This slice is from 50 years ago yesterday and the day before. December 1 was the birthday of my boss at Bobbs-Merrill, Bob Ockene.
The next day he died, from acute leukemia, usually the childhood version of
leukemia.
I knew Bob only four months. When I interviewed with him for the job
as his secretary, I noticed that one of his books had been written by Milton
Kotler, who was married to my college friend Janet. He was friends with Robin
Morgan, who came by the office shortly before she went off to the women’s
liberation demonstration against the Miss America contest in early September. I
don’t know whether he’d already been diagnosed with leukemia when I started working for him or that only
happened in those four months. He was working almost until the day he died.
Only later did I learn that he was one of the founder of the Yippies.
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Lovely to remember and think about how knowing a man for only 4 months so changed your life!
ReplyDeleteI'm struck by all the connections you had; no wonder those four months stuck with you. Also, this line - "For quite a while, I could only write a work letter if I pretended I was my own secretary - and I never got my own secretary" - is somehow very evocative.
ReplyDeleteYour title grabbed me because I suddenly realized that it won't be too many more years before I can say, "Fifty years ago..." How did that happen? On another note, I love the idea of you pretending to be your own secretary to write your letters. I agree with Amanda -- it's such an evocative detail!
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