The memorial. And then on to Paris.
Some of you (ok, one of you) have asked to see what I said at Ed Vega’s memorial, so I thought I would put it up here. The picture above is of the rehearsal of Gerry and myself for the tour of France coming up. In fact I am at the airport as I write this.
Ed Vega
Over the last week and a half I have been hearing Ed Vega described in various ways like “difficult” and “cantankerous” and “feisty”. Which he was. But the way I would describe him was “angry”. That’s how I knew him, and that’s how I will remember him.
And along with that anger, there was a lot of passion, especially passion for knowledge, which is what he tried to teach us, his children.
This is a memorial. We are remembering Ed Vega, and so I want to tell you some of what I will remember of him, as I still feel his influence on my life, in many ways, large and small.
For example, he taught me how to organize the cash in my wallet by folding the dollar bills outside the bigger ones so it would look like I had less money than I did so no one would steal it. I do this almost every day.
He taught me to whistle when I was sick.
He taught me the correct way to address an envelope, and taught me that if I didn’t have the correct form in my manuscripts, including the envelopes, that no one would take me seriously.
He told me how to speak correctly when I came home speaking like the kids from the neighborhood.
In the 70’s we were discussing the political situation in Argentina. At the time I was a teenager with a dim view of social issues. My attitude was: these things were happening in a country far away, and what did this have to do with me?
He told me to find a copy of John Donne’s writing. It is actually called “Meditation 17, Devotions upon Emergent Occasions”, or: “No man is an island”, which contains that famous line “Any man’s death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee…”
And we discussed it until he felt I understood it.
He told me I should be the kind of person who is as comfortable meeting kings and queens as I would be walking down the street in East Harlem, and I have tried to become that kind of person.
He taught us about the Existentialists, about Greek tragedy and the meaning of the word “catharsis”. About Hegel’s dialectic, because he thrived on conflict, as a search for truth. He taught us about Eastern philosophy, and law. Anthropology. Genetics. Poker. History. Politics. And, of course, literature and poetry and music.
I wanted to say that I loved him and he knew this. I was relieved to hear that his death was peaceful. And that it was quick. He has influenced me deeply, and that continues to until this day. Thank you for listening.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008