A Rabbi, a Mayor, and a Cheerleader Walk into a Blog....

Hmmm.

I swear this isn’t how I planned this, but I have to work some pictures in here.

In the last thirty days, I’ve had my picture taken with the mayor of one of the fifty largest cities in the United States, a cheerleader from a NCAA Division 1 school, and a rabbi.

See if you can tell who is who.

Exhibit "A"

Exhibit "B"
Exhibit "C"

If you guessed that picture "A" was of me with a rabbi, clearly you have no concept of what a rabbi is. Everyone knows that rabbis generally don’t grow past 6 and a half feet tall. If they do, they tend to have problems with chuppas, which make them undesirable wedding officiators.

You’d be closer if you guessed cheerleader from Syracuse. You’d be closer, but you’d still be wrong. The man I am pictured with is none other than the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, Mufi Hanneman. He played basketball at Harvard and is 6’ 7” (too tall for a rabbi). I met Mayor Hanneman at an Iolani alumni event in New York City on February 29 and he
indulged me with a photo. He graduated from Iolani in June 1972, three months before I matriculated there as a kindergartener.

This picture was taken by Frogma and my original intent was to just show it to my Mom so she could show it to everyone she knew and brag that the Mayor and I were cool enough to do the simultaneous shaka. I decided to include this picture in the post because, if I asked people to guess who was a rabbi and who was a cheerleader, that would be too easy. Throwing in a mayor
spices things up a bit.

If you thought the picture "B" was of me with a rabbi, clearly, again, you have no concept of what a rabbi is. And Annie (the one without the tie or grey in her hair) is too young to be mayor. Annie is on the cheerleading squad at Syracuse University and was in town for the Big East basketball tournament at Madison Square Garden.

If you are perplexed by the fact that a random cheerleader half my age would agree to be photographed with me, don’t be. Annie is the cousin of a co-worker and was swinging by work to say hi to her after the game. This photo demonstrates that sometimes it pays to be in the right place at the right time. I was also aided by the fact that I always wear deodorant and have a generally pleasant disposition.

Ok. I’m sure all you geniuses have deduced that picture "C" is with me and a rabbi. Sure, he’s a young rabbi, but he’s still a rabbi. A rabbi who agreed to pose with me the same day I had my picture taken with Annie. Rabbi Micah Kelber was willing to be photographed with me because he is a regular visitor to BillyBlog and he agreed that his presence would help lessen the shock that many readers would have after seeing a picture of yours truly with a cheerleader.

I am using Rabbi Kelber’s full name because now, when people google his name, they will find BillyBlog, and see how cool he is, being in the same post with a cheerleader and the Mayor of Honolulu. It's Six Degrees of Billy Cohen.

[On a side note, I am seen walking across the screen as the credits roll in a show called "Tales from the Whoop: Hot Rod Brown Class Clown". Whoopi Goldberg starred in that. Whoopi was in Ghost with Demi Moore. Demi Moore was in A Few Good Men with, you guessed it, Kevin Bacon. That's only three degrees for me.]

Thanks to Mayor Mufi, Annie, and Rabbi Kelber for helping me with this post.