A letter to Lois Cohen, friend and family to Rothkoff Law Group, written by her grandson, Jared Fisch.
Hi Bubbie,
It’s me, Jared, your second of four grandsons. You’d be amazed by how tall Cameron and Jake have gotten. Jason started his first full-time job about two years ago, and now I graduated from college last month. There’s so much to tell you about. I know you didn’t have the opportunity to attend university and would have loved to live vicariously through me.
I moved halfway across the country to attend the world’s first and best journalism school at the University of Missouri. People would find your thick New York accent fascinating here, considering I’ve gotten some comments about my extremely mild South Jersey/Philly accent. There’s even a new bagel shop on campus, Goldie’s, that I know would make you feel right at home with the Jewish cookbooks serving as decorative pieces.
Your strength is something that has pushed me to fight through adversity over the last few years. I could hear your voice telling me about all the great things I would accomplish if I just kept studying hard when I was homesick freshman year. I could imagine explaining to you how I met the CEO of the world’s largest family-owned public relations firm, Richard Edelman, and how he told me that I was a “bright young man.” The smile on your face would have lit up the hair salon when you walked in, bragging about your grandson in Missouri.
I find you watching me in places of triumph and success. While working for the 2021 Homecoming Steering Committee, you floated by in the form of one of your favorite things: a butterfly. It was an early morning, but I knew you were dropping in to say hello and that you were proud of me for working so hard on my schoolwork and extracurriculars. I held back tears as I said out loud, “I love you, too, Bubbie,” watching you slowly flutter away in the rising sunshine.
As I walked across the stage in my cap and gown, I looked at the crowd and found an empty seat that was supposed to be filled by you. I wish I could’ve called you to tell you about all the classes I’ve taken and the friends I’ve made. I wish you could have visited me to see the campus and all the places where I made so many memories. While you didn’t have the physical strength to see me graduate, I’ve been telling you all about school this whole time. Every break, when I returned home for just a short period of time, I made sure to come by and fill you in. You’d smile from the bed you haven’t left in over a year and look at me with that same look you had when you used to come to my Little League Baseball games. I know you’re proud of me.
Love,
Jared
Lois Cohen, my grandmother, has been battling Alzheimer’s for over five years. The sudden, unforgiving deterioration of her mental and physical well-being has held her back from watching her grandsons grow into young men. Her courage to continue fighting this disease with every
dwindling ounce of being she has left has been inspiring and heartbreaking at the same time. While her time with us is clearly dissipating, her love is everlasting. Thank you, Bubbie, for being a role model and a best friend to everyone who had the fortune of meeting you. I love you.