The Day the Music Died is a Banner One For Us

Ah, Monday February 3, 1992. I remember it well. The Sunday before, our then Bostonian friends Eric and Dana celebrated their little girl Jennifer's one year old birthday at Eric's parents' Kendall house. Three year old D1 played happily with another little girl named Marissa. Years later, they'd reunite via a chance meeting in Gainesville -- a really remarkable tale.

We were celebrating at Embers, and at the next table was my old friends the Hoffmans. Their son was dating Marissa, who was getting a MS in Dietetics at Columbia in NYC. Ilisa asked D1 if they might speak, as she hoped her future daughter in law might stay in Miami after training in the City. It lead to a wonderful friendship between D1 and Marissa, especially since they realized they had many folks in common. D1 is a new Mom, and Marissa due to become on this Summer...

But back to D2! The Monday after Jennifer's party, Wifey and I reported to South Miami Hospital, and Drs. Kenward and Strassborg did a baby-ectomy. Out popped a rather large baby girl, with a very large head. She slept, a lot, right away. Wifey thought something wrong with her. In honesty, she wasn't a beautiful newborn -- skin issues, the aforementioned big head. But her big sister kissed her on that big head and loved her right away. And, by about 4 months, D2 had turned into a true beauty. She still is...

She was a VERY difficult toddler. She was very smart, but non verbal,and a lot of that led to frustration. Wifey videotaped her many tantrums, to make sure I didn't miss them when I got home from my long days at work. Wifey could sometime be...well...different.

But D2 ALWAYS dug her Dad. When I would walk through the front door, and she was in Wifey's arms, she'd push Wifey away to come into my arms. She still really, really digs me.

In pre school, she was a leader. She had a way of getting the other little kids to follow her instead of the teacher. One less than talented pre K teacher told Wifey "I feel bad for you." The other teachers saw a future bright and gifted leader. They were right.

At Kindergarten, Wifey and I attended to meet D2's teacher, Mrs. Tables, with a bit of fear. What would we be told? We were told that D2 was her top student -- delightful, well loved by all classmates, the smartest. We were like "Really?"

D1 was a star of Leewood Elementary. She came up as testing was a big deal -- the school would get bonuses based on how their kids did on tests like Florida Writes, and D1 set the curve -- at the time scoring the very rare 4.5.  Well, 4 years later, D2 got a 5 -- the only one. She had the school thing figured out.

Middle School got a little dicey. She was dear friends with some nice girls who, well, weren't academics. The grades dipped a bit. But then when high school started, D2 chose a different path. She kept the old friends, but gravitated to the top kids at Palmetto. The As came like rain in the Miami Summer. She graduated VERY high in her huge class, and sailed into the toughest admit in Florida -- UF.  At her rehearsal dinner, her dear friends made sure to embarrass her -- by bringing up the fact that she finished college AND grad school with a 4.0 GPA. I'm proud she is our family's only member of Phi Beta Kappa.

So she got the school thing down. But far more importantly, she developed friends as sacred to her as her sister, and found a life partner beyond all of our dreams. Or, as Rabbi Yossi would say, she simply accepted her Besheret -- her intended from the Big Man...

As a daughter, well, my cup runneth over. This gorgeous, brilliant, accomplished woman is my friend. We get each other -- off beat senses of humor, a loving appreciation of the foibles of our other family. And, I watch her with joy as she reacts to her new nephew -- she softens in a maternal way I never saw before. I hope that is a herald of things to come.

The hosts of the day before D2's birthday, Norma and Marvin, have passed away. I still think of them all the time -- they were such wonderful, loving people. They adopted me as a second son when I became close with their Eric.

The little girl whose party it was? Well -- she turns 29 tomorrow, and is due to have her own baby girl next month!  Talk about sunrise, sunset...

And today, though tragedy for Buddy Holly is recalled, for us it's all joy. Happy birthday, beloved D2. May you continue to soar -- to go from strength to strength. You have brought us so much joy...