I only had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Goodman on one occasion. So, I didn't know him nearly as well as most folks on this blog...but it only took him one time to make me feel as if I had. I spent a weekend at the Goodmans during my time spent at the yeshiva in Pittsburgh. During the Shabbos meal, the man I came to know as "Chen's dad" announced that he was going to sing a song, and instructed the rest of us to "clap three times" when he gave us the signal.
I don't need to go into the intricate details, but suffice it to say that I had spent nearly my entire life in Texas, yet it was "Chen's Dad" who taught me the "Deep in Heart of Texas" song.
Later that weekend, I was playing ball with some of the greatest athletes the city of Bal'more has ever known. Somehow the Goodman kids and I got the ball stuck in the backyard tree. After several failed attempts at dislodging the ball, I took a crack at it and hit it head on. It was no big deal, really. But Mr. Goodman made me feel as if I had just thrown the winning pass in the Super Bowl. And I’ll never forget it.
From that experience and the myriads of stories I’ve heard from Chen, I could tell Mr. Goodman took great pride in his kids. And certainly they were proud of their Pop.
I’m proud to have just witnessed a very small, yet everlasting, memory.
Oh yea, that weekend I also beat basketball legend, Tamir Goodman, in a one-on-one. (In full disclosure, I was 16 and he was 10….no rematches!)
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