Rich Eychaner
Des Moines, Iowa
4 Jun 2025 |
I met David Glassberg in August 1970 at American University in Washington DC. We were soon inseparable. He a freshman from Teaneck, NJ, and I a midwesterner 4 years older. Having been a United Methodist lay preacher for two years in a town of 200 people, the cultural shock was both astounding and exhilarating. Sharing Rosh Hashanah with his family started connecting things theologically between Christianity and Judaism for me. We delighted in our differences and our strong love for each other. I thought we'd be together forever, but fate was otherwise. After two years I graduated and went to seminary in Kansas City while David finished his degree. Something had happened that hurt him which he wouldn't explain to me. We stayed in touch after he moved to California but we couldn't rekindle the relationship. Ironically, decades later a friend explained what had happened. A semantic difference between midwestern small town and eastern usage created the conflict when we heard opposite things with one word spoken one time. I am so proud of David for what he accomplished in his tragically shortened life and imagine how much more he would have done with more time, His memory is a blessing to me and to all who knew him. Hold him snug in your love, and he lives forever. |
