I Want to Talk to My Dad Today

I want to talk to my dad today.  He died almost 4 years ago.   There are natural times when I want my dad with us - birthday parties, holidays, talk to about life's struggles.  But today was about a movie. Watching "Glickman," brought my dad alive in a way I've never felt.

Typically, I am sad because he isn't here.  Right, that is natural.  My daughter's bat mitzvah is coming up, I will miss his presence there.  When I turned 50 earlier in the year, I knew he would have really encouraged me to celebrate big and would have wanted to try the new hot restaurant.

Today was different.  I didn't sadly miss him.  I miss being able to talk to him and I want to ask him what he thought of Marty Glickman.  I wish he was sitting right next to me sharing his Marty Glickman stories.  Watching James Freedman's film brought my dad alive in a joyous way that I have never experienced.  My dad was a huge sports fan, NY Giants to be exact.  He would have had great stories about listening to Marty and I always loved to hear about my dad's life before I was born.

Tonight, I even mentioned it at dinner. (Sometimes I don't want to make my mom sad, so I'm careful about how I bring up my dad.)  My family and I didn't get sad, we laughed at how much my dad would have enjoyed the movie.  And then I got a real surprise, my mother and brother shared some of their own Marty Glickman memories.

With today being Yom Kippur, a somber Jewish holiday when you remember those who have died, "Glickman," gave us an opportunity to remember the best of my dad, his love of sports, his passion for the game and his joy as he told story after story about all his favorite players.

Mr. Freedman - thank you so much. And Marty Glickman, hope you and my dad are hanging out retelling all the great stories about the NY Giants.