Comments on: I Want You Back

By: mary

mary — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 06:23:37 +0000

Nice post, Neil. And lovely pictures.

By: patry

patry — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 03:29:15 +0000

Beautiful and true.

By: Neil

Neil — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 05:12:32 +0000

Thanks for writing, Judy. My father wasn’t religious at all. I like traditions and have no problem lighting candles, etc. It just makes me anxious because I want it to have some meaning, and I don’t always feel it.

By: Judy K

Judy K — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 04:19:16 +0000

It’s strange that I went to your page today as I was looking at the page with the dialog with Kyra Sedgewick, Leonard Nimoy & Jason Alexander. I was lunching with some friends and talking about the show “The Closer” and I mentioned Kyra was Jewish. They were surprised. I sent them the page with the dialog.

Anyhow, I am about to have my dad’s Yahrtzite and I also feel somewhat strange. I do it out of respect for him, it is what he would have wanted. He was a very spiritual man. He went to shul twice a day when his dad died. My dad only had daughters. My sister died before he did. I light a candle for him, my mom, my sister, and even a beloved grandmother. I think I do it out of respect and I think I do it for myself because he would have wanted it.
Your friend, the Sexy Senior

By: Juliness

Juliness — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 15:20:15 +0000

Lovely words and sentiment, my friend. Sometimes the moments we stumble upon are even better than the ones we try and create.

By: V-Grrrl

V-Grrrl — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 13:06:33 +0000

Peace.

By: sassy

sassy — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 05:25:20 +0000

I really can’t even imagine. Beautiful words, Neil.

By: jaime

jaime — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 02:25:32 +0000

Both of my parents have died and when I was young, I would light a candle for my mother, because it was tradition, something I thought I was suppose to do. When my father died, I started out doing that, on his bday, the holidays, and the anniversary of his death and then I just stop. I stop for the same reason why you were hesitating and felt uncomfortable. The candle didn’t bring me closer to him, It was just a ritual than anything spiritual or emotional.

To me, death and religion are very much the same. It’s very personal in how one choices to connect with it, grieve, remember, etc.

By: Pearl

Pearl — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 01:23:32 +0000

Neil, you light a candle to your father’s name every time you do something that reflects him, every time you refer to him in conversation, every time you think of him.

That is a tribute in itself.

May his memory be for a blessing.

By: Two Roads

Two Roads — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 01:11:41 +0000

Perfect!