Ronnie Berger 1950-2012

My Uncle Ronnie Berger passed away on September 11, 2012, after a brave battle.  He was my godfather, one of the father-figures in my life, and a mensch.  His departure leaves a giant hole in my heart and life.  His funeral is today, and I was asked to say a few words.  Below are some of the memories and feelings I want to share.

This past Tuesday, I was at lunch in Chinatown in DC with a friend when I received a call from my mother.  She was in tears and said he had taken a turn for the worse.  The next hour as I tried to eat my vegetarian Indian plate, I waited for more information.  My sister texted me to let me know it was serious, and my mom called back to say that I needed to come home.  I rushed home and threw together some clothes in a bag and took the Metro to the bus to BWI Airport.  I spent an hour at the airport bar drinking Sam Adams - the same beer we had at Brielle's bat mitzvah just a few months earlier in Florida over Memorial Day Weekend.  On my flight was Auntie Nancy who was connecting out of St. Louis as she was there seeing a friend.  We sat piggyback toward the back of the plane, and when we landed, my dad picked us up to rush us to the hospital.  There, they were waiting for us, the last family members, to arrive before unhooking him and letting him go.  He died at 9:37 P.M. on September 11, 2012.

Ronald Berger was my godfather.  He taught me about life, about being a good person, and Jewish values.  A few specific times I can remember where I grew closer to Judaism he was involved: my bar mitzvah, his first diagnosis, and my divorce.  When I was home for the High Holidays, we'd go to shul together.  Uncle Ronnie was a family man.  There wasn't anything he wouldn't do for his close friends and family.  Every Christmas we spent the day at his house eating, drinking, kibitzing - basically having the same party year after year.  It was great.

Uncle Ronnie was the kind of man who would cheat at board games to beat a ten year old (aided by his older brother, my Uncle Eddie).  He was the kind of man who took me aside at my bar mitzvah and said that now since I was a man, I would do tequilla shots with his uncles (again, Uncle Eddie was present).  He was responsible for helping me find my Jewish identity.  It was during his first diagnosis in 1995 when I found myself going to Hillel to seek some sort of sense and pray for him to get better.  And during my divorce, he was there to remind me that things happen for a reason and to be thankful because I wouldn't have to spend the rest of my life with someone that didn't make me happy.

Last night, I went to the Sox versus Yankees games with my brother Matthew, my brother-in-law Ryan, and my college friend, Greg.  (Thank you, Uncle David!)  We first went to Boston Beer Works across from Fenway and toasted Uncle Ronnie.  Then we watched the game from great seats with a nice view of the park.  It would have been nice if they had won, but the Sox aren't doing so well this season.  If he were sitting with us, he'd have shared his views on who was a bum, who needed to go, and who was the dirt dogs of the team.  He wasn't shy with his love of the Sox.  One of my favorite memories of the Sox was the July 24, 2004, game against the Yankees where Varitek shoved his mitt in A-Rod's face and Bill Mueller hit a walk-off home run off Rivera for a dramatic win.  I went to the game with my friend Adam (a Yankees fan and visiting Fenway for the first time) and he was at the game with Auntie Maryann.  We got a beer across the street before the game and celebrated after.  Another time, I went to the game with them and on the way home we ate dinner at the Halfway Cafe.  He loved the Sox, and I loved spending time with him bonding over the Olde Towne Team.

Mostly, I'm going to miss the times I visited home and stopped by his house.  He was almost always there with Auntie Maryann watching Sox or Pats or Celtics.  I'd sit down with them, game on in the background, and catch them up on what was new in my life.  Living in DC, I didn't get to come home as often as I'd like, but I averaged about 4-5 times a year.  I'd updated them on work, social life, politics, my running, and more.  I'm going to miss calling you with exciting news or other events in my life.  I'm going to miss our times on the golf course.

I already miss you...

My first win!

I won a race!  This Sunday, I ran the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Run/Walk.  It was billed as a 5K, but the route around the Capitol and Mall and back to the hotel was actually just shy of a four miler.  It felt good to be the fastest on that day and claim the prize!

I wasn't even scheduled to race this particular event.  Originally, I was going to run a 5K in Manassas or Columbia per my coach's request to pick up a tune-up race for my fall marathons.  But, my former boss who supervised me for two months asked me to run the 10K portion of the Nation's tri this weekend along with him on the bike and another former coworker doing the swim.  But, I wasn't needed when the originaly runner was unexpectedly able to run.  He let me know Thursday and by then my first two options were no longer available.  On Friday, I met my mentor and former boss of four years at the Mandarin Oriental for drinks and remembered I saw on Run Washington that they were holding a race.  It was around that time that I was offered a new job that I am pleased to be starting next week!

I showed up to the race bright and early with my number one supporter, Laura.  She has been nothing less than stellar!  About thirty minutes before the race, all the runners were gathered into a ballroom for "warm-up" which included jumping jacks.  They were all dressed in the green shirt the race gave out while I was wearing my club's yellow singlet.  An employee of the hotel that was racing told me the warm-up was mandatory - he had me for about a second before I figured out the joke was on me.  I took my Asics outside for a quick mile to loosen the legs.

At the start line, there was the usual countdown and when the "G" word was shouted, I was quickly off the line and out in front.  It was the second race I led at the start for a noticeable distance - the first was a club 10K where I came in second after surrending the lead on the final hill to a clubm member I would beat in the next 10 miler.  I bounded from the MO behind the police escort and on to Independence where the escort ended when I was directed onto the sidewalk of the north side of the street.  The course was "open" meaning traffic would not stop, but there were course marshalls to ensure we knew where we were running.

Around 7th and Independence, as I raced alone, I luckily caught the light and proceeded through.  As I started to climb Capitol Hill, I took my first glance back and saw two chasers, maybe 20-30 seconds behind.  I was a litttle sore from the 14 miler the day before, but knew I could hold my pace for a while.  The first mile clocked in at 5:49, but it would certainly be my fastest.  Climbing Capitol Hill left me with a 6:23 second mile, but I did open up a lead and dropped one challenger.  Once around First Street, I looked at the distance and knew it wasn't a 5K and prepared for a longer race of up to 4 miles.  That's the good part about running around DC so much - I roughly know distances.

I tried to bound down Capitol Hill and put more space between me and my pursuer.  I knew the prize for finishing first would be worthwhile, and I did not want to surrender it.  Near the Natural History Museum I did not hit the light perfectly, but I took a chance between cars by waving my hands and they gave me the right of way.  I did not want to lose because the lights were against me.  Around the American History Museum, I felt like he was coming closer so I turned onto the incline at 14th Street and shortened my stride and tried to increase my lead.  It seemed to work because I looked back around 12th Street and seemed to be alone.  That lead did not cause me to slow - rather I remained steady and set my eyes on the prize.

As I turned towards the MO, I knew I had my first race win in hand.  I had led from gun to tape - something I wasn't sure I would ever experience again.  I shouted out Laura's name so she could take a few pictures of me finishing.  As I ran toward the tape, I broke it by flicking my hands across it, just like Steve Prefontaine did in his wins!  All that was left was to be interviewed and go to the barbecue and awards ceremony where I was presented with my booty: a free night at the MO with breakfast!  I don't know who was more excited by my win - me or Laura!

I don't run to be the first to cross the tape - I run to see if I can do better than I did last time.  This time was a success in that style.  Next up is a half marathon before my two fall marathons.  I doubt I'll cross the tape first - but I hope I can do better than my last race.