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(to the tune of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band)
"It was twenty nine years ago today...
The funniest man I've ever known went away.
I've kept his memory with me all this while.
And it never failed to raise a smile.
So let me celebrate with you,
The one and only Jester's Dad!"
On March 5, 1981, at the age of 48, my father died after a five month battle with kidney disease. He lived longer than most of the doctors expected, surviving a stroke or two along the way, and fighting the entire time. I have lived with this memory and the knowledge that the disease that killed him is hereditary (his sister had a form of it) and that it may one day kill me as well.
Dad left behind a wife of 24 years and three children, myself and my two sisters.
Some people may think the above little ditty is not only irreverent, but disrespectful. It is irreverent, and that is the point. Dad lived to make people laugh, not only in his personal life, but professionally as well. He was in advertising and sales, and people remembered him, not only for his ability in these areas (he was very talented), but for his quick wit and sense of humor, traits I am proud to say I inherited from him. Like most dads, he told his children bedtime stories. Unlike most dad, he made those stories up. Generally they revolved around the pet giraffe that he kept on the fire escape, since his family was too poor to keep a pet giraffe anywhere else. And honestly, where else are you going to keep a pet giraffe in Bayonne, New Jersey? The giraffe became such a part of our family (ironic considering we are all short) that there is a giraffe's head engraved on Dad's tombstone, and my little sister has more giraffe-themed stuff than probably anyone who doesn't work in a zoo. I even have a "guard giraffe" near my front door.
Goofy? Hell yes. And that is why the above song snippet is irreverent, but not disrespectful. It is homage to the funniest man I ever knew, my father. He would have thought it was hilarious. And in his honor, I made it all up pretty much this morning. Took me all of a few minutes. I'd like to think he'd be proud of that kind of creativity. I know he'd be impressed that I actually make part of my living as a magician, and all of my living entertaining people and making them happy, be it as a magician, bartender, or DJ. I could have made a mint following in his footsteps into advertising or sales (I am very good at such things), but I saw the pressure it put him under, and chose instead a life of having fun, at the expense of my bank account. I haven't regretted that decision once.
So after 29 years I can look back with some sadness, but also with great joy, as I have had most of my life to think about what happened 29 years ago, and how it affected my life. I may not have known my father as long as I would have liked, but I knew him for the first 10+ years of my life, and I consider myself blessed for that.
So in honor of him, I shall enjoy this rare day off, hopefully make some people laugh, and at one point, in his honor I shall have his favorite drink, a Seven & Seven.
Here's to you Dad. Keep 'em laughing up there....I'll do my part down here.
"It was twenty nine years ago today...
The funniest man I've ever known went away.
I've kept his memory with me all this while.
And it never failed to raise a smile.
So let me celebrate with you,
The one and only Jester's Dad!"
On March 5, 1981, at the age of 48, my father died after a five month battle with kidney disease. He lived longer than most of the doctors expected, surviving a stroke or two along the way, and fighting the entire time. I have lived with this memory and the knowledge that the disease that killed him is hereditary (his sister had a form of it) and that it may one day kill me as well.
Dad left behind a wife of 24 years and three children, myself and my two sisters.
Some people may think the above little ditty is not only irreverent, but disrespectful. It is irreverent, and that is the point. Dad lived to make people laugh, not only in his personal life, but professionally as well. He was in advertising and sales, and people remembered him, not only for his ability in these areas (he was very talented), but for his quick wit and sense of humor, traits I am proud to say I inherited from him. Like most dads, he told his children bedtime stories. Unlike most dad, he made those stories up. Generally they revolved around the pet giraffe that he kept on the fire escape, since his family was too poor to keep a pet giraffe anywhere else. And honestly, where else are you going to keep a pet giraffe in Bayonne, New Jersey? The giraffe became such a part of our family (ironic considering we are all short) that there is a giraffe's head engraved on Dad's tombstone, and my little sister has more giraffe-themed stuff than probably anyone who doesn't work in a zoo. I even have a "guard giraffe" near my front door.
Goofy? Hell yes. And that is why the above song snippet is irreverent, but not disrespectful. It is homage to the funniest man I ever knew, my father. He would have thought it was hilarious. And in his honor, I made it all up pretty much this morning. Took me all of a few minutes. I'd like to think he'd be proud of that kind of creativity. I know he'd be impressed that I actually make part of my living as a magician, and all of my living entertaining people and making them happy, be it as a magician, bartender, or DJ. I could have made a mint following in his footsteps into advertising or sales (I am very good at such things), but I saw the pressure it put him under, and chose instead a life of having fun, at the expense of my bank account. I haven't regretted that decision once.
So after 29 years I can look back with some sadness, but also with great joy, as I have had most of my life to think about what happened 29 years ago, and how it affected my life. I may not have known my father as long as I would have liked, but I knew him for the first 10+ years of my life, and I consider myself blessed for that.
So in honor of him, I shall enjoy this rare day off, hopefully make some people laugh, and at one point, in his honor I shall have his favorite drink, a Seven & Seven.
Here's to you Dad. Keep 'em laughing up there....I'll do my part down here.
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