ON MAY 28th, AMARCORD

“The title means ‘I remember’ in the dialect of Rimini, the seaside town of his youth, but these are memories of memories, transformed by affection and fantasy and much improved in the telling. Here he gathers the legends of his youth, where all the characters are at once larger and smaller than life—flamboyant players on their own stages.”

- Roger Ebert on Federico Fellini’s Amarcord

This is a day chosen for remembrance, but my remembrances are certainly not restricted to it. It is simply one of many days-- all days, in fact— that are infused with the spirit of people now gone, some of whom I loved, some of whom I never met, yet all of whom somehow affected my life in a positive way. I seek out quiet, I close my eyes, and I know at some point all of you will drift through my periphery— my son Charlie; Bruce’s dad Mike; my grandparents, Rina, Nonie, Louis, Dee, and faded images (stolen mostly from equally faded photographs) of Grandpa Les, who I barely knew; Matt’s beloved Jennifer; Robert Altman; and even Jim’s dad, whose name I do not know. There are days when I feel like all the stress of the moment crowds out any other concern. But it isn't really so. Each opportunity to take a breath affords the opportunity to reconnect in some small, fleeting way with what you’ve all given to me and to those closest to you. And so it shall continue.

Amarcord.