I recently received one of those forwarded e-mails concerning how much easier life is for men than women. The list must have contained 25-odd examples, but the one that stood above the rest went something like: “Men can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on December 24th in 25 minutes.”
A truer statement has never been made.
A few weeks ago, I wrote an article in tribute to my Uncle Al. It was published on November 16th. On Sunday, November 20th, Uncle Al passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family. A copy of my column hung on the bulletin board in the hospital room.
People often ask me where I find the inspiration for my weekly columns. Often, I will write about a person of great significance to me, a recent memorable event, or sometimes just a random thought that seems at once entertaining and/or newsworthy. And then there is this column, written by special request, for my Uncle Al.
It’s difficult to narrow down topics to discuss when faced with interviewing a celebrity of that caliber. You naturally want to ask everything that comes to mind, not knowing when you might have such a chance again. Luckily, I think I remained fairly calm and collected, not wanting to come across like an over-eager, star-struck fan (which I was, I absolutely was).
I met Don Mattingly. No, let me elaborate… I didn’t just meet him; I interviewed him, one-on-one, for a solid fifteen minutes. Don Mattingly, one of my favorite players of all time, a living legend. And I did it while working for this very newspaper.
June 1st, 2000… the date had been saved on the calendars of almost every student at Lindenhurst High School for over a year. Normally, only seniors looked forward to a senior prom with such anticipation, but this would be no ordinary end-of-the-year event. This prom was going to be something special.
Every now and then, a person will come along who manages to touch your life in some indescribable way.
Mr. Lee Paseltiner is one of those people. He retired in June of 2004 after teaching Advanced Placement Biology at Lindenhurst High School for 47 years.