Affirmation to the Grandchildren.
It is perhaps odd that I feel a certain rapport with the eulogy Earl Spencer delivered for his sister. Unlike Diana, my mother died a peaceful and private death. Yet both my mother and Diana possessed a regalness that reached out and inspired the lives of many. And, as Mom grew in her life, she understood the importance of affirming the inherent goodness and personal character of her children and grandchildren.
When my sister married into a Jewish family, both my father and mother welcomed their new son-in-law. Both my parents were acutely aware of the difficulties they faced, but this only reinforced my parents’ desire to cooperate and work with the other family. That is the kind of woman she was.
Mom would want me to reaffirm the goodness that is in my Lacy and all her other grandchildren. I would especially like Richard, Debbie, and Michael to consider this reaffirmation to be a second Bar or Bat Mitzvah. Unlike the blessing in the story of Jacob and Essau, your grandmother’s blessing cannot be blocked, stolen, or subverted. She knew that each of you is fully deserving of honor and recognition.
To all of us, Mom will be a spirit guide. When we face our spirit stalkers, she will be there for us. Spencer puzzled over Diana’s stalkers in his eulogy, concluding “Genuine goodness threatens those at the opposite end of the moral spectrum.” It seems that all too often, the high road is a lonely road.
The memorial for this noble woman is of course here and not in Westminster Abbey, yet this is a place where everyone can wear their respective Bar and Bat Mitzvahs proudly. Mom must be proud, along with you, that Joe Lieberman is where he is today. Yes, she and Joe both understand that yarmulkes and cowboy hats have many common threads.
