Gow School Welcomes Oh Brother!

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I had no idea what to really expect when the Gow School welcomed me into their assembly hall for a speech and a signing in support of Oh Brother! The Life and Times of Jeff Fazzolari. I just knew that it was the place I was supposed to be to open up the book tour.

So, imagine my surprise when the camera crew from WKBW-TV-7 greeted me first and asked me for an interview about the book and my brother. I was thrilled to do it...and the story will air on the six o'clock news tonight.

But that's just part of the story. The headmaster, Brad Rogers, gave me a wonderful introduction and with the hall filled with students and faculty, I began to speak.

I spoke of my brother celebrating life on a daily basis. We traded stories of wonderful practical jokes, many that the kids had already heard about. I told them about how Jeff had telephoned me when I stepped off live television to critique my performance....all to hearty laughs and extreme celebration.

For most of the speech, I felt Jeff beside me, goading me to make it funnier, thanking me for standing up and speaking to his friends and coworkers, and urging me not to cry or babble.

And then I saw my Mom in the front row. Her sad eyes, red from tears of pride? laughter? unbelievable sadness?

And I said, "Ah, geez, Mom, don't do that to me!"

And the crowd laughed a little and I swallowed the sob and moved forward.

"Jeff's message is one of celebration I said. Celebrate your success/ celebrate the mundane/stick your finger into the yawning guy next to you/celebrate the boring/love your brother, your mother, your sister, your kids, your friends.

Celebrate the fact that you have today.

That was Jeff's message, and I owe it to him to bring it to you."

The applause I heard in my head was all directed to the space directly above me in that room.

Comments

Corleone said…
Was the applause from a big pair of hairy-knuckled hands that sounded more like thighs slapping together?
05 January, 2011
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