THE BIG WOODMERSKI

The Legendary Danny O’Doul

“Sometimes there’s a man…

 Won’t say a hero, ’cause, what’s a hero?

Sometimes, there’s a man. And I’m talkin’ about the Dude here…

 well, he’s the man for his time and place.”

– The Stranger’s Intro (annotated) from “The Big Lebowski” ©1998 The Coen Brothers

Well, sometimes there’s a man – not necessarily a hero — but certainly the man for his time and place – right now, right here in Nassau County.  A man who takes this world on his own terms and does the right thing.  A man who stands up and says that the current aggression will not stand.  A man?  No really more – The Dude. So, who is this man with great “Dude-like” qualities…who is this man for our time and place?

Well, how many of you were going to say, Howard Kopel?  Sure, you were.  Why not, he just pummeled Moser in yesterday’s elections.  He’s riding high and walking tall. But is he The MAN…The Dude?  Hell no, he is just the winner.  Even Mark Bonilla who sent Steve Anchin packing, back on the last train to Hewlett, has no “Dude” in him.  Even Kate Murray won too, but she is perhaps, “The Anti-Dude,” or more like The Old Lebowski with his family – the Little Lebowski Achievers!

So, who is this man for his time and place?  Who is “The Dude” of The Five Towns?” Well, I’ll give you a hint – he’s the only guy in these Five Towns who is known as, “The Legendary.”  Yes, brain trust, it is me – The Legendary Danny O’Doul! And, no one wears a patterned hand-knit zip-up cardigan with more aplomb than I do. But, looks and wardrobe aside – there is something more that makes me the “man for his time and place – I have a plan!

Yes, by now you are all familiar with my plan – my plan to incorporate Woodmere as a Village and turn this past gold mining town — which has now evolved into a ghost town – into a vibrant center for fashion, the arts, music and literature.  Oh, and also as home for a genuine “Vilna-Quality” Yeshiva where observant Jewish buckaroos will come from all over “The towns” to get some high-class old-time learnin’ done!

And, we’ll even attract some world-class bowlers and bar flies back to the Woodmere Lanes where I know they serve a mean “sarsaparilla” (and O’Doul’s) and are rumored to make a very satisfying “White Russian,” though I never had one, seeing that I haven’t drunk in over 21 years.  Yeah, the bowling alley will attract a very sophisticated, hip crowd – all wearing there “Dude” sweaters.  And some will dress as Walter Sobchak  — the Jewish, gun-brandishing, pal of “The Dude,” who is Shomer Shabbos – meaning, he doesn’t “roll on Shabbos” – Saturday, the Jewish Day of Rest!

So, as a man for his time and place…a Dude…I will leave you with a message for the future.  A thought that really “ties these Five Town together!”  And, that thought is…“Follow the tumblin’ tumbleweed” right down to the soon-to-be incorporated Village of Woodmere!

Thank you all.  Oh, and The Legendry Danny O’Doul abides!

This is The Legendary Danny O’Doul signing off and hoping that this weekend you will all “take it easy!”