Remembering Brother Gabe's Passion for Sports 20 Years Later

In this blog and the next, I pay tribute to milestone family anniversaries: the 20th year since the passing of my brother Gabe and the 10th year since the passing of my dad. See the next blog for my discussion of Dad's connection to sports.
My brother was a gridiron genius. While living in Chicago and the chief physician at a renal dialysis center, Gabe struck up a friendship with Mike Ditka of the Chicago Bears. Mike often relied on Gabe to suggest plays and running patterns. During their friendship from 1984-1989, Iron Mike-- with a 67-12 win loss record --was the best coach in professional football.
How did Gabe communicate to Iron Mike? Through the use of an apple computer, Gabe, with a flick of his index finger would tap on a key that connected directly to Mike.
This was quite a feat for Gabe was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's Disease in 1984 and progressively lost all virtual motor functions in his extremities. The Bears team hailed him as "Doctor Gabe." Gabe, you are a legend!

Remembering Dad's passion for sports: 10 Years after his Passing

This year marks the 10th year of the passing of my dad, Dr. Saul Schwartz and the 20th year of the passing of my brother, Dr. Gabe Schwartz. I would like to recall their passionate involvement, not only as physicians and researchers (Dr. Gabe wrote over 150 papers) but as sports enthusiasts. (Look at my next blog on remembering brother Gabe).

Dad attended CCNY in Manhattan graduated in 3 years pursuing a busy pre-medical program. Yet he found time to play on the varsity baseball, basketball and field and track teams. He was a fierce competitor, extremely fast around the bases, up and down the court and was a sprinter. He spoke glowingly about doing the hurdles and playing catcher for hard ball pitchers. He did not have time to play tennis, but as soon as he built up his practice in the Bronx, he joined a golf foursome organized by some medical friends and played at Mosholu golf course, Saxon Woods and other NY Metro courses.

I recall his aggressiveness and speed during a parent/son baseball game sponsored by Emmanuel in Mount Vernon. He was so quick going around the bases that he slipped and fell injuring his ankle and so had a cast on his leg for about 6 weeks. In his late 70's and 80's he had to have knee replacement surgery on both legs-a result of all that stress running so much.

I taught him tennis which he picked up rather quickly in his late 50's. On one occasion we were playing at Boothbay Harbor, Maine. And playing on the court near us was young Senator Ted Kennedy who was fond of hitting stray balls onto our court. I don't know how he knew dad, but he kept running onto our court in his blue Bermuda shorts and all the time saying: "Sorry to bother you, Doc!" This was a year after the tragic death of Mary Jo Kopechne when the Senator's car rolled off a bridge at Chappaquidick.

As part of his athletic agility and his dedication to service of others, Dad continued to make house calls into the early 1960's. Those who knew him called him 'The Concourse Flash' going up and down flights of steps at the numerous apartment houses lining the broad thoroughfare--even though elevators were in common use; he simply preferred the exercise. Frankie Frisch another Bronx boy who played major league baseball and was extremely fast was nicknamed "The Fordham Flash" as a result of his playing four sports-one more than dad-while at Fordham.

Dad lived until 92 and only retired from his one-man practice on the Grand Concourse a few years earlier. He walked with a cane until his last days. G-d bless your soul, dad!

President Remembers those who lives were sacrificed in the recent Tucson Tragedy

The President said the following words last night in his speech at Arizona State University :

"We may not have known them personally, but we surely see ourselves in them. In George and Dot[Morris; Dot lost her life and George is in stable condition], in Dorwan and Dot [Stoddard; Dorwan perished saving his wife's life by diving on top of her], we sense the abiding love we have for own husbands, our own wives, or own life partners."

He continued: "Phyllis [Schneck]--she's our mom or grandma; Gabe [Zimmerman] our brother or son. In Judge Roll, we recogniz e not only a man who prized his family and doing his job well, but also a man who embodied America's fidelity to the law.

In Gabby [Giffords--who opened her eyes when visited by the President bedside]--we see a reflection of our public spiritedness, that desire to participate in that sometimes frustrating, sometimes contentious, but always necessary and never-ending process to form a more perfect union."

Lastly, he remembered nine-year old Christina Taylor Green [to be buried in a red oak casket carved by Iowan Trappist Monks]: "And in Christina ...in Christina we see all of our children. So curious, so trusting, so energetic and full of magic.

So deserving of our love."

Thank you for showing up, Mr. President, and showering your love, your kind words of consolation for the benefit of all 300 million of us Americans still in a state of shock.....

Thanksgiving is an Oasis in Time: Finding Stillness, Calm and Beauty....

 

Happy Thanksgiving to all: 

Finally a brief respite from the tumultuous unpredictable  times that besiege us and have been belittling and harassing us for such a long time. 

This holiday gives us, as a nation, composed of so many solid caring  families, an opportunity to acknowledge and dwell upon all that we must be thankful for: our family, our spiritual traditions, our solid institutions of learning, our museums, our inventors, our high speed internet connections, and the beauty of nature...

So with a modicum of peace and a pause from the seeming chaos around us, where 'our centers do not seem to hold' (to paraphrase W.B. Yeats' poem, The Second Coming),  I sat down and just let my weary mind wander..... and penned these short haiku- influenced lines of verse: 

Irakli  Kvaratshkhelia , Photographer

A solitary cry....I cannot breathe 

I hear only the shimmering silence 

of petals floating at a calm sea. 

In memory of: 

Mom: a poetess of the divine who passed on the 2nd day of Kislev
Dad: healer of man who left us on the 10th day of Kislev
Brother, Dr. Gabe: who went to a better world on the 15th of Kislev, today's Hebrew date. 

May their memories and accomplishments serve as a blessing and inspiration to all those who aspire to creating a better world not only for us, but, above all, for our children.