Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing? Welcome to March. Are you ready for this month? I’m not, but that’s okay. Today, I just wanted to take some time to say a quick goodbye.

When I was little, I was a beggar for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Okay, that’s not what they called us, but that was our job. They had a bunch of “ambassadors” (me and other kids) whose job it was to look cute and get people to donate money to MDA for research and equipment and stuff to help people with disabilities. It was a great program when I was kid. Now, it’s more research oriented, but back then it was all about the families and helping people in need. It helped me and my parents a lot with equipment that we couldn’t afford at a time when insurance wasn’t an option for us. But I digress. MDA also introduced us to some really interesting people.

One of those people was Ed Baker. He passed away due to Covid a few days ago. We weren’t super close, but he was one of those people who just felt like a friend no matter how often or sparingly we talked to him. He always had kind words for us and amusing stories. Whether from his days with the Jerry Lewis telethon or whatever travels he had been on, he always seemed to have a never ending number of anecdotes and memories to share. And share he did. Aside from being an amazing human being, he was also a photographer. He gifted me a picture of a torii (Japanese gate) outside a shrine from a trip he took to Japan. It’s hanging on my wall and is one of my favorite things. With the pandemic, we weren’t able to meet up with him for dinner or anything. And we didn’t reach out nearly as much as we should’ve. But Dad and I will miss Ed.

I suppose we’ll just have to get that Indian food we’ve been promising each other for years now in the next life. Rest easy, Ed.