Oppenheim

Yesterday would have been the 58th birthday of an old friend of mine, who was also the father of one of my daughters. Certainly much too young to die.

I had not seen him for many years. He had lung cancer. I thought he had already quit smoking before. Apparently he did, but then he started up again.

He died on the day of the recall election, when Scott Walker won again. I remember having a funny feeling that day -- well, other than the obvious. It kept nagging at me. Something seemed wrong.

Okay, I kept saying to myself, "Of course something is wrong. Scott Walker is still governor." I trivialized it in this way. I did not realize until my daughter told me several months later.

So, I have a lot to memorialize today.

• Oppenheim.
• My dad, because it's Memorial Day, and he was a veteran, after all.
• My mom, who also died of lung cancer in 2012, just three months before Oppenheim.