HAPPY FATHER’S DAY 2025
When I was thinking of what to write in this year’s Father’s Day column, nothing was coming to me. In several Mother’s Day columns here in INAM, I’ve shared interesting (I hope) stories of my own little mother. So here I was last week, wondering if I had an anecdote about my father for this occasion.
And I realized that I do! But, before I would be able to start recounting it to you, I had to first check this e-zine’s archives to make sure I would not be repeating myself.
This looks just like MY drawings! Still!
And I found that I wrote this three years ago: “I have only one funny story about [my father], which doesn’t transfer to writing, so I’ll put it on one of my YouTube videos some time. It’s a good one; I even told it at his funeral!” And I just knew that it’s the same anecdote I was thinking of now! (And for those of you were there—no worries—it’s not the one about my father telling my mother to buy me my first bra, to which I cheekily, and very inappropriately, added, “…and aren’t the Lakers grateful,”—which makes me cringe in retrospect—so you’re safe!)
But I still haven’t done the video about it, so I’ll just take the chance and report it here in writing, and hope that you can hear the story in the rhythms of my speech while you read it. Here’s the brief tale:
My retired teacher parents used to go out to eat all the time, (with us kids when we were young, and then alone when we all flew the coop,) and one of their favorite restaurants in Brooklyn was called Senior’s. We had many celebrations there over the years, including birthdays and a big anniversary party for my parents in the late ‘90s. And then it closed, and a new eatery opened in its space, with the newly-monikered Isabel’s becoming the only place at which my now-in-his-eighties father ever wanted to eat.
So, on one of my trips home to visit the ‘rents, our family friend, Big Al, came over to take us all to lunch. When discussing where to go, right away my father of course said, “I want Isabel’s.” I immediately stepped in with, “No chance.” Here we had our younger pal Al who was willing to drive further than my parents ever ventured anymore those days, so he and I wanted to take them someplace special.
I suggested the classic Junior’s, in downtown Brooklyn, an area which my mother wouldn’t be brave enough to drive to anymore. My father started silently grumbling while the other three of us were excited—I hadn’t been there since was a teenage model for an upscale department store in that part of town, Al, a busy nurse and Ph.D. student, hadn’t been there in years, and my parents hadn’t been there in decades!
Junior’s in downtown Brooklyn.
So off we went, with their famous cheesecake calling my name. My father and I sat in the back while my mother was up front with Al. They were old friends, (he had been one of her favorite students back in the day, and were simpatico on all topics, especially theatre,) and were happily chatting away. I joined in a bit, while my father just sat there, his usual quiet self, not saying a word for the entire drive.
We finally arrived at Junior’s, and I was expressing how grateful I was to have someone who cared enough about our family to take us out to someplace so special. I was lauding him by querying, “Where would we be without Al?!” to which, without skipping a beat, my father deadpanned, “Isabel’s!”
(L-R) Marty, May, Karen, and Big Al. (May was the only one prepared for the picture to be taken!) Photo by Junior’s waitress Camille Russo. (It’s amazing that I actually had this photo, but even more so that I FOUND it!)
I’ve always adored that story, and it got even better for me the other day. Al and I had lost touch during the pandemic, (he was very busy nursing at the time, I’m proud to say.) But I guess he’s been keeping-up with me on this e-zine, because he recently sent me a message here. I emailed him back after I had already written this article, and without me even mentioning this episode to him, he wrote the very same thing to me in his reply! Word-for-word! He added only that it was “the best and funniest ‘Seinfeld worthy’ interaction while I was driving us to lunch.” I love that it happened twenty-seven years ago, yet is so ingrained in our shared memories.
All that’s left for me to do now is to wish all you fathers, and father figures, a very Happy Father’s Day this Sunday. Grill a burger for me.
