63 THE QUEENS COURIER • APRIL 15, 2022 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Victoria’s
SECRETS
Victoria
SCHNEPSYUNIS
vschneps@schnepsmedia.com
An open letter to Jonah
It’s been a stunningly fast
13 years since you were
born on the West
Coast. Now, watching
you stand
on the bema
smoothly reading
your Torah
portion at your
bar mitzvah
made my heart
burst with love
and pride.
You had come
to live with me
when you were 4
years old and had
lost your dad, Sam, in May, just
after I had lost my husband Stu in
March. You and 2-year-old Addy
moved in for seven years and I had
the joy of your company every day
during that precious time.
You grew to be a fast runner and
you found your passion in sports.
I remember driving miles to
Oyster Bay on a cold night to
watch you enthusiastically play
lacrosse and cheer on your team
whether you were on the field or off.
You were the boy who said to
his teammates, “good play,” or,
“you’ll get the goal next time.” I
was always so proud to see you
support everyone around you.
I love how you protect and cherish
and watch over your younger
sister, Addy, even though you
have your fights from time to time.
It’s not easy growing up without
a dad, yet you have always been
there for your family.
Your heart is as big as a
football field — a place where I
feared you playing! But your
persistence to play paid off
and you convinced your
mom to let you do it.
Whenever I
watch you play,
I shut my eyes
and hope
your skinny
body won’t
get crushed.
But you’re so
fast and mostly
elude the players
trying to stop you.
But my heart beats
fast when I watch you run
like lightning with the ball to score
a touchdown!
I know you want to be a professional
player, but only time will
tell if your body will cooperate!
I remember when your Uncle
Josh had a similar dream, but after
suffering a broken ankle while sliding
into home plate and then separating
his shoulder while wrestling,
he decided to take another
path. First, he was off to business
school, then to investment banking,
until he eventually became my
partner in the media company I
started — lucky me!
Not only do you excel at sports,
but in school, too! Your almost
perfect report card speaks to
the guaranteed success in life at
anything you choose to do!
You are now, by Jewish law, a
man. The world is yours to create
a path that brings you joy
and love.
May God be with you and give
you the courage to deal with the
challenges you will face in life.
But no matter what, you are
guaranteed a family who loves
you, cherishes you, respects you,
adores you and appreciates your
uniquely beautiful heart and mind.
Here’s to you from your biggest
fan! Mazel tov, my dearest
darling Jonah!
— Your loving Grammy
A surprisingly superb night
When Ernie Canadeo,
president and CEO of
Th e EGC Group, and his
wife Catherine invited me to join
them for dinner and a show, I said
yes before getting the details.
It was a night to get together and
that was good enough for me to
accept their gracious invitation. But
little did I know, I was in for an
extraordinary surprise.
We met at Chadwick’s American
Chop House & Bar, a charming
place near the Rockville Centre
LIRR station, and hurried through
a delicious dinner to get to the
Madison Th eatre on the Molloy
College campus.
My friend and colleague Joan
MacNaughton and I made our way
to the school, rushing to make it
before the 7 p.m. curtain rise.
It wasn’t until I was in my thirdrow,
center seat, that I saw the program
title of the performance:
“Gershwin to Broadway,” a benefi t
for Catholic Relief Services raising
much-needed dollars for victims of
the war in Ukraine.
Aft er meeting Ernie and Cathy’s
friends seated around me, I sat back
to enjoy the show.
My breath was taken away as
Jeremy Stolle, the extraordinarily
talented star of my favorite
Broadway show, “Th e Phantom of
the Opera” — he has performed
in 5,500 shows! — brought down
the house with a brilliantly written
opening song that parodied his love
of Starbucks.
Th e show continued with one
standing ovation aft er another as
we heard great opera singers Raquel
Suarez Groen and Carlton Moe
performing Verdi and Puccini
favorites.
Tears fi lled my eyes as I was transfi
xed on pianist Philip Edward
Fisher performing George
Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.”
What a treat!
Th en onto the stage came Billy
Joel’s favorite saxophone player and
Long Islander Richie Cannata.
Th e ensemble of world-class performers
were joined by Molloy’s
chorus singers and got a standing
ovation for their rendition of “You’ll
Never Walk Alone.”
Th ere was encore aft er encore — I
couldn’t get enough of the talented
people brought to us by empresarios
Drs. Louis and Julie Pannullo, who
had organized the show.
I wanted the winning night to last
forever!
Molloy College President Dr.
James Lentini, himself a musician,
spoke about his joy of off ering his
school’s theater and stage with his
artistic director Angelo Fraboni.
I’m looking forward to hearing
every minute of the show again from
the video recording that was made.
To make a donation through
Catholic Relief services, visit support.
crs.org/donate/donate-ukra i ne.
Jonah at his
bar mitzvah
Jonah on the
football fifi eld.
Generational joy at
Jonah’s bar mitzvah!
With Catherine Canadeo, Terri Magrow, Jeremy Stolle,
Joan MacNaughton, Dr. James Lentini and Ernie Canadeo
Cousinly love!
Jonah with his mom
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