David Pollack

My Uncle Dave was a very special man. Even though I live a distance away, he always remembered birthdays and holidays, and was very interested in hearing about my children and grandchildren. He traveled cross-country in his mid and late 80´s to attend my daughters´ weddings. I will always remember spending wonderful times with him growing up in Philadelphia, and visiting him on my trips there. He will be greatly missed. He was a much loved and admired uncle.

What Would You Write About Uncle Dave?

What would you write about someone who memorized poems in grade school and recites those verses at 95? Born youngest of five boys, don't dare call him kid brother. Write of his affection for musical theatre, clever libretto. You could praise career change, if Lerner had not met Loewe, picture Mario Lanza walking down 6th Street to rehearse, soothe vocal chords with chicken soup.

What language would be most precise? About someone who grew up speaking Yiddish, singing Hebrew, talking with cats. He studied French, served his country at the Iron Curtain, travelled with Michelin & Alpha Romeo, all before you finished the sixth grade. He heard Roosevelt & Churchill on radio, Chamberlain & Russell hurtle on hardwoods. Carry on conversations with the Lord or the Stilt, basketball and geopolitics. One on one, game faces on.

Who will your narrative recall or imagine? The boy who caught footballs on city playgrounds. A man in dark blue, fedora and overcoat, suited to hop a train to UN headquarters. Someone who trained with firearms & secrets, investigated corruption in cities from Miami to Chicago. Familiar with the drive to DC, be clear he would volunteer for the special counsel's team, audit transactions & taxes, conduct interviews with calculator & intelligence.

What was, is, or could have been? Not cold facts or eulogy. Score matches on grass courts in short whites, when season and elbow allow. Describe brunch at the 19th century cricket club. If born in that alternate chronology he'd be living closer to Krakow than Philadelphia. In the rowhouse on Warnock Street, a son attentive to his mother. Love Uncle Dave's stories, gifts to nieces & nephews, his brothers' children & grandchildren. Use chosen words, a clean handkerchief. Name this man, name him. Keen, suspicious of power, conscious of history rhyming.