Happy Birthday Superman

I drove back up to Philly for a quick trip this weekend to celebrate my grandfather’s 97th birthday. We will have a family dinner tonight and then I’ll head back to DC tomorrow.

Poppy, as he is affectionately known in my family, is one of the most special people I know. I’ve talked before about how blessed I am to come from a family that loves me as much as mine does, and he is a big part of that. He has always been incredibly loving and supportive of me and my ventures - this is true for everyone in my family - and for him to be as healthy as he is at 97 years of age is something we are all grateful for. 

I have tried to tell him many times before, and will try to communicate again to him tonight, how much of a motivation he has been in my career and my life. He spent his career, after serving in the army, as a trial attorney. He went on to write a text book on trial advocacy and teach a trial advocacy course he designed for law students. He was still working when I was very young and I remember going to his office, believing that he was Superman. He wasn’t just Superman to me because of his job, though that was part of it. 

Even now, when he talks about his work, you hear that his motivation was in pursuit of justice. He took on cases he believed in - generally if not always an individual who was hurt holding some level of power to account - and had a strategic mind to create a case for why he believed his side was right. He brings that same intellectual vigor to his political and social beliefs. But more than just those things, he was Superman, and still is, because of how much he loves his family. He would do anything for us, and has done so much for each of us. Most notable was the way he cared for Bubbie until she passed despite her long battle with dementia. 

I went into the career I did because I wanted to pursue justice like my Poppy. I care about making the world a better place because he, and many other people in my family who I believe were influenced by him, showed me that was important. He has been, and still is, an amazing thought partner in my work. Even when he doesn’t know what I am talking about, which is usually a decent sign that I am not communicating effectively, he will ask good questions that try to understand. To have a role model like him, to have such a close relationship with such a good role model, is incredibly special. I hope I make him proud, and will continue to work to do so.

This morning, I had breakfast with him and his crew at the retirement home he now lives in. I am lucky that they welcome me to their table whenever I am in town. As usual, we shared laughs, they taught me something about history I didn’t know before, we shared our thoughts about the state of our society, and we enjoyed each other’s company. I kept looking at Poppy during breakfast and just thinking how lucky I am to have him in my life. It was not a gratitude practice, just a genuine feeling I had when I was with him, and that, in and of itself, is something to be grateful for. I am excited for a family dinner celebrating him tonight, and hope that he feels as special on this birthday as I, and so many others, know he is.