAYS @ 4:30PM FOR MORE INFO EMAIL: [email protected]
Or to place an ad online visit:www.southphillyreview.com/community/submit-your-ad.html
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Guerin Recreation Center, 2201 S. 16th St., will host a youth indoor foot hockey instruc-tional league Wednesday and Thursday eve-nings for beginners ages 10 and younger. No equipment is necessary, with the fee being $25 for a shirt and an award. Call 215-685-1894.
In Class AAAA Liberty play, South Philadelphia High School football players Samid Williams, Wayne Christian, Martell Marshall, Williamson Sankara, and Harry Miller received All-Public kudos. Over in Class AA play, Academy at Palumbo’s Deen Whitaker, Tahir Cruse, Ernest Holland, and Ian Barrett also won all-league distinction, while Prep Charter’s Quadir Strothers, John Davis, Marcus Bryant, Heston Jenkins, Cheick Diawara, Karamo Dioubate, Ro-meo Outland, Anthony Thomas, Marque McDuffy, Kareem Dennis, and Edward Saydee likewise claimed merit. Strothers won MVP honors, too.
Eagles play-by-play Merrill Reese will receive the fi rst Bill Campbell Broadcast Award Feb. 1 as part of the Cherry Hill-situated 112th annual Philadelphia Sports Writers Association banquet. Tickets are $95 through pswadinner.com.
SEYAA, Seventh and Bigler streets, is reg-istering for its winter sports programs that begin January 11. Co-ed biddy basketball will be for ages 4 to 6, basketball will be for youths 7 to 8 and 9 to 10, and indoor soc-cer will be for ages 4 to 7. Action occurs at the Taggart School Gym at Fifth and Porter streets, with action running through mid-March. The fees are $40 for basketball and $20 for soccer. Register via [email protected] by sending your child’s name and date of birth and your contact phone number.
The Philadelphia Soul will hold an open tryout at the NovaCare Complex, One No-vaCare Way, Jan. 30. Pre-registration fees before Jan. 29 are $65 via PayPal, and the day-of cost is $80. Registration will begin at 8 a.m., with stretching starting an hour later. Visit philadelphiasoul.com.
South Philadelphia Sports Training will hold a winter break warmup baseball camp Dec. 28 to 30 for players 7 to 13 years old. Cost is $90, and there will be three available time sessions. Call 267-223-9737, or send email to [email protected]. SPR
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from the staff of the South Philly Review
The 12/31 issue of the South Philly Review will hit doorsteps on Wednesday, 12/30. Deadline for space reservation will be Monday at 2 pm. Please contact your sales rep. for more details.
The Review offices will be closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
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FOR LOCAL NEWS, EVENTS AND COMMUNITY
HAPPENINGS!
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A foundation overseer will celebrate his deceased son’s
commitment to the crestfallen through
an FDR Park-situated fundraiser.
Review Ed itor
earts seem to grow warmer when temperature become colder, but Ke-van Isaacs never contemplated the calendar when considering how to
comfort the crestfallen. On Sunday, his patriarch, Gary, on what would have been the young man’s 28th birthday, will over-see the second Homeless for the Holidays 5K Run/2K Walk, the chief fundraising en-deavor for the Pennies From Kevan Foun-dation.
“He always wanted to do for others,” the father said of the oldest of his three children. “He possessed an admirably ide-alistic and compassionate view of life that opened my mind to the greater opportuni-ties possible through doing small acts of kindness.”
Gary will join friends and loved ones 10 a.m. at Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park, Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, for their homage to Kevan, who died sud-denly Dec. 21, 2013. As the commissioner of the Greater Philadelphia Flag Football League, which holds games at the recre-ational haven, the pensive parent is hoping that further healing will come from ventur-ing to a location so dear to him to tackle a matter that was so key to Kevan.
“He would walk through Center City and just wonder how people could overlook suffering individuals,” Gary said of his de-scendant. “In the rat race of humanity, he couldn’t comprehend how there could be so little care given to their futures.”
Everyone knows Philadelphia as the City of Brotherly Love, but numerous nicknames, some quite condescending, might sound more appropriate, especially when considering its staggering 26-per-cent poverty rate and designation as the nation’s deepest poverty-stricken turf among America’s 10 biggest cities. Yet
while some might chastise Philadelphia as say, the City of Misplaced Priorities for a number of reasons, Kevin Isaacs saw it as a realm where real change could occur.
“He didn’t align himself with any or-ganization, but he didn’t fear looking to be someone’s advocate,” Gary said of the Montgomery County product. “There was an instant comfortable connection between him and the homeless population, and we value that to this day.”
The Society Hill inhabitant confessed that he occasionally felt concerned for Kevan given how givers can often become victims of circumstances far beyond their control but added that he ultimately felt that his son knew exactly what he was doing and that Kevan unwaveringly ex-pressed faith in ripple effects. That devo-tion inspired Gary and ex-wife Margaret Marron to take immediate action upon hearing of their children’s sudden depar-ture, with Gary stating that far more needs to occur to cripple poverty’s grip on this city and the nation.
“Again, though, it does not have to be a bunch of people looking for a grand solu-tion; every bit of effort will help,” he said.
“Now that I ponder what we’re doing, and with the event being so close to happening, I think about talks we had about possibly opening a facility or making some kind of contribution to the cause. I just wish I were doing this with him and not in remem-brance of him.”
GARY ISAACS ALWAYS revered his progeny’s progression through the world, confi ding that as puberty began, Kevan started to ex-press his comprehension of his environs in a much more introverted yet nonetheless compassionate manner.
“He used to be incredibly competitive, but he started to question the point of that,” Gary said. “He started to think more about the greater needs of society and lived knowing that addressing them was going to make him happier than playing a sport, for example.”
Through their ’10 move to Philadelphia, the two took to engaging in long conver-sations concerning many topics, includ-ing the plight of the poor. Kevan’s ideas seemed so sound yet so amazingly simple that Gary came to two conclusions.
“I thought either he’s nuts or I am,” he
said with a laugh. “It all just seemed so easy to believe in and enact even with all the opposition we hear about and live through with regards to helping down-on-their-luck people.”
Saying farewell to his son at Center City’s St. John the Evangelist Church, Gary, who also beams with pride over Bryan and Grace, his other children, knew he had to keep the example of his fallen son alive by transforming his grief into action.
“The pain is very raw, and you’re never going to get over someone’s passing fully,” he explained. “You have two choices when you’re going through immense sadness; you can disappear, or you can do some-thing of value to keep you from the emo-tional land mines.”
Determined to help as much as possible, Gary established the foundation with the notion that nobody should see people as being less worthy of love and support because they lack a location to tab their home. The calendar was kind last year, with Kevan’s birthday falling on a Satur-day, so he situated their premier walk/run blend at FDR Park and will again celebrate his birthday through this weekend’s op-portunity.
“We’d love to top what we did last year,” the 56-year-old said of uniting more than 150 registrants for the event that raised over $5,000 to provide resources for fami-lies in Kensington. Sunday’s outpouring of support will help Covenant House PA and St. Francis Inn, with the overseer ponder-ing other means to draw even more atten-tion to and resources for one of society’s most harrowing scourges. With the weak-est among us certain to face their strongest foe when winter winds and snow remind us of their might, individuals like Kevan, completely content with being a silent yet suffi cient supporter, must blow back ad-versity and strive.
“The momentum must remain intact,” Gary said. “In fact, it has to increase. “Like Kevan, we can’t let fear stop us in our tracks.” SPR
Call 267-250-5399, or visit pennies-fromkevan.org or homelessfortheholi-days.org.
Contact Editor Joseph Myers at [email protected] or ext. 124. Comment at southphillyreview.com/sports/features.
Photos by Tina Garceau and Gary I saacs
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THINKING OF SELLING? CALL 215.778.0901 THINKING OF BUYING? CALL 215.440.8345
PENNSPORT $365,000Beautiful 4BD/1BA home prime Pennsport location! Tile vestibule entry leads into the main hallway with wainscoting; to the right enter the formal living room through
original glass door, chandelier and a completely renovated gourmet kitchen. This home is the perfect blend of modern convenience and old world charm.
POINT BREEZE $219,900Bilevel 1 bedroom, 1 bath unit in Point Breeze with 2-car parking! Enter through white vinyl fence into a huge yard with grass and covered patio porch. Living room
kitchen offers bar counter, white cabinetry, Bosche dishwasher, gas cooking and pantry closet. Steps lead up to the large bedroom with two closets, large window, glass block window and full tile bathroom.
PENNSPORT $384,900
powder room and bar counter to the all-new kitchen with maple cabinetry, granite countertops, custom tiled backsplash, stainless steel appliances, pendant light-ning and sliding glass doors out to a quaint yard.
SOUTH PHILADELPHIA $189,900
stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, stainless steel backsplash and door out to nice decked in yard. Nestled in-between the exciting neighborhoods of Pennsport and Passyunk Square!
Patrick Conway 215-266-1537
Kathy Conway
215-850-3842
90% OF OUR BUSINESS COMES FROM FRIENDS TELLING FRIENDS.
18 Homes SOLD this Month
NEW LISTING - 115 DICKINSON ST - Wonderful Double Wide Property! Great for First Time Home Buyer or Investment. Prop-erty runs back to Wilder St. 2 BR’s, Living Rm, Lg Eat in Kitchen, Yard & Bsmt. $199,900 1504 S 5TH ST - Beautiful Renovated 4-5 BR, 2.5 BA Federal Style Home w/ 3056 Sq Ft, Hrwd Flrs, Eat in Kitchen with Island, 2 Zoned Heating/Cooling & Patio. $429,900 1748 MOLE ST - An Extra Wide Federal Period Beautiful Home w/ 4 BR + Offi ce/Den, 2 BA, LR, DR, EIK, Hrwd Flrs, 2 Fps, Garden & Basement. $479,900 1520 E MOYAMENSING AVE - Stunning Completely Renovated Contemporary 2 BR, 1.5 BA Home w/ LR/DR, Hrwd Flrs T/O, Granite Eat in Kitchen, SS & Finished Basement. $229,000143 Roseberry St - A Great 3 BR Home w/ Beautiful Brick facade, LR, DR, Huge Eat in Kitchen, Patio & Finished Basement. $169,900332 Fitzgerald St - A 3 Bedroom Home in Whitman. LR, DR, Eat in Kitchen, Yard & Basement. Property needs Updating. $110,000 349 Fitzgerald St - Unbelievable 2 BR Home! A True WOW! Open & Spacious LR/DR, Hrwd Flrs, EIK w/ Breakfast Bar, Granite, Dramatic Floating Staircase, Spa Bath w/ Double Vanity, Finished Basement & Nice Yard. $234,900
1710 S Front St - Incredible Newer Construction Corner Prop-erty w/ 2 BR, 2 BA, LR, DR, Huge EIK, Yard & Finished Basement. Garage (14 x 32) behind the house at 105 Watkins St. included in the sale. $350,000 115 Catharine St - Fab House w/ Parking, Terrfi c Space, 4 BR + Huge Den, 2.5 BA, Hrwd Flrs T/O, Fp, 3000 Sq Ft + Garden. $899,000 1442 S 2nd St - A Huge 3 Story, 3 + BR Home with LR/DR, Hard-wood Floors, Fp, Lg EIK, Great Size Yard and Basement. $319,900 424 Dickinson St - Wonderful 4 BR, 2.5 Bath Home w/HW fl rs T/O, Granite Kitchen & Fireplace. $379,0001705 Ritner St - A Very Large 4 BR, 1.5 BA Home that Needs Updat-ing! HW fl oors, EIK, LR, DR, & Bsmt. $217,000 1725 S 2nd St - Mixed Use Property. 18x80. 1st Fl is Huge Open raw Space, 2nd Fl: 1 BR, 1 BA Apt w/ HW Flrs & EIK. $280,0001727 S.2nd St - Huge Corner Mixed Use Property w/ 2 Sep Entrances. 20x70. 1st Flr: Wide open Space. 2nd Fl: 2 BR, 1 BA, HW Flrs & EIK. (1723, 1725 & 1727 S.2nd St can be sold as a package. Call for details.) $300,0001520 S. 27th - Great investment opportunity. 3BR, 1BA home, lg kitchen & yard. Being sold as is. $59,900
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!Patrick, Myself and Our Entire team sincerely Thank you for another Great Year. We Wish all the Best of Health, Peace,
Prosperity and Happiness during the Holidays and in the New Year.
Our Warmest and Best Wishes to You and Yours, Kathy and Pat
PENDING
PENDING
PENDING
PENDING
PENDING
PENDING
SOLD
Two bedroom apartment forrent- Girard Estate
Second floor $1200/month, 1year lease. 2500 block southCleveland Street, 19145. Hard-wood floors throughout.Washer and dryer on site. Ten-ant responsible for utilities. Nopets. 215-203-6993
You’ll love coming Home for the Holidays & Everyday thereafter! Call for details and a private showing -
Happiest New Year Ever!
REAL ESTATEAPARTMENT FOR RENT? HOUSE FOR SALE?CONTACT THE REVIEW TO PLACE YOUR LISTINGS
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APARTMENTS FOR RENT
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To advertise in SPR call: 215-336-2500
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EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITYAll real estate advertised in this newspaper is subject to federal, state and local fair housing laws, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation, or discrimination based on race; color; religion;sex; disability; familial; (pres-ence of children); national origin; age (Pennsylvania and New Jersey); martial status or sexual orientation (Pennsylvania and New Jersey), or source of Income (Philadelphia only) in the sale, rental or financing or insuring of housing. This paper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which violates these laws. The law requires that all dwellings advertised be available on an equal opportunity basis. If you believe you have been discriminated against in connection with the sale, rent, financing or insuring of housing or commercial property, call HUD at 1-888-799-2085
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NOVENA TO THE HOLY SPIRITHoly Spirit, You who solve all problems, light all roads, so that I can attain my goal. You gave me the divine gift to forgive and forget all evil against me and that in all instances of my life You are with me. I want in this short prayer to thank You for all things as You confirm once again that I never want to be separated from You even in spite of all mate-rial illusions. I wish to be with You in eternal glory. Thank You for your mercy towards me and mine. This prayer must be said for three days and after three days the favor will be granted. The prayer must be published immediately. M.D.
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