Why I Write About My Parents

March 25, 2025 was 8 years since my mom's passing. Tomorrow, March 28th, would have been my dad's 107th birthday. It is a week to remember them.

But the truth is I remember them every day. I don't need the anniversary of a death or a birth to bring them to mind. They are with me every day. They never disappear.

So, the question is why do I write a post about them on these days of particular note. The reason is simple: I want you to remember them.

My mom and dad were people of value, of worth. What they did in their time on this earth should never fade from sight. And it is my responsibility, one that I take very seriously, to do whatever I can, within the small window of opportunity granted to me, to keep the image of my parents in the minds of those who knew them and to introduce them to those who never had the privilege of their company.

My dad passed away in 1979. There are precious few people still alive who recall everything he was. His contemporaries are all gone. His entire generation lost, or if any still linger, there are mostly but shadows remaining. It would be easy, almost 46 years after his death, for memories of my dad to have become as dust in the wind.

But I find reason to search for him in the corners of my apartment, in the seats of Yankee Stadium, in the manner and mind of my son, in the thoughts of my mom and my sister. And wherever I locate him, I want you to see him as well.

This past weekend, I became a teacher for a moment on a playground with my grandchildren and a "flash mob" of other little ones. What I did not discuss with you then, but what it brought back to me, was a tale I have recited before. Of my mom being an extraordinary teacher, beloved by her students. One, who became a journalist, writing a thank you note to my mom by way of an entire newspaper piece chronicling how my mom had changed the course of her life. Written and published more than three decades after she was my mom’s student, not knowing where my mom was or if she would ever see or become aware of her column.

So, when you next read a post from me giving chapter and verse of my mom or dad, know that it is there not because I need it, but because you do. My parents, I firmly believe, are well worth everyone’s time and attention.