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Dear John, Today is a very special day: It’s my Dad’s 80th Birthday! So I’m on my way to St. Louis to celebrate, and to spend Rosh Hashanah with him, my mom, and our family there. And I’m grateful for the chance to tell you a little about him.
Marek, Dad, and Rosa <3 Being David Lander’s son is, without any doubt, one of the most profound and anchoring blessings of my life. Honestly, my politics aren’t really more complicated than wanting every kid to have the sense of safety, grounding, support, and confidence in parents’ unconditional love that my sister Rachel and I received from him. A few things I want to highlight: My Dad is the best listener I know. It’s a kind of listening that honors his closest family members, and people he’s just meeting for the first time. It meets you where you are, but also connects to something deeper. In a routine and yet profound way, it validates that you matter. My Dad values without judging — something he has learned, or maybe honed, through his mindfulness meditation practice of the past 25 years — so he’s a great person to talk to when you have a tough decision to make. He’s become a wonderful mindfulness teacher as well. His last few sessions were "Learning to Observe What Is on Your Mind,” “Approaching More of Life with Genuine Curiosity,” and “The Value of Gratitude.” Let me know if you want to join his weekly zoom classes (seriously)! Oh yeah, and Dad had a pretty spectacular legal career as well. He spent 10 years as an attorney and director at Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, where he created new programs to help prevent low-income people from having their utilities cut off and support poor seniors. He then worked for several decades representing farmers and family businesses and becoming one of the best bankruptcy lawyers in the Midwest. And he taught at St. Louis University Law School (on subjects including bankruptcy, Article 9 of the UCC, and the History, Impact, and Regulation of Consumer Credit). His social justice work expanded even more after he retired, volunteering at Legal Services’ housing and consumer units dealing with the issue of unlawful evictions, working on consumer credit, and so many more issues. Recently, he took the bold stand of supporting workers at the Jewish Family Service of St. Louis to organize a union. OK, so the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. But I couldn’t be happier about that :-) And through all his compassion for others, he manages to make his family — and for-sure Meg, Marek, Rosa, my mom, and me — feel like we are simply the most valued people in the world. May we come to live in a world where everyone has the measure of love and joy that I have the privilege of sharing with my dad. Here’s to you, Dad! — Brad P.S. My mom is pretty great, too, as I wrote back in April when she turned 80. If you’re thinking “Brad is one lucky kid,” you are right on the money. |
