Leonard Cohen and Memories of My Father

[billiedawn]

Dear Forum,

I am not sure why I feel compelled to tell this story, or if you are
at all connected with Mr. Cohen or his family, but I found my self
listening to his music today, and wanting him to know how much his music
has meant to me in my life.

In 2012 I lost my father to lung cancer. Most of his life he was a jazz
pianist. For many years he lived in Israel, (where I was born) and became
well known there. When we came to the US he began playing rock music. His
name was Michael Greenblatt and he played with a band in Israel called
From the Other Side.

I grew up singing Hallelujah with my father at the piano. He would always try to
teach me to find my own timing within the music. We shared a deep love
of Mr. Cohen's music.

Lung Caner is a cruel disease, and my father's passing was not easy. On
the night he died he had been unconscious for many hours. I arrived at his
house and was able to wake him up. I turned on a recording of a recent
live concert of Mr. Cohen's and talked to my father about it. Speaking
about Mr. Cohen's music brought him back, though temporarily, to
consciousness. We were able to keep him awake and say good by. All the
while, Mr. Cohen sung in the background.

Unfortunately, I now have a hard time listening to Mr. Cohen's music. That
the music that I so love and shared with my father. But I am thankful for
everything his music has given me. The beautiful messages, lyrics,
sounds. I truly appreciate his work, and would like to vocally recognize
how big a role his music played in some of the most intimate moments of my life.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

[Mkevenson]

Billiedawn, thank you for posting this inspirational piece.
Embrace the music, I bet your dad would not want you to turn it off. Embrace the thoughts and the music that you shared with your dad and which brought him to you one last time, at least in this realm.

Mark

[199Dan]

May I recommend Leonard's song "Here It Is" as a source of comfort .
Peace to you .....