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February 13, 2012
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Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
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Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
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Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
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Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
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January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
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January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
July 13, 2009
/ 20 Tamuz 5769
Bull Running Scary, but Always a Good Story
By
Mitch Albom
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
News item: A young Spanish man was gored to death last week, in the traditional running of the bulls in Pamplona.
I ran with the bulls once. Just over 20 years ago. I was younger and faster back then. I was also drunk. Everyone was. What most people don't realize about that famous Spanish tradition popularized by Ernest Hemmingway in "The Sun Also Rises" is that it is part of the weeklong festival of St. Fermin, and another part of that festival is drinking all night. And I mean all night.
Then, when the sun comes up, they close the bars, block the exits, and let the beasts loose. Imagine telling thousands of tired, tipsy people to run a 100-yard dash after a full night of Mardi Gras. It would be crazy without bulls.
On my particular night in Pamplona, I saw more injuries during the dark than during the light. I saw a barefoot woman step onto glass and bleed profusely before dunking her foot into a large cup of beer. I saw several fistfights and shoving matches.
Fortunately, I had a mentor, a local guy named Pablo whom I met that night. He wore the traditional red scarf and white shirt and told me his family had been running with the bulls for generations. He had enough English to ask if I would introduce him to American girls, and I had enough sense to say only if he ran with me come morning.
We made a deal.
For all I know, it saved my life.
SAFETY IN NUMBERS
Here's the way the whole thing works. Around 8 a.m., after a few prayers sung by the masses, the bulls are released from the corral. They stampede through the narrow, cobblestone streets and finish about a half-mile later, in the stadium, where they will soon be killed in bullfights.
So they're racing to their deaths. Can you blame them for wanting to take a few of us along?
What Pablo taught me in addition to a whole new appreciation for how much sangria one Spaniard can drink was to stay away from the start of the bull run because they go right past you, and to stay away from the end because it narrows into a tunnel and there is no place to go if the bull decides to use his horns.
Then Pablo rolled up a newspaper and made jabbing movements, although I couldn't imagine using newsprint against charging livestock.
Pablo also said, "the solo bull es muy malo" meaning the worst thing you could do is wind up one-on-one with a confused and angry animal.
And according to reports, that is what happened last week. A bull got separated from the pack and began goring at spectators. It threw one young man, then went at his neck. The man later died in a hospital, after emergency surgery.
The next day, they did it all again.
UNSPOILED TRADITION
I imagine if the running of the bulls were an American tradition, we would have stopped it by now. Some protest group (People Against Goring, The Pro-Bull Movement, The Society To Prevent Cruelty To Tourists) would have hounded it out of existence.
But I am glad it goes on in Spain. Not because of the occasional fatality (the last one was 14 years ago). Obviously, that's tragic. But people fall over railings at baseball games and get trampled at soccer games and die on racetracks and those things keep going.
No, the reason I'm glad it continues is because Pamplona is not Las Vegas and bull running is not the Super Bowl. It remains a rare old tradition in a small, foreign city that hasn't been co-opted by Visa or Budweiser, doesn't carry a corporate name, has no sponsors or drug tests and offers no prize other than to say you did it.
And maybe you learned from it. Maybe you made a few foreign friends and you have something to look back on and say, "I was young, that was crazy, but I went, it was fun, it got me out of my comfort zone and it gave me perspective on how big the planet really is."
That's what I think when I remember those cobblestone streets. That, and Pablo poking at bulls with a rolled-up newspaper. What words were on those curled pages, I wonder? Perhaps another writer recalling a wild memory from his youth. If so, one story became part of another, which is how life should be.
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