A remembrance from Ann Vigo

Having gotten in touch with some old friends today, I find my mind harkening back to the past. It is so hard to believe how time passes so quickly, and the older you get, the more tangible this concept is. I have heard of friends who have passed on, and this is especially hard to believe. David was a friend of mine from J.F. Kennedy High School. I first knew his sister Diane, who was once at my family's home in Plainview for something related to the Plainview-Old Bethpage's METMUNC (model United Nations). I recall my mother asking her for some college advice for me. David was also a close friend of my friend Joy Remuzzi.

I wasn't surprised when David ended up going to the University of Virginia where I went to college. I had been guided there by Daniel Mendelsohn, who was a year ahead of me at JFK, and David was a close friend of Daniel's brother Matthew. I was in my senior year there when he came for a visit, and I recall meeting up with him at on campus. My next memory of David is going to a drive-in movie with him in the winter a few years later. The movie was "Starman" with Jeff Bridges, and it was 1984. I was in graduate school at Cornell for an MFA in Creative Writing. I remember it being very cold, and I was glad David had had the great idea of bringing a blanket. I don't recall anything about that movie, but I do remember what good company David was.

The years passed, and the next time I met up with David was after one of Daniel's readings at a Barnes and Noble, where Matt had given me David's information (not sure if I had email at the time, or actually--in old-school fashion--called him on the phone). We ended up going to another one of Daniel's readings in Manhattan, and then soon after we had dinner at a Chinese restaurant. I was shocked to hear of his celiac condition and how it restricted his diet so much--he couldn't even have soy sauce! I also found out what a loving caretaker David was of his parents who were in declining health. I know he spent many weekends in their house in Old Bethpage, spending time with them and putting things in order.

Another time David came out to have dinner with me in Astoria, and he was very enthusiastic about my neighborhood. I didn't exactly feel that way about it, having lived there for over a decade at the time. He was really excited when he saw the street art that was on the walls of the Amtrak overpass on 33rd Street. David was so impressed by it, that he was taking pictures with his phone and planning to post them on a blog that he had.

When I think of David, I think of someone who was unique. Clearly, he had a great appreciation of the arts, and I know his job involved writing reviews. He wrote about new plays and books, and not surprisingly, he was not paid a lot to do so--but he truly did what he loved. He had arcane interests in writers and film, and he had a great sense of humor. In my memory of David, I see him leaning back in that easy way he had and smiling at yet another thing that tickled him, his warm brown eyes crinkling at the corners. It was like he just couldn't get over the funniness of whatever it was that he was thinking at that moment. I'm glad I got the chance to reconnect with him.

Remembering David

Remembrances from David’s mother, Liese Fischer

(Sent in by David's sister, Diane, on the eve of August 6, 2010, the one-year anniversary of David's passing. See these stories also in "From David's Mother" in the right-hand column of this site.)

I don’t remember how old David was when we were in DC. We went to take a tour of the White House. All of a sudden, the guide had David on his shoulders while he was conducting the tour. How David managed that, I’ll never know.

We also went to Arlington National Cemetery to watch the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. To our chagrin, who marched behind the guards? David!

At the Westbury Music Fair, an Israeli singer, Aliza Kashi, was performing. David loved her – he was about 8 years old. We all went to see her – when she entered, she always said “Hello People.” This time a little boy was standing in front of her and said “Hello” back to her. How David managed to get there, I don’t remember.

We saw Oklahoma at the Westbury Music Fair, a theater in the round. The actors entered down the aisles in between the audience. You guessed it, David was there to shake the actor’s (I can’t remember his name) hand.

Let’s Do It Again

We were vacationing at a small resort. David was about 3 or 4 years old and he fell into the pool. Since he didn’t know how to swim, I jumped in to pull him out. “That was fun; let’s do it again” was his answer.

I went to a department store with both kids. Diane was sitting in the stroller and David was walking besides it. I explained to both of them while we were waiting for the elevator that if the door should close and one of us was left out, they should stay in the elevator until it returns and I’ll be waiting for them. No sooner said, the door opens and David goes in and the door closes. I stood there with Diane waiting for the elevator to return. The door opens and out comes a smiling David and he says, “Let’s do it again.”

The four of us went to Macy’s at Roosevelt Field Mall. We stood in front of a display of Snoopy, and I turned around and David was gone. We were frantic. We decided that Harry would go the desk to make a missing child announcement, and I would stay at the Snoopy display hoping he would return. Some time passed, and no David. Then we spotted him holding a lady’s hand. He had gone out of Macy’s and knew he was lost. He went into a store and told them he was lost and his parents would be waiting for him at the Snoopy display in Macy’s. What a relief! He was told never to do that again!

Vacationing – a long car ride – it is hot – the pool is inviting. David runs onto the diving board and does a belly flop into the water. Everyone gasped, but he came up smiling and had a great time!

During Easter vacation, we went to the Bronx Zoo. All of a sudden, I saw David standing next to a little African American boy, touching him lightly and then looking at his fingers to see if any of his color had come off. I then explained to him that some people are just a different color.

First Grade

David refused to read. I was called by the teacher to tell me this good news and she advised me not to read to David anymore. (We were reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.) How could I stop reading to him?!? During winter recess, David realized if he could read the TV guide, I could not tell him that I forgot about the show or missed the time the show was on. Within the week, he was able to read everything and hasn’t stopped reading since.

David would read so much, he would forget what time it was. Getting dressed in the morning, he had a book on his bed so he could read. He would get so engrossed that he forgot all about getting dressed. One morning I yelled, “The bus is coming!” (It wasn’t) just so David would hurry up. He came running out of his room, not a stitch of clothing on him, carrying his school books!

Second Grade

David did not complain but he wasn’t happy with his teacher. I received a phone call from the nurse’s office that David was not feeling well. Every other day David read the symptoms of vitamin deficiencies and figured out this would get him out of class.

Religious School

He attended religious school and every week the kids brought in money for charity. We got a phone call one Sunday morning that David just swallowed a dime! We eventually found it after a few days! The next thing he swallowed was the tip of a lead pencil. The doctor said no need to worry; it wasn’t real lead.

More Stories

To teach David to always tell the truth, I told him if he tells a lie, I’ll know because his nose will get very shiny. A few days later David came running to me with his hand covering his nose, and of course he was not telling the truth!

David invented a new game - clean up - for when it was time to put away the toys. He told his friends he would watch and count who was able to put the most toys away!!

As David grew older, we always found out about his escapades after the fact. For instance, he went glider flying with the brother of his friend Paul.

After visiting Diane and Barry in the Philippines, he stopped in Hawaii and hiked alone to some of the craters. When I said, “David, nobody knew where you were and you could have fallen,” he answered, “But I didn’t!”

David loved teaching Michael all kinds of things: archery, Monty Python, theatre, and just fooling around. He would lift Michael on his shoulders and dance around, singing, as the “two-headed monster.” The two of them just had a great time. He was the most caring son. He found all sorts of gadgets to make life easier for his father and me. He drove to gardens as long as Harry could walk and took him to watch polo games played near our house. In the nursing home, he went out of his way to find what he thought his dad needed. He was with him when his father closed his eyes.

Fund Raising In David's Name

David has two friends who recently are putting in some hard work to raise money for charity in his memory.

Matthew is doing a bike-ride in August. 100% of all donations raised go to the Ohio State Comprehensive Cancer Center. 100%. To donate to his ride, please go here: http://www.pelotonia.org/ride/riders_profile.jsp?MemberID=53928&SearchStart=0&PAGING

Emily W. is running the NYC marathon in David's memory and to raise funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. She has established a fund-raising page at http://pages.teamintraining.org/nyc/nyc10/ewhitfield if you wish to contribute.

Best movies as subway map

OK, I keep going through my day and running into things that I know that David would have loved. Loved to see, to discuss, but not necessarily have agreed with completely. Sasha brought this to my attention, and I'm told that I will forever keep running into things that I will want to share with David, and that's OK with me.

Here's one. Combining two of David's favorite topics, it is a subway map of the top IMDB films.

How would you go from Alien to North by Northwest without crossing The Godfather: Part II?

http://blog.vodkaster.com/2009/06/25/the-top-250-best-movies-of-all-time-map/

I'm tagging this under things "david would like".

Dave Ruderman

David's "Birthday Party"

Endless thanks to Mary and Greg for hosting a lovely gathering, and to Frank for reminding us to "always look on the bright side," and for this appropriate gesture, which David would have, no doubt, appreciated!

Clare Donohue

[Pictured: Mary toasting David with Monty Python Holy Grail ale]

September 23

It's David's birthday today. He would have been 47... It's still hard to find the words to express the depth of this loss... David is so deeply missed today, and by so many... For now, I'll just post this photo of our friend to remember his smile and unmistakable laugh. This is David at a holiday party at my place in December 2004... I was very lucky to have David attend many of my parties/gatherings over the years. Several of us in NYC will be gathering here this upcoming Sat (Sept. 26) to raise a glass to David, in his honor, for his birthday. I know his spirit will be felt... (If anyone wants the details for this event, btw, you can email friends_of_dmf@yahoo.com.)

Missing you today, David. I hope somewhere you're chuckling at all of this...

Mary Harvey

David's Play, "Boy Meets Girl"

September 17, 2009

Hello everyone: A few years ago, I forwarded one of David's short plays (titled "Boy Meets Girl") to the chair of our Theatre Department. She liked the play, and produced it in our one-act festival the next year. David came up for the shows, and I think that he was very pleased to see his work get produced on stage.

Today, I received a message from the woman who directed David's play, forwarded by the Theater Department chair. I thought that I should share it with you.

Paul Siskind

* * * * * * * * * *
Begin forwarded message:

Hi. Sorry it has taken me so long to reply to you after I responded to the note below. These things never come at convenient times or at expected times. David was a great person. I enjoyed working with him. I still have the play and all the notes that we made during the process of re-working and directing. It was a very enjoyable, rewarding experience and it is sad to learn of his passing. He will be missed.

Meredith

Celiac Meetup memorial dinner

September 17, 2009

Hi everyone,

Our Celiac Meetup memorial dinner for David was on Monday night [Sept. 14, 2009] at Lilli and Loo, one of David’s favorite NYC gluten-free restaurants. There was a small group of about 15 people who gathered to honor and remember David. We started the evening with one of our group members reading a mourner’s kaddish and then we continued to go around the table and let people share stories about David. Out of the 15, there were actually 2 people that had never met David but were great fans of his blog and his postings on our message board. One woman mentioned that she was convinced that the first few months after her diagnosis of Celiac Disease would have been miserable without David’s support and guidance; this was one of the women that has never even met David in person but only knew him from online. Also at the table were Dr Peter Green and Cynthia Beckman, both of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University. For those of you that don’t know Dr. Peter Green, he is one of the preeminent Celiac Disease research doctors in the country, if not the world. I am sure David would be quite honored to know that Dr. Green came to share his thoughts and condolences with the group. We had other group members at the dinner as well as three NYC Celiac/Allergy bloggers, including myself, that were together to remember David. David’s good friend Ellen Brennan-Hearn, who some of you may have met at David’s service, was there and she was very touched by the number of people who came to the dinner. It was a bit emotional at times, but we had a nice time remembering David and sharing stories about our friendships with him. It was obvious that whether someone knew him for years, like Ellen and myself, or only knew he via email, everyone really admired David and will miss him deeply. For the dinner, I put together a memorial booklet of quotes from the Celiac community. You can find the file here:

http://files.meetup.com/30873/In%20Memory%20of%20David%20Marc%20Fischer.pdf

Thanks again for all of your support. It is obvious that David surrounded himself with wonderful people.

Erin Smith

"... and smile for me"

September 17, 2009

I said in my eulogy that David and I would call each other to talk about fairly obscure things from our past. As I was driving to work this morning, I thought of how we would be on the phone today, talking about Mary Travers. But as was typical with these calls, it wasn't for
the obvious reasons.

Back in Old Bethpage Grade School, located just down Round Swamp Road from the Fischers, there was a kid named Evan Mirabel. He was in our grade. Evan fancied himself as a great singer, even as a third-grader, and all the teachers at school thought he was destined for some kind of singing stardom. (I think he's a DJ now.) Every once in a while, Mr. Fessel, the principal, would get on the P.A. system and say, "Children, today we have a special treat. Evan Mirabel is going to sing "The Bluest Skies You've Ever Seen in Seattle" for us. (It was a Bobby Sherman song for some TV show called 'Here come the Brides.") And Evan would sing away.

But his favorite song du jour was definitely "Leaving on a Jet Plane." He loved singing that song. If Star Search existed in 1969, Evan Mirabel would have been on it, singing, "Well my bags are packed and I'm ready to go/I'm standing here outside your door/I hate to wake you
up to say goodbye...."

And exactly 40 years later, David and I would be on the phone remembering it.

Hope you're all well.

Matt Mendelsohn

The first David memorial jersey?

September 11, 2009

I'll put it on every September 23, and/or I'll send it around the world and have it signed by a hundred people. It's the 2009 New York Mets "Lance Broadway #35" jersey, and it's real to the touch . . .

[see "Lance Broadway Fan Club" note below]

Ben Kim

More photos

September 3, 2009

Here are a few more photos of David, all from the mid-to-late '80s. The one on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade is from early spring 1986. The second, if I remember correctly, is from late summer 1989, almost exactly 20 years ago, when we shared a rental van to move to Manhattan, he to his apartment on West 47th Street and me to law school housing. The third is from later that year.

Ruth Singleton

High School English

August 31, 2009

[Re. Matt's note below]

I have a similar high school English class David story I need to tell! David and I were in many of the same English classes over the years. One year in high school, we together had Mrs. Greenspan for both English and Poetry. David could never understand why I had a soft spot in my heart for this woman for whom he had no patience or respect. This, of course, was a source of constant bickering between us. Anyway, all assignments were passed up to the front of the class and Mrs. Greenspan would read them aloud anonymously, and then begin a critique of what was read. One day, she begins to read aloud this anonymous poem:

"A bottle of white, a bottle of red....perhaps a bottle of rose instead. I'll meet you anytime you want, at our Italian restaurant."

I turned around in my seat to look at David who was sitting there grinning like the Cheshire Cat!

Robin Harbus-Fromme (no relation to Ethan, btw)

David and Ethan Frome

August 30, 2009

[This is] one of my all-time favorite David memories and I can't believe I didn't remember this soon enough to include in my eulogy.

We were in Mrs. Davis' English class in 10th grade or so. Brad Sklar and Andy Landis were in that class. Can't remember who else. (When asked if he was cheating on a vocabulary test once, Andy famously responded, "Yes, I was.") Anyway, we had to read Ethan Frome, written, I believe, by the same people who make Ambien. David was well into his 100th Ursula Le Guin science fiction story by this point, so let's just say that he and Edith Wharton didn't see eye to eye--certainly not a tale about snowbound turn-of-the-century New Englanders doing pretty much nothing of interest.

Mrs. Davis asked the class for its thoughts on good old Ethan Frome. Not surprisingly, no one raised a hand. There was silence in the class until David said this: "That was the biggest piece of s--t I ever read."

It was then, and remains to this day, one of the bigger smiles in my life.

Matt

More Pynchon

August 30, 2009

I also bought The Watchmen on his recommendation. One of the authors we both loved and mourned was Kurt Vonnegut. I’m glad to hear that he at least got to start the latest Pynchon. My copy came in the mail a few days after he died and I remember thinking how sorry I was I wouldn’t get to hear what he had to say about it. I remember when he was reviewing Mason & Dixon: we started talking about Pynchon’s use of capitalization and he was saying that when he first read some eighteenth century novel or other (Tom Jones, maybe?) it changed the way he read books b/c of the different emphasis the capitalizations gave.

Emily Schulman

Reading lists and banned books

August 30, 2009

While we were both in college David was the person who told me to read One Hundred Years of Solitude. Knowing him, he probably gave me my copy. In fact, I usually relied on him for my (summer) reading lists, since I was a Biology major with little exposure on my own to new literature. I also read a series of banned books - another David subject, probably because many of his favorite authors would appear on lists of banned books (Miller, Vonnegut, etc.). I remember we followed closely the case of Island Trees - a town on LI with an odd name that I'm sure thrilled David - which lost the right to ban books from school libraries in the Supreme Court. This gave me a new reading list. (I've just looked at the list online:
http://justlists.wordpress.com/2008/09/22/11-banned-books-in-island-trees-v-pico-1982/ - and see that I probably read half these due to the case).

Nowadays my wife has taken over most of the position of literature suggester while David remains principle culture culturer. This Spring that David loaned me his copy of Watchmen to read - in advance of the movie version. I finally saw the movie on DVD about 3 weeks ago.

Dave Ruderman

David and Thomas Pynchon, again

August 30, 2009

[Re. Richard's note about Pynchon, below]

Thanks for sharing with us. I spoke to David the day before he went into the ICU. I was reminded to call him because on my way home I heard a review of sorts of Pynchon's latest book on NPR. I called him, and it turned out David had his copy with him in the hospital and had started it. He didn't have the energy to read it much. He characterized it as more conventional Pynchon.

Dave Ruderman

The Lance Broadway Fan Club

August 30, 2009

Plucked from the stream of things about which I'd like to exchange thoughts with David:

a) The new THOMAS PYCHON, which I might just read, having been on a crime/mystery kick lately (Scandinavian stuff, Hard Case Crime book club).

b) Yesterday's METS debut by the improbably named pitcher LANCE BROADWAY. He would've *loved* that . . .

Ben Kim

The Mets, and the Everglades

August 25, 2009

I love reading about David!

On May 30 I called David to see if he could join me & my son at Citifield as I was given good seats on the 3rd base side for 5/30. Dave & I talked about the Mets since the 69 Miracle but never made it to a game together.

Unfortunately he had to decline because he had a performance to review at the same time as the game (as I recall he said this was one of the few things that could tempt him to reject a job but he was committed)....

5/30/09 was the last day I spoke to David. He sounded great, and I remember it being one of our typical conversations: we always had stuff to talk about because, as I think Matt said, he was always interesting, and interested. We would talk & laugh (can't everyone still hear that laugh?) and laugh & talk, for an hour or two at a time and we'd only get off the phone if one of us HAD to attend to something else. What I'll miss the most is how easy it was to talk to him about anything. One topic would lead to another like movements in a symphony.

I'll always regret not going to a Met game with David. However, I remember going to the Everglades with him in a December, I think 1986 or 87. He introduced me to Turtle Soup and alligator (tastes like chicken!) at a place in the Keys, I think Islamorada...anyone know the name of that place? He had been there a few times. Maybe The Turtle Inn?

That's just one of many favorite David memories for me.

Steve Mernoff

David and Thomas Pynchon

August 24, 2009

Hi all—

I met David back in the mid-90s—we were both on the pynchon-l discussion group (as an aside I can tell you that there's lots of fur flying going on on that list but through flame wars and other nastiness, David was always fair and willing to listen and never was condescending or mean to anyone he disagreed with).

There were a few New Yorkers from the list who would meet periodically—I remember fondly David bringing an advanced reading copy of Pynchon's Mason & Dixon in 1997 a few months before the book was released; we met at Swift, a bar on the Lower East Side—fond memories of that night.

After the book was published a few of us (including David and I) went down to the Pennsylvania/Maryland border to find some of markers that Mason & Dixon laid while they were drawing the border in the 1760s—I remember the group of us practically tramping thru people's backyards trying to find the damn things and worried some folks would get triggy happy and shoot us for trespassing on their land ;) —we never did find the marking stones but we did have a nice lunch at the Deer Park Inn in Newark Delaware (where M&D and their band of jolly axemen were purportedly guests way back when).

The other memorable meeting w/David was the surreal night we had dinner with one of Pynchon's friends from college, Jules Siegel's wife Chrissie (who was apparently one of Pynchon's old girlfriends)—and who got good and drunk and annoyingly wondered why we were so interested in Pynchon; we did get her into a cab, at least I saw David off and on during the following years—he gave me the inside scoop of Pynchon's Against the Day and a week or so before he went into the hospital he emailed me to say he was able to nab a copy of Inherent Vice—I hope he was able to read some of it.

I was very moved by the memorial service and I was glad to hear so many loving things about him—there was a large universe revolving around the man and I am thankful I was able to share a small piece of it with him (and indirectly with all of you)

I would love to share a couple of pics I have—one in particular is us on the steps of that place in Newark…

Best
Richard Romeo

Small things...

August 24, 2009

1) When I got my First Real Job (which lasted six months working for New American Library), I was living in Plainview and commuting. For the first week or two, David and I were taking the same train. He gave me all his favorite commuting tips about where to stand on the platform and so on, and he told me how many post offices (? That’s what I remember them being, but that doesn’t seem right) there were between the Hicksville station and Penn Station). I remember thinking, “Once I’m an Experienced Commuter, I too will have observed and known all these things.” Which of course didn’t happen: that was just David being a first-class noticer. I was reading One Hundred Years of Solitude and he started quoting the first line of it; a Spanish-speaking woman saw the book and overheard us, saying “To me, it is all true.” I thought, “Wow, this is great! I’ll be having literary conversations with strangers on the LIRR all the time!” and of course that was the only one….

2) I did some totally minor favor for him for which he was disproportionately grateful. Every year thenceforth, he’d send a package of dog biscuits for my dog @ Chanukah—very sweet and thoughtful gesture.

3) Exchanging emails with him and mentioning an obit which I found amusing: it was for someone who’d been the artist who’d designed the credits for a number of movies in the fifties (one of them was “The Man with the Golden Arm”). David knew who this person was by name immediately, adding, “He was incredibly stylish.” Stupid detail, but it just struck me as very David that he knew who this person was and that he could sum him up so neatly.

Emily Schulman

1986 Mets with David

August 24, 2009

Okay, here's my David/Mets story...we were dating when the Mets won the 1986 World Series so it was a quite a memorable and emotional time for us! During a fateful game that helped decide the series (I can't remember which one but I think it was actually during the playoffs, I'm sure you Mets fans out there can fill in the blanks), we were walking around Manhattan and people were gathered around parked cars listening to the game on their radios. We squeezed into an Irish pub on 7th Avenue in midtown to catch the last hour of the game, which was exciting beyond belief :-). We talked about this adventure for years. And I recall sitting on the couch in his Baltic St. apartment watching the Mets actually win the series, and thinking that I would never forget that moment, which so far has proved to be true. So of course whenever anyone mentions the 1986 Mets, which happens at least several times every baseball season, I think of David...

I also recall buying sushi with David (an exotic delicacy that David introduced me to) and bringing it to a Mets game. This was at a time when the only food you could buy at Shea Stadium was hot dogs and pretzels!

No doubt David is up there somewhere laughing at all of our stories and memories...

Sherri Maxman

A thoughtful, loyal friend

August 24, 2009

Hi all,

Thanks for organizing this [an email list]. I did not even know David had passed away until after his funeral, but wished I was there. (I know stuff like that gets crazy when someone dies). David and I met at UVa, where I remember becoming friends when we shared a class in the history of modern art. He has been such a loyal friend, always keeping in touch, always remembering my birthday, which was just the week after he died.

When I moved from California to Boston in 1990, he and I had a great plan to drive my '76 orange Honda station wagon across the country together. He flew out, but then my car died a terrible death in the airport parking garage while picking up my dad for my med school graduation. Fortunately, David had bought a round-trip plane ticket, just in case. We got to visit, and the pictures Joe Grady shared of David at Lake Tahoe were from that trip of his. I ended up moving to Boston by plane.

Periodically, I'd go down to NY to see my sister, who lives in Westchester, and make a trip into the city and get together with David, who knew all the gluten-free restaurants where we could go (sushi and Indian were among his favorites). Often I'd have my kids in tow or others. We walked around Manhattan a lot. One year, for his birthday, I sent David an Amtrak ticket to Boston, but unfortunately, he never used it :-(.

In the months after 9/11, I was hanging around NYC with David, who really could not stop talking how those terrible events has deeply affected him. We rode the Staten Island ferry, just to relax and chat, and he told me how things were in NYC around that time. He apologized for talking about it so much, but I was glad to hear it from him; it impressed me how deeply these events affected him.

Later, when I got interested in breastfeeding advocacy, David always sent me articles about the links between not-breastfeeding and subsequent development of celiac. He was also just so thoughtful!!

Anyway, I will so totally miss him. I can't even believe he is gone. Sometimes I see things that remind me of him, and I'm still in disbelief.

Melissa Bartick

More Mets memories

August 24, 2009

I *think* I went to a Mets game with David, way back when . . . the glory days of Mookie, Keith, and my favourite Kevin "Big Mac" McReynolds.

He gave me and my then husband tickets for a game as a wedding gift, and I think he joined us. They were nose-bleed bleacher seats, and I don't remember much of the game itself, but knowing how much all three of us loved the Mutts, am sure we had a lot to talk about in terms of game play.

I also just found a Mets schedule tucked inside a manila envelope containing his play. I'd never noticed it was there before. I find this happening a lot: David surprising me with "Easter Eggs" to remind me he's still around...

x joy
[Joy Remuzzi]

His sporting side: the Mets, soccer, and polo (not chicken)?!?

August 24, 2009

Dolph's wonderful tribute mentioned David's fandom for the Mets, an up-and-inevitably-down proposition these past few years. I wonder if he made it to Citi Field in this, its inaugural season. I suspect not, because it would've turned up on the blog. I vaguely remember attending a game with him at the terrible Shea Stadium during or right after college, perhaps with Howie in tow.

Harris and I saw the Mets this season in Baltimore, and we thought of David, as Camden was overrun with Mets fans. I sent him an account of the game and this photo of a "big Mets fan" we encountered. I was going to enclose the ticket stub in the get well card I never got to send. By the way, the Mets beat the Orioles that night.

I gleaned that David's sporting side had expanded to include soccer, and even polo! I'm especially interested in the latter. See, during our college years at University of Virginia, "preppies" were ascendant, polo was something preppies would enjoy, and David was no preppie. He must've had an epiphany similar to the one I had about lacrosse, 20 years later when preppies weren't all up in our heads: hey, this is a great sport!

Ben Kim

David and his blinds

August 22, 2009

Just wanted to share this. I've been contributing to a new website for New York City homeowners, called Brick Underground, and they've arranged for this small bit to appear, featuring my mention of David and his window blinds (link below). Many of you are familiar with the David window blind story, and it is dear to my heart, since it is how I came to be back in touch with David after having lost track of him years earlier.

I do renovation design, and people are always asking me for advice about their homes. David had been trying to get his ancient, filthy, metal blinds cleaned, and someone (I think it was Anne) must have suggested he call me. We hadn't spoken since he'd given me advice for my trip to New Zealand, almost 10 years earlier, and I was pleased to hear from him. The last time I'd seen him was at the Rolling Stone offices, he was this up-and-coming entertainment writer and I was this up-and-coming art director. I went to New Zealand for a month (everything he said was perfect and true), and when I came back, my whole life changed and we fell out of touch.

So he asks me about his blinds, and frankly, it's a bit of a let-down. We haven't talked in 10 years and it's about blinds? But ok, I remember how helpful he was about New Zealand. Still, I don't have any sources and I'm anything but encouraging. I basically say, forget it, are you kidding? Break down and buy yourself some new blinds! But this is David, and he doesn't give up. Two weeks later he calls again, totally excited--he found some crazy Israeli guy to come clean his blinds!

Of course, David being David, we kept talking, and made a date to meet up. That's when I found out what he'd been up to all that time, taking care of his dad and how his life had also totally changed, that he'd realized he was celiac, etc. It was great to see him again and we went, after that, to see The Wizard of Oz outdoors at Brooklyn Bridge park, one of my favorite nights with David ever. So began David's tradition of riding me home, far out of his way, on the subway. He was so gallant. That was a summer night 4 years ago, and I'm lucky to have had 4 solid years of wonderful cultural events, nights out, and long talks with David.

And - I still recommend that crazy Israeli blind-washing guy to clients all the time!

http://www.brickunderground.com/forum/my_apartment/upkeep_repairs/help_my_window_blinds_are_a_mess

Clare Donohue