Memorials: Dad, Paul and Pete

It's been a tough week and Memorial Day brings up lots of thoughts about people missed, primarily my dad who died unexpectedly on Tuesday at the age of 94. That it was unexpected was in many ways a good thing, an indication he was relatively healthy for his years. Actually, remarkably healthy, living alone in a large apartment, refusing any outside help other than my bringing him his favorite foods so he didn't have to do much cooking.

He did have the usual health suspects: hard of hearing, macular degeneration and very poor teeth. We addressed all of these issues in some way over the past few years: hearing aids - which he didn't wear, lucentis injections in the eye to arrest the wet macular, and a brand new set of choppers, which since he got them a year and a half ago, led to his gaining, or at the very least, maintaining his weight, a very good sign for the elderly.

Well, he did eat just about anything and a week ago Friday I brought him a stash -- 4 tubs of Bryers ice cream (if I ever get in that age range and I have anything near my dad's digestive system, it will be Caty bar the door time when I get in the vacinity of food), shrimp with egg plant from a local take out Chinese place (ugh), Hebrew National LARGE franks, and a pile of other stuff.

Tuesday when he didn't answer the phone all afternoon and evening I grew concerned. He often was difficult to reach due to not hearing the phone, being asleep or immersed in his one hour daily routine of taking a hot bath, something he said was the reason for his lack of aches and pains. Over the years I had raced over there a few times expecting to find that he had fallen or just died of a heart attack (he did have a mild heart condition), always relieved to find him OK. This time I had more dread and at 10PM on Tuesday I was dialing 911. He looked to be asleep in a beach chair near an open window where he must have sat down to cool off, maybe after his bath. EMS said he had been dead about 6 hours. He was wearing his push-button alert, which obviously he never pressed. So I guess that may mean he never felt enough distress to call for help and  died in his sleep  -- hopefully.

Just yesterday I heard of one of my former colleagues, now 82, who fell in her apartment, broke her hip and lay there for 5 days until her niece came over and found her. (Get your elderly relatives one of these alerts). That my dad didn't have to go through anything like that is a sign that, as the rabbi said, he was a lucky man in many ways. In fact his nickname was Lucky. And that will be a story for another time.

He told me that when he was gone to throw a party for him with his favorite foods. (I used to ask, "Can we also order some stuff that is edible?") He said he is treating, so as long as the check from beyond doesn't bounce we have a plan. Will we survive ice cream, pastrami, and shrimp with eggplant in the same meal? We'll know in a few weeks.

Paul Baizerman
Last year's Memorial Day was the last time I spoke to my old friend and mentor Paul Baizerman, who I found out had died in December 2011, about a week after I returned from New Zealand. No one wanted to email me the news while I was traveling. I could write forever on the influence Paul had on me and others as an activist and in many other areas of life. Paul was someone who was a leader, and we don't find many of these around today. We traveled to Cuba together in 1978 and then spent 2 weeks racing around Mexico in his Volkswagon a few years later. I was over at his and Vera's place almost every day to chat about teaching and politics. "You eating," Paul would ask as he raced around the kitchen putting things together for dinner? The wrong question to ask me, of course.

We weren't as close over the last bunch of years but I called him a few times a year to get his reading on what was going on with the struggle in education. I could also write many blogs about Paul but will hold off for now. A memorial was held for him back in January and I taped some of it, so maybe as the anniversary of his death approaches in December I will tell the full story about Paul, though I will load up an edited version of the videos for his friends.

Pete Fornatale memorial
So in addition to the sadness of today, was that we had tickets last night to a memorial for legendary DJ Pete Fornatale who suddenly died late last month after a stroke. I wrote about it then. We had met him a few times at book signings out here in Rockaway where he also lived. We listened to Mixed Bag every Saturday at 4PM on WFUV. Pete wrote a book about Bookends, the Simon and Garfunkle album and was touring with Aztec Two-Step, doing commentary as they played the S and G songbook. Last night the scheduled concert was turned into a memorial at City Winery on Varrick St. with Pete's 2 sons and others taking over the commentary. It was a real treat that Tom Chapin was there -- and they played Harry's W-O-L-D, one of our favorites. We had seen Harry (and Tom) in concert many times. Harry has been gone 30 years now. (I hear his son may be involved with some of the high stakes testing activities going on which would be a perfect circle.)

Well anyway, here are some little pieces of video a shot using my cell phone.






http://youtu.be/UTsWdZvtszA

Enough maudlin sentiments. Time to turn up the barbecue.

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The opinions expressed on EdNotesOnline are solely those of Norm Scott and are not to be taken as official positions (though Unity Caucus/New Action slugs will try to paint them that way) of any of the groups or organizations Norm works with: ICE, GEM, MORE, Change the Stakes, NYCORE, FIRST Lego League NYC, Rockaway Theatre Co., Active Aging, The Wave, Aliens on Earth, etc.

The Saturday Night Special: Pete Fornatale

The Saturday Night Special is a new feature of Ed Notes published every Sat. between 9 and 12 in the evening. Hopefully, something a little different than the rest of the dribble on this blog.

Cinquo de Mayo, 2012

Well, I am not in a bar or a Mexican restaurant and I even missed the Kentucky Derby.

Why? because we are avidly listening to WFUV's tribute to Pete Fornatale. He died over a week ago from the effects of a stroke while we were down in Virginia and Washington DC. I actually learned of his death from Reality Based Educator at Perdido St. School while I was away. I had heard he was sick but had not idea this was on the horizon.

It was a shock. He was my favorite music person on the radio and I listened to him whenever possible. I came late to rock music - as I did and do to just about everything. My growing interest coincided with Pete's rise to prominence on WNEW in the early 70's, though it was hard to listen when I was at school and he had that 10-2 show. But then there was Mixed Bag.  I learned a lot about rock from him, from the way he put music together. Like I was too dumb to know that the Beatles' "Back in the USSR" was a takeoff on the Beach Boys' "California Girls" - until Pete played them back to back. OK, I told you I was late. I believe he was the guy who brought back the Beach Boys by getting rock fans to look at their work as art. But then again what do I know? And then there was Poco and the roots back to Buffalo Springfield (and can't we use their anthem song right now to battle the ed deformers?)

I loved his appearances on Mike Francesa on WFAN. Pete was Mike's English teacher in parochial school. I hope Mike replays some of those segments some time. Because I was out of town I didn't hear if Mike talked about Pete but I assume he did.

When I learned that Pete lived out here in Rockaway and the Rockaway Theatre Company was doing a salute to Simon and Garfunkle in one of their spectacular Rockaway Cafe fall shows a few years ago and hearing that Pete has a book out on S and G, I emailed him at WFUV and he offered to come to a Saturday night show. He got up on stage during intermission with my acting teacher Frank Caiati and they did some joshing back and forth. Later he arranged a book appearance and did so again a few years later with another book. We got to chat and it was so good to hear that voice in person.

It's hard to figure how the death of a person you don't know will affect you. Certainly John Lennon and others of his ilk. Harry Chapin was a guy we felt we knew and that still hurts because he was such a great guy and we attended so many of his concerts. Phil Ochs hanged himself out here in Rockaway -- my wife and I had gone to lots of his shows.

Pete falls in that category. Listening to the last 4 hours of tribute to Pete was just so sad. We just ordered tickets to his May 27 tribute.