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August 15 - 21, 2013
Paternity-testing RV rolls out results in one week Continued from page 8 About 10 tests a week are done on the RV — “usually paternity or sibling studies,” he noted. Rosenthal shared some sobering and positive tales of those who have come for answers to, what he called an “an in-thecloset type of the thing.” For a paternity test, the cost increases by $100 per person. “The most we’ve had for paternity testing was three,” he said. “And in that instance, all three [children, ages 1, 3, and 5] came up negative for the man who thought he was the dad.”’ In terms of siblings, some people find long-lost ones in their 30s or 40s. There is a recent case involving a woman who believes she was kidnaped when she was a baby. “Now we’re testing them, and I’ve been talking to them,” Rosenthal said. “The stories we hear are just nuts.” Another story involves a 24-year-old woman with three daughters and pregnant with a fourth, who thought her father was
in prison for killing her mother when she was just 3 years old. Recently, someone told her that man is not her father, but that a different man in the neighborhood is. “She was raised by her grandmother, and the kids could have a grandfather down the block,” Rosenthal said. As opposed to amniocentesis, a prenatal blood test, costing $2,000, also can now reveal paternity, but the blood must be taken in a lab. A woman who is married and nine weeks pregnant called about her test, saying she had, in fact, slept with two men. The men were different ethnicities, and that made her particularly nervous, Rosenthal said. The second man was a no-show for the appointment. When it was rescheduled, the woman then said she wanted to test a third candidate. “The came out of nowhere,” Rosenthal said. “People say they know who the dad is, but it’s far from perfect,” he said. Rosenthal noted that men base their assumptions on the children’s looks, while
women think they know the paternity based on whom they were with. A favorite story of his is about four sisters in Brooklyn who found out they had a fifth in Atlanta. That sister had previously lived in New Jersey, and when her father died, her grandmother handed her an envelope. It turns out her real father had abandoned her and raised her four sisters without her. Although they don’t look alike, “They were like sisters, talking over each other,” Rosenthal said. The women now visit each other, but the birth order has been usurped. Rosenthal said that the former eldest in Brooklyn joked that the new sibling, who is the oldest, is really the youngest because they did not know about her. “The most important thing we do is bring closure to stuff,” he said. “It’s amazing how long people have had these unanswered questions.” Rosenthal stays in touch with some of his clients. While he was elusive in his answer, he said there has “been interest” from TV in a show on his van.
letters to the editor Continued from page 12 regarding what I never said about Avital D’Lugoff during his interview with me. Never once did I describe her as “troubled” or “in a world of her own” and you knew that. I e-mailed my reservations about his article to you. Yet you repaid me by embarrassing me in more than one issue of The Villager. Tania Grossinger
‘Unbearably’ good article! To The Editor: Re “Poet riffs on life’s ironies in his ‘Divine Comedy’ ” (V Lit, July 25): Lael Hines has done an excellent job in capturing Ron Kolm’s stream-of-consciousness style of thinking and speaking, and provides some useful context for appreciation of “Divine Comedy” — which is, indeed, quite possibly a unique piece of prosody. Well done!
Vivid picture of perseverance
Mike Lindgren
To The Editor: Re “The birth of new Morton St. school is long overdue” (talking point, by Keen Berger, Aug. 8): Blow by blow, step by step, Keen Berger gives a vivid picture of endurance and patience. An accomplishment to be proud of and a wonderful, descriptive article.
Slices of life cut like gems
Mary Jo Robertiello
Another labor of love To The Editor: Re “The birth of new Morton St. school is long overdue” (talking point, by Keen Berger, Aug. 8): Judson Memorial Church is so proud of our member Keen Berger, who gives birth over and over again, this time to a school that will make our whole community proud! Congratulations, Keen. You’ve done it again. Fertility is your middle name. Donna Schaper
To The Editor: Re “Poet riffs on life’s ironies in his ‘Divine Comedy’ ” (V Lit, July 25): Great piece. Ron’s a witty, amicable guy that anyone would love to hang out with. He’s also genuinely selfless and super-generous. His poems are dazzling — cut like gems out of the ordinary surreality that surrounds us. Bravo, Villager, for spotlighting one of our underground literary lions.
A woman walking by with two girls and a man inquired Rosenthal about paternity testing. “He doesn’t think my son is his. He’s blond,” she said of the boy. Rosenthal patiently answered her questions, and handed the man a paper with information. He doesn’t get annoyed with people, and is O.K. with their questions 99 percent of the time. People are always snapping shots of the RV. “It never stops making me laugh when people take pictures,” he said. “We’re surrounded by cameras.” Rosenthal has been pulled over three times this year by police officers to take a picture of the RV. Firefighters on a fire truck did the same thing one day when they all jumped out to take a photo. As the interview was concluding, a group of Argentinean tourists walked by, then doubled back to ask incredulously, “This is real?” “It’s the only one in the world,” Rosenthal proudly boasted. For more information about Health Street and the RV visit health-street.net.
oped a personality. He didn’t know how to love.” I really wish people would stop repeating ridiculous antiracing statements such as this one. I am sure this greyhound’s adopters are lovely people, but they just believe the false information that an anti-racing group passed along. If you want to take an anti-race stance, fine. But do some research and base it on truth, not the lies that have been perpetuated ad nauseam! Take a stand, but stand on facts and truth! Collen Pluta
A very moving photo To The Editor: Re “Bathroom humor in the park” (photo, Aug. 8): In what at times seems to be a humorless world, a little “bathroom” fun can go a long way. Keep up the good work! Jim Sulen E-mail letters, not longer than 250 words in length, to news@ thevillager.com or fax to 212-229-2790 or mail to The Villager, Letters to the Editor, 515 Canal St., Suite 1C, NY, NY 10013. Please include phone number for confirmation purposes. The Villager reserves the right to edit letters for space, grammar, clarity and libel. The Villager does not publish anonymous letters.
Jeff Wright
Rap on greyhound racers ridiculous To The Editor: Re “A racing school dropout, Lancer loves his new life” (Pet Set, Aug. 8): The article states: “As racers, they don’t have a relationship with a human, and over the past three years he’s devel-
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