ANT KATZ

Carry-on Baggage

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A fast review on Amazon.com from “Marcelle” who gave this book a four (out of five) Star Rating was posted on 13 April and reads as follows: “Interesting story, made more relevant being South African. Some excellent insights into what makes us tick; some religion, some parenting, some business and some personal. A good fast read.”

Howard Feldman was a high-flying commodity trader, living a seemingly perfect life, with a perfect wife and perfect children, in an unbelievably perfect world.

He was chairman of the Board of the SA Jewish Report (he is still a member) and the brother-in-law of Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein.

King of bling

His tie was Hermès and belt Ferragamo (until the Hermès belt with the H became the item of choice), suits were Boss or Armani (little else would do unless it is custom made, but only in London and not by the tailors in Hong Kong as everyone knew that they aren’t up to par).

Shoes were Prada. Rolex was passé unless it was the Daytona. IWC was always acceptable, Hublot – too in your face, Cartier worked and Panerai said “I have class, have money and I am aware of the latest trends”. Howard had two.

Ties had to be skinny, unless you were not. Louis Vuitton luggage was “showy” unless plain black. Tumi roll-on, in black, with the briefcase that slides over the handle was a pre-requisite. Check-in baggage was embarrassing and very uncool even though you had more weight allowance than God…

But then this “King of Chrome” got mugged… and mugged again in short order. Then he got sick. His business folded. And his carry-on baggage simply gets too heavy to hold.

LEFT: Howard Feldman

As Howard unpacks his bags – both literal and metaphorical – he unravels all the “perfect” banners he has raised to the world, his family, his community and himself.

He measures their value against a new benchmark of success, and reconsiders his life’s travels from Zug to Zimbabwe, New York to Tel Aviv.

Returning home to South Africa, he discovers not just the meaning of home, family and friendship, but also himself.

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Win a hard- or e-copy worth almost R200 

All you have to do to win one of these amazing books is follow these simple rules and regulations:

1. Write a comment below this story and tell us why YOU would like to read Howard’s story and why YOU feel YOU deserve to win one of the six copies;
2. Make sure to give us your e-mail address when posting the comment. It will not display and you are welcome to use a nom deplume, but without your e-mail address we cannot contact you if you win a copy;
3. If you are not already one of the thousands of subscribers to SAJR Online, enter your e-mail address in the green box on the right hand side of this page. Only registered subscribers can win. As a subscriber you get the ePaper every Wednesday evening, together with a newsletter and links to stories on the website that do not appear in the newspaper – as well as regular competitions;
4. If you do not want to remain a subscriber once the competition winners are drawn, every week’s newsletter has an option to “unsubscribe”;
5. Winners out of Johannesburg but in South Africa who choose a hard-copy will have it forwarded to them by the publisher;
6. Winners out of SA will only be eligible for an e-book;
7. The winners will be drawn at noon on Tuesday 7 July;
8. Their names (or nom deplumes) will be published on the SAJR Facebook page and website on the same day;
9. The names will also be published in the newsletter of 8 July and the same week’s print edition of the newspaper; and
10. Winners have to be prepared to be photographed at the Editor’s discretion for promotional purposes.

The six winning entries will be those who have motivated best as to why they want the book and deserve to win a copy. Winners will be selected by a management panel from SA Jewish Report. Their decision will be final and binding and no correspondence or queries whatsoever shall be entertained thereafter.

HOWARD’S WEBSITE: www.thewriteoutlook.com
HOWARD ON TWITTER: www.twitter.com/HowardFeldman
To find out more about Howard Feldman’s book, and how it became a best-seller almost overnight, read more on AMAZON or the PUBLISHER’S WEBSITE

“Best $10 I have spent in a long time,” wrote another reviewer, M Warshawsky, on Amazon.com in December. He gave the book a full Five Stars. “The story of a forty five year old man with unique life experiences, told without any hint of pretense or self-righteousness. While it can be argued that all of us have compelling tales to tell, Mr. Feldman has done it with the gift of a master storyteller and a talented writer. I found myself reading the book in one sitting. This is not a saccharine recollection of a tormented man who finds salvation as he travels through life to finally uncover its meaning. Rather it is an honest baring of the soul of a man who has experienced much and is poised to encounter much more in his full and often turbulent life. One senses that Mr. Feldman has written this book more for himself and his need for clarity, than his intended audience, which makes it all the more endearing. Without pontification and a complete lack of smugness, this is a story we can all relate to, as at its core it the story of our lives.”

So, users, what are you waiting for. Simply tell us why you want and deserve the book, below, and one of six copies could be yours!