My Portrait Of Newman

While thinking about Newman, I remembered our visit to the Twin Cities in which Mattie kindly arranged for us to visit Emily and Louie’s house. Emily’s design was unique, creative, progressive, interesting. It was a house, which could have been built today. Newman moves forward with the times too, and is very much a “now” kind of person and he is progressive, unique, creative, and interesting.



He has adapted to the times, redefined his professional life, learned to use internet. Why, he’s on facebook! He has also, redefined his relationships with his children and grandchildren).



For me, it is a singular event in my adult life. I cherish my adult connection to Newman.

I have a theory that I employ in times of adversity, and have suggested to the kids. I call this the Lefkowich Family Spring Back Theory. If you visualize yourself springing back from adversity, then you will recover. I believe Newmie’s life of the last few years perfectly illustrates the Spring Back Theory. The circumstances of Newman’s life changing profoundly, physical problems and emotional times coming at him and us right and left. But, just look at him now!!!!



I am impressed with his capacity and desire to continue on.

I also admire Newmie’s consistency.



Above all things, isn’t it nice to be able to predict how a person will behave or react in certain circumstances, no matter what! Newman brings a healthy, or at least, well developed skepticism to life: if he doesn’t know it, or believe it, we can predict he won’t go along. Even when he is wrong, he is consistent! I think also, it’s not just a consistency of behavior, but also of belief, of holding to certain values and ideas over a long time. I think his strong beliefs are sound and I share many of them.

One of those values is that of family. Over the years, Newman and Lily used family trips and perpetual thanksgivings to bring us together. As bittersweet as these occasions inevitably were, they were all about the importance, to him and therefore to us, of having a family that could stand to be in the same room with one another and could work together in hard times and good times.


I’ve come to realize through this experience, that you can only have a family if you continue to work for it.



And I want to thank Carole, Deb, Matt, Susan, Jono, Erica and Jason for being willing to travel some distance to make this family celebration complete and illustrate my point.

I believe that two of the most important roles for parents and grandparents, are to be the people on the sidelines cheering the kids on, and also being the receivers of the news. Newmie has always been the person to call to share those life events, the one to participate in them with us. He says all the time how proud he is of his grand children and their unique interests. This is the most obvious sign of pure Newmie love and support.














If he is proud of me, then I can be proud of me too.



He is also a practical man, giving practical advice, a strong presence all the time.


Newmie is also a very hungry man. Not just for food!



Hungry for intellectual stimulation, knowledge, culture, and action. He keeps living, every day, as fully as he can. He brings all of us along too. And, even when he’s not feeling that great, or is sleeping a lot, he still has plans!



There’s never a dull moment. I want to be that hungry when I’m his age. I want to bring my children along the same way.

We honor Newmie today for his longevity: for getting to this ripe young age. And, we honor him and salute him for the kind of person he is, the person we love.