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John —
Well, you’ve heard from Boca Eddie (Dad), and now it’s older brother Dan chiming in with a tale as improbable as it is true from our shared history as kids…
People often come up to me and ask — what’s Adam like? I mean, not on TV, or the news, but what’s he really like? I am here to give you the real scoop.
As boys, we lived on a lively street in Framingham, Massachusetts with tons of kids. One boy who lived next door had unique skills. He could draw in his breath, gulp it in deep, and then let loose with “burp” speech sentences long and with such range he could do song lyrics.
One day after school, the bus dropped off Adam and me at the usual stop. Typically we’d horse around and kill time for the two-mile walk home. (Okay maybe only one mile, but uphill in both directions.)
Only this time, Adam, age 7, decided he’d practice his burp-speak and maybe unseat the champ on our block. After fits and starts, and much ardent croaking, he succeeded only in being annoying as hell. So, to make him stop, I flung my jacket at him, and the zipper chipped a front tooth. He bled. And howled all the way home.
I told Adam to get creative and say he had bumped into a tree, or tripped over a log, or stumbled off the bus steps. Really anything. I gave him so many choices! But he howled even louder with each suggestion.
When at last we got home, and Mom opened the door to see Adam’s bloody face and chipped tooth, I told her I was fine, but Adam walked into a tree, etc… it was THEN that Adam calmly and clearly went through a catalog of each of my lies, calling out each ruse, one by one, with perfect cool and not a howl to be heard.
Adam could not and would not be bullied — not even at age 7!
Neither did he demand retribution from our parents, or prevaricate about what really happened. When I look back I see that my brother’s sense of truth and justice (and mercy) had as their inspiration this practice period of our youth, and that is why I am asking you to help me help him to continue to speak out and stand up against the real bullies of our era.
Adam has the decency and calm since his earliest days to stand up, assert himself, and not be cowed. Though this is a true story from our youth, I’m proud of how my brother, even as a kid, couldn’t be persuaded to go along with baloney… or be conned into doing something unjust… it’s not in his nature.
And it’s why I wasn’t surprised when Adam was able to stand up against Donald Trump, his MAGA supporters in the House and Senate, and for our shared values of truth and decency… no matter what was thrown his way.
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I’m Dan, and I approve this message. I’ve always wanted to write that sentence!
Thanks,
Dan Schiff
P.S. If none of that convinced you, here’s another photo of Adam and me just before we moved from Massachusetts to Arizona to California!
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