February 13, 2005

Happy Birthday Dad!



Dad
To paraphrase Harry Nilsson:
"In 1951, a happy father had a son" (my oldest brother Bruce)

Without my Dad, I probably would not have become:
a) A Music Freak (all kinds of records were constantly playing in our house; rarely was I discouraged from listening to my own music. Okay, occassionaly there was a bit of "Turn down that pretentious horseshit" but, hey, different generation, you know?)

b) A TV Addict and a TV Producer (my Dad was a very respected television critic; when I was 6, he took the family to L.A. where we watched "Mission Impossible" being filmed and a "Hogan's Heroes" rehearsal...I was hooked)

c) A Liberal Political Junkie (our family never shied away from political discourse; Nixon was openly despised at the dinner table and it was common knowledge that my father would do whatever it took to prevent either of my older brothers from going to 'Nam. And don't you dare accuse him of being unpatriotic: My father admirably joined the army and risked his neck in Germany during WWII)

d) A Writer, of sorts (did I mention my dad was a TV critic? Plus, as an editor, he transformed the Sunday Star-Ledger into the biggest newspaper in New Jersey)
So thanks Dad. You've done well by me, your family and your devoted readers. Here's to many more birthdays...

(and here's a sample of "The Kid from Newark's" writing...)

1 comment:

Patricia said...

Happy birthday to your dad. Mine would have been 92 this week if he was still with us. Sounds like he would have had a lot in common with yours.

My mother had her 84th birthday this month and says that in all her years she's never seen anything as bad as this administration. The election literally sent her to the ER.