Today is Friday, April 21, 2023. This is not going to be a typical blog entry since Elliot and I received shocking news this afternoon about the sudden passing of our dear friend “Mark” who was living in Florida at the time. When Elliot’s phone rang in the restaurant where we were sitting and having brunch, Elliot screamed out to our friend “Gene” who was delivering the grim news to us, and I knew what that terrible news was right away. We had been trying to reach Mark who went down to Florida over a week ago and was unluckily caught in that downpour in Ft. Lauderdale as he was attempting to drive back to his condo in Coconut Creek. This downpour triggered the total shutdown of Fort Lauderdale Airport. Thus Mark didn’t get in until after 9 p.m.

We knew that Mark was suffering from several health crises, but he felt he was in remission after undergoing an intensive regimen of chemotherapy and infusion therapy. We had become very close to Mark during the pandemic, as he stayed in New York in his apartment in Forest Hills. I will sorely miss chatting with him almost every day and his keen intelligence. Mark was the genuine article: a gentleman and a scholar. Mark possessed a doctorate in French from Harvard University. So he was definitely no mental lightweight here. He eventually taught at Columbia University, and then later, at Hostos Community College, where he was Department Chairman of English as a Second Language. Above all, he devoted his life to teaching and was loved by all of his students. He made lifelong friendships with many of his adult students and was in touch with many of them all throughout his life.

I will always admire Mark’s generous nature and his cultured air. However, he didn’t suffer fools gladly, as they say. He was extremely alarmed over the direction that this country was headed, but I thoroughly enjoyed our conversations regarding the craziness exhibited by the far right and the destructive nature of the former president. Eventually, he claimed he couldn’t watch the news anymore because of the negativity generally associated with it. I will miss his take on the issues of the day.

So this is a very difficult blog to write, as I gather my thoughts and impressions of the contributions that our friend Mark made to the betterment of the world. And the best thing one can say about a person is that he made the planet a better place to live with his presence on Earth, and Mark certainly did this -in spades.

Rest in peace, dear friend!