Kind Words

Given the subject on which I wrote this past week, there was a bit of irony that played out tonight as I skimmed through the news. It is especially curious since it was only a couple of weeks ago that I did sit down and write a letter in the hope to reconnect with someone who had been so kind to me in the past. It wasn’t until long after the sun had set and our son was asleep in his bed when I learned about the passing of Elie Wiesel. As I read through the remembrances streaming across my computer, I couldn’t help but think about the moment when I received a letter in the mail with his name in the upper left hand side of the envelope.

While we had never met in person, I did correspond with this wonderful man in the past and I had been fortunate to receive his blessing regarding the poems that I originally wrote about Janusz Korzcak. Words that, while brief, carried the weight of the world and of history. At the time I had doubts about whether my writing was honoring the memories of those lost. I have never been one to rely on the approval of others to write but this is a subject and a project that was a completely different scenario. With a few simple sentences, I had the confidence to continue which resulted in the collection that I published this year, What Was Not Said: Echoes From The Holocaust.

What speaks volumes of his legacy is that my interaction with this great man is not a unique experience. He gave more of his time, his energy, his life not just to ensuring the permanence of memory but to the lives of others in pursuit of knowledge and understanding. Dr. Wiesel supported many of us, from near and far, in more ways than most could ever dream. Some were personal interactions while others only got to know him through his words printed on the pages in one of his fifty seven books, countless essays and articles, and numerous interviews and speeches. I consider myself to be one of the lucky ones to have corresponded with this righteous man.

And when we look back on the life of this great man, there is much that we can learn from not just his words but his actions. While he lived through unimaginable horrors, he chose to live with hope and kindness. He pursued the perpetuation of memory and ensured that it served as a means for achieving peace. He was a beacon for the world shining light not just into the darkness of the past but casting a warm glow on the possibilities of the future. Sometimes he would do this on a grand stage in front of thousands or on television in front of millions but also in a classroom in from of a mere dozens or in a conversation, a letter, a phone call one on one. This is why, for many reasons, I now say I will never forget!

Firearms Friday: Justice Scalia

A couple of weeks ago we lost a tremendous intellect on the Supreme Court when Antonin Scalia passed away. While there have been many who have criticized his views over the years, including in the firearms community, there is no questioning the passion that he had for the Constitution and for the true intent of the Founding Fathers who wrote it. In fact, there were times when he himself didn’t completely agree with his own decision but reached the conclusion that he did because it was the right decision. As he has been quoted as saying, “If you’re going to be a good and faithful judge, you have to resign yourself to the fact that you’re not always going to like the conclusions you reach. If you like them all the time, you’re probably doing something wrong.”

Surprisingly, one of the more balanced ‘obituaries’ written shortly after his death can be attributed to Mark Sherman at the Associated Press who rightly focused on Scalia’s commitment to textualism. In part, he writes:

Scalia showed a deep commitment to originalism, which he later began calling textualism. Judges had a duty to give the same meaning to the Constitution and laws as they had when they were written. Otherwise, he said disparagingly, judges could decide that "the Constitution means exactly what I think it ought to mean."

A challenge to a Washington, D.C., gun ban gave Scalia the opportunity to display his devotion to textualism. In a 5-4 decision that split the court's conservatives and liberals, Scalia wrote that an examination of English and colonial history made it exceedingly clear that the Second Amendment protected Americans' right to have guns, at the very least in their homes and for self-defense. The dissenters, also claiming fidelity to history, said the amendment was meant to ensure that states could raise militias to confront a too-powerful federal government if necessary.

But Scalia rejected that view. "Undoubtedly some think that the Second Amendment is outmoded in a society where our standing army is the pride of our Nation, where well-trained police forces provide personal security, and where gun violence is a serious problem. That is perhaps debatable, but what is not debatable is that it is not the role of this Court to pronounce the Second Amendment extinct," Scalia wrote.

Unfortunately, his passing leaves a gaping hole in the highest court in the land. Not because he sided primarily with one party or another but because he was an originalist. There is too much ‘selective interpretation’ in politics and in the courts today and having someone relying solely on the text is a tremendous grounding asset that has been taken for granted for too long. Additionally, the passion that he freely expressed for our founding document is something that was evident in the eloquence of his majority opinions but especially in his dissenting opinions.

It is a shame that the two things that have been talked about most since his passing is the lack of respect by the President in not attending his funeral (but he took the time to meet with the ‘death to the police’ Black Lives Matter organizers) and the ongoing debate surrounding the nomination of a replacement. Here is a revolutionary idea, why don’t we honor his memory by nominating someone who views our Constitution in the same unbiased way making decisions based on the text rather than the social flavor of the month. No politics, just focusing on the text. I’m not even asking for nine, I just want to see one Justice on the Supreme Court who takes their oath literally.

Remembering Speed Bump, Cujo, and Munchkin…

On my way home from the office this evening I got a call from my wife who was sobbing on the other end of the line. Now, given the fact that she is pregnant, this doesn’t necessarily mean that there is something wrong. However, tonight she had a darn good reason as she had just learned that her beloved little doggy was gone.

She got Little Prince at a time in her life when she needed a furry companion (long before I filled that role) and while she hadn’t lived with the dog for many years, it was still her dog. He had been struggling for some time now so, while sad, it was probably the best thing that could have happened to the partially blind, diabetic, little Munchkin. While it has been a long time coming, it was still a sudden turn of events and it got me thinking about the pets I have had and lost during my life.

I have had a lot of pets during my life from cats and dogs to birds, goldfish, and a hamster. Heck, we even had a pig. While I enjoyed having each one of these animals especially when I was growing up, I had a particularly affinity for the two dogs that have come and gone. Those were the two that were particularly hard to lose and I still think about each of them from time to time.

The first was Laddy (also known as ‘Speed Bump’). This is the dog that I have written about before that completely lost the use of its tail (this was at the same time he became a barking speed bump). This was my first dog and I can still remember coming down the stairs in the morning and seeing him lying on the family room floor. My parents were away and my grandmother was watching us at the time. While she thought the dog was just sleeping we knew that it was time to call my uncle as that speed bump was no longer moving.

Hally followed soon after and while she might have seemed like Cujo to the little kids in the neighborhood, she was the nicest dog and always knew when I wasn’t feeling good or if I was in pain. Both times that I had my knee cleaned out I remember the dog following me around the house and jumping onto my, at the time, slim stomach as soon as I would lay down on the couch. Of course, the funniest thing was that during my healthier times when I would be running outside she would join me only taking a break to run over to the neighbor’s yard to take a crap. She wasn’t the same dog toward the end, which she seemed to know was near, and while it was sad I was glad to see her no longer struggling.

Now my parents no longer have a dog and instead have a cat with an odd obsession with concussions and an abnormal aversion to nature. She continues to live up to the name we gave her as a kitten, Nada, because there is little going on between those ears and behind that Scooby like expression. And while I do not have the same connection with this animal, it will still be sad when her single synapse stops transmitting.

For now we say so long to the little doggy that got my wife through a hard time without which we may have never met. He is no longer enduring his daily struggle and will now, finally, be able to rest. His worries are gone and my wife’s constant worries about his well-being can now cease occupying her mind. And with a baby on the way she will soon have another furry munchkin to love.

Comic Relief

Maybe Mork just went home!

Growing up I remember watching Comic Relief on television (I believe it was on HBO). While at the time many of the jokes went completely over my head I can still hear my parents laughing as Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, and Robin Williams took the stage and proceeded to conduct an improv set the likes of which I had never seen. Even with my limited understanding, I couldn’t help but watch them go back and forth not missing a moment or opportunity to turn common responses into belly laughs. While Crystal and Goldberg were good, Robin Williams was always the one that took over the entire stage and the audience.

Recently I have been thinking about Robin Williams ever since we learned that we will be having a baby early next year. For some reason I have been thinking about a part of one of his stand up sets when he talks about becoming a father. It was one of those rare moments of honest vulnerability that he would occasionally touch upon during those wild times on stage. In the midst of clear chaos, it was those moments that made you stop and think about something so serious that it just sticks with you years later. Maybe that it why it has been on my mind during the last few weeks.

 

Of course, as I am certain you have heard, Robin Williams was once again on the forefront of all our minds. I am still shocked that he is gone. I am not one to dedicate an entire lost to the loss of a celebrity but Robin Williams was on a completely different level. As I have gotten older I have constantly looked forward to what he would do next… whenever he was on I was going to watch.

And as I have gotten older, caught up and now understand those jokes lost on me during my childhood, I have continued to become more and more envious of the ability to create at an instant no matter where he was, what he was given, or what was said. He is a talent that we will never fully understand let alone replace. He was a complicated man but one with unparalleled ability, talent, and passion. I will miss watching that complicated man both during those intense moments of improv and also during those subdued roles that showcased a complexity and range that few have possessed.

Unfortunately, we all have our flaws and our struggles and his death is a reminder that no matter how much we watch someone, or their outgoing personality, or the success that they have… we don’t know what is going on inside of them. It is the scariest part of life not knowing what can be just below the surface and the horrible way that people see themselves. We can only do so much but one thing that we can do is make sure that we are there for our friends and family regardless of whether they seem like they need someone or not from the outside. You just never know.