Hang Down Yr Head. Mourn with the GTL.

Today I am mourning the passing of my father, who died yesterday after a recurrence of prostate cancer that overtook him swiftly. He was a fighter to the end, brave and strong.

Here at the GTL, our liberal values of equality and dignity, of fighting back, and the knowledge of human nature that causes politics and greed, come from this man.

Ben Wilensky would give you the shirt off his back, a book from his shelf, his time and kindness. Bottles of wine and whiskey, a grin from ear to ear, an impromptu history lesson. A deep laugh. A wide and bottomless forgiveness.

He would not suffer a fool. He lived his life away from the foolish entrapments of his time.

Our heart goes out to his wife of thirty-five years, my stepmother Millie, the true love of his life. Like an amputee, she will learn to go on with part of herself taken away. We will all support her and each other, and our communities.

We will be refraining from further posts for a week, more or less, while my father settles into his new home in the cosmos and we try to settle into our suddenly diminished lives.

L'Chaim. Shanti.

For now,
GTL out.