3rd
Lawrence Marvin Goldberg (1927 - 2008)
I could talk about so many aspects of Umpa’s life that have inspired me,
And there are way too many memories that I’d love to share.
But I’d like to focus this brief speech on those that involved Travel.
Because many of my first, last, and greatest memories of Umpa begin and end with a journey:
There were the annual trips to Baltimore for Christmas,
Summer vacations in Europe,
and leisurely River boat cruises that afforded ample time for family togetherness.
Each Christmas and Summer provided its own unique set of childhood memories,
but there was one reoccurring memory that supports them all like book-ends.
It’s the memory of stepping off the airplane into the terminal gate,
where a large crowd of greeters waited for their loved ones to disembark.
My annual childhood journeys to Baltimore did not end when the plane landed,
They ended when I scanned the crowd of eager greeters standing at that gate,
identified my grandfather,
and ran over to give him a hug.
A lot changes over the course of twenty-five Christmases.
Our presents changed from board games to video games,
New clothing — aka “squishy presents” — went from the least desirable to the most desirable gifts,
and we ultimately figured out the Santa Clause conundrum.
But one thing stayed the same;
The best gift of all was waiting for us at the BWI terminal each and every year.
But if I had to choose one specific memory of Umpa that I elevate above the others,
then it would be the first vivid one that I can recall.
It took place when I was six years old and flying with Umpa from San Francisco to Baltimore…
Our flight got caught in a tremendous storm,
Complete with extreme turbulence and lightning.
It seemed scary at the time, as well it should have.
He once recollected that the flight was “no laughing matter,”
and he was right.
When I started to get scared,
Umpa asked me if I wanted to lie down on his lap and sing him a song.
As it turned out, I had spent the better part of a year learning quite a few,
and I relished the opportunity to make my grandfather proud:
I sang him the entire first-grade repertoire:
God Bless America,
The Star Spangled Banner,
America the Beautiful,
My Country ‘Tis of The
I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy
I asked Umpa if he knew the words, and was surprised to learn that he knew them all.
It would be the last time that my grandfather and I shared a taste in music,
but it foreshadowed a great many uniquely American passions we enjoyed together:
Our love for baseball, which manifested itself in so many Orioles games — a highlight of every summer trip to Baltimore.
Our love for U.S. history, especially the parts in which Umpa was a proud witness or participant.
Our love for classic board games like Monopoly and Scrabble, which we played to no end on our last trip to Europe.
That first flight together truly set the tone for a relationship that treated a 3,000 mile distance as nothing more than a small roadblock.
And sometimes we treated the world as though it were smaller than that.
Umpa was there on my first-ever trip to London.
He went to Vienna with Omi, Jake, and me, to show us the sites that defined his bachelorhood and early-marriage years.
And we journeyed from Amsterdam and across the great European rivers just three years ago.
Over the last couple years,
Long after Umpa had succeeded in visiting just about every country on Earth,
I began to travel predominantly on my own or with friends.
Even though Umpa was not with me on these later trips,
I nonetheless enjoyed sending him regular travel notes,
and he was all too happy in my happiness.
He responded to my calls and emails and his words always embodied the same message:
“I’ve been there. I loved it. And I’m glad that you’re experiencing the same.”
Umpa’s life was successful for many reasons, and his ability to see the world was just one amongst them.
And his life commenced as though it were the type of trip
that we all hope for when we step outside and lock the door behind us:
A steady take-off,
A smooth journey,
A gentle landing,
And our family waiting to greet us when we arrive at the gate.
