THERE WALKED A GENTLE GIANT IN THE EARTH
EULOGY FOR "AL" ALEXANDER HARKER CROW III
AUGUST 8, 2003
"HANEFILIM HAYOO VAARETZ BAYAMIM HAHEM, V'GAM ACHAREI CHEN ASHER YAVOU BNAI ELOHIM...
IN JUST A FEW WEEKS WE WILL READ THOSE LINES FROM THE BIBLE, FROM THE BOOK OF GENESIS CHAPTER SIX, VERSE 4,
IT ENGLISH, THE VERSE MEANS-
"IN THE OLDEN DAYS,A LONG TIME AGO-
THERE WERE GIANTS IN THE EARTH...
THEY WERE THE HEROES OF OLD. THESE WERE MEN OF GREAT REKNOWN..."
"HANEFILIM HAYOU VA'ARETZ"
THERE WERE GIANTS IN THE EARTH. THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE WHOSE LIVES CAN BARELY BE TOLD. THEY WEREN'T REALLY FAMOUS, THEY NEVER GOT IN THE NEWSPAPER. DIDN'T MAKE IT ON TV, THEY DIDN'T MAKE A MILLION DOLLARS. PROBABLY DIDN'T LEAVE A WHOLE LOT OF MATERIAL WEALTH BEHIND, OTHER THAN A MILLION PILES OF STUFF FOR THEIR RELATIVES TO TRY TO CLEAN UP.
BUT THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE WHO ARE JUST "SUI GENERIS",AS WE SAY IN LATIN. "YOTZEI MIN HAKLAL" AS WE SAY IN HEBREW". JUST ONE OF A KIND. TRULY UNIQUE.
""HANEFILIM HAYOU V'ARERETZ".
THERE WERE GIANTS IN THE EARTH.
YOU SEE, THERE WAS A GUY NAMED
HARKER ALEXANDER CROW THE THIRD. HE WAS A KIND OF GENTLE GIANT WHO WALKED THIS EARTH FOR THE ALL TOO SHORT PERIOD OF 54 CYCLES AROUND THE SUN.
WLL, LET'S GET'S ONE THING COVERED RIGHT AWAY.
NUMBER ONE IS THAT THE NAME HARKER ALEXANDER CROW THE THIRD WILL NOT MENTIONED AGAIN THIS EVENING. AL HIMSELF WOULD HAVE BEEN EMBARASSED BY ALL THE ATTENTION HE IS RECEIVING TONIGHT, BUT HE DEFINITELY WOULD NOT WANT TO BE CALLED BY HARKER ALEXANDER CROW THE THIRD.
MAYBE I SHOULD TELL YOU ABOUT THAT NAME FOR JUST A MINUTE. IT MIGHT TELL YOU SOMETHING ABOUT ALL THE PLACES HE'D BEEN AND ALL THE THINGS HE'D SEEN.
AT BIRTH HE WAS GIVEN THE NAME HARKER,. I DID'T KNOW IT UNTIL JUST YESTERDAY, BUT THE NAME HARKER CROW WAS INHERITED FROM HIS FAMOUS GREAT GRANDFATHER, THE ORIGINAL HARKER CROW THE FIRST, THE PRESIDENT OF OWENS CORNING GLASS, A FORTUNE FIVE HUNDRED COMPANY. I'VE KNOWN AL FOR A A DOZEN YEARS, AND LETTING YOU KNOW THAT HE WAS DESCENDED FROM MULTIMILLIONAIRES WAS THE LAST THING THAT HE WOULD EVER DO.
WHEN AL WAS YOUNGER HE WAS ALWAYS REFERED TO BY HIS FRIENDS AS "ALEC," WITH A "c" HIS SISTER, DENA TOLD ME JUST YESTERDAY.
BUT, LIKE MANY OF US WHO GREW UP IN THE SIXTIES AND SEVENTIES AL QUESTIONED HIS IDENTITY AS HE LEFT ADOLESENCE BEHIND AND HE TOLD DENA ONE DAY "DON'T CALL ME ALEC ANYMORE, IT SOUNDS TOO PREPPY.
AND FROM THAT DAY ON, IT WASN'T HARKER. IT WASN'T ALEXANDER. AND IT WASN'T ALEC. IT WAS JUST PLAIN "AL CROW".
YEAH, IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT , OLD AL CROW WAS PROBABLY WAY AHEAD OF HIS TIME, BECAUSE WHEN HE SHORTENED HIS NAME FROM HARKER ALEXANDER TO JUST PLAIN AL, IT WAS PROBABLY QUITE A FEW YEARS BEFORE PAUL SIMON SANG,
IF YOU'LL BE MY BODYGUARD
I CAN BE YOUR LONG LOST PAL.
I CAN CALL YOU BETTY.
AND BETTY WHEN YOU CALL ME,
YOU CAN CALL ME AL...
SO, THERE YOU HAVE IT...
YOU KNOW, THE TALMUD, THE JEWISH BOOK OF WISDOM SAYS THAT ALL OF US GET TO HAVE THREE NAMES THROUGH OUT OUR LIVES.
FIRST,WE GET THE NAME THAT WE ARE BORN WITH. SECONDLY, WE GET THE NAME THAT WE GIVE TO OURSELVES. AND FINALLY AT THE END OF OUR LIVES, THE TALMUD SAYS- WE GET THE NAME THAT OTHERS WILL EVENTUALLY GIVE TO US.
THREE NAMES AND THREE NAMES ALONE.
THAT'S ALL YOU GET. THREE TO A CUSTOMER. THE FIRST NAME AT BIRTH WAS THE HARKER ALEXANDER.HIS PARENTS CALED HIM THAT.
FIRST HE CALLED HIMSELF ALEC, BUT THEN LATER HE SHORTEND IT TO JUST PLAIN "AL CROW. IT WAS MORE DOWN HOME. IT FIT HIM AND HIS MODESTY. THAT WAS HIS NAME AND THE NAME THAT HE CALLED HIMSELF. "AL"
BUT I FOUND MYSELF WONDERING- WHAT'S THIS ALL ABOUT WHEN THE TALMUD SAYS, AT THE END OF LIFE THERE'S A FINAL NAME. IT'S THE NAME BY WHICH OTHER'S WILL CALL US.
AND THEN I REMEMBERED, WHEN THE BIBLE USES THE WORD NAME IT REALLY MEANS YOUR REPUTATION. IT MEANS THE WAY THAT YOU WILL BE REMEMBERED, LONG AFTER YOU ARE GONE.
THE BOOK OF PROVERBS SAYS, A GOOD NAME, A GOOD REPUTATION, IS GREATER THAN ALL WEALTH.
HANEFILIM HAYU VARETZ
THERE WERE GIANTS IN THE EARTH.
I FEEL SO SILLY HAVING TO WRITE THAT SENTENCE OUT IN ENGLISH FONTS, EVERY TIME I GET TO IT, IN THE EULOGY FOR AL. IF ONLY HE WERE HERE RIGHT NOW. HE WAS THE FIRST GUY I EVER KNEW WHO WAS SMART ENOUGH TO TRACK DOWN A PROGRAM THAT LET'S YOU TYPE IN ENGLISH, BUT THEN SWITCHES IT TO HEBREW FONTS.
AL TAUGHT HIMSELF HOW TO DO THAT, BECAUSE HE DESIGNED THE FIRST EVER ENGLISH HEBREW SONGBOOK THAT WE USE HERE, AND NOBODY COULD FIGURE OUT HOW TO INPUT BOTH HEBREW AND ENGLISH ON A SINGLE PAGE. I SHOULD HAVE ASKED AL TO TEACH ME HOW TO DO THAT. I SHOULD HAVE AL TO TEACH ME ME HOW TO DO THAT, BEFORE HE LEFT US THE OTHER DAY. YOU KNOW THERE ARE JUST SOME CONVERSATIONS THAT YOU SOMETIMES FORGET TO HAVE...
NANEFELIM HAYU VARETZ.
THERE WERE GIANTS IN THE EARTH.
WHEN WHEN IT WAS JUST A HUSH HUSH THING USED BY THE MILITARY AND UNIVERSITY, THINK IT WAS CALED ARPANET, OR SOMETHING CALLED THAT, AND THEN IT WAS CALLED BBS, BULETIN BOARD SERVICES- AL WAS ALREADY ON TO IT. AL ALWAYS HAD A PROJECT THAT HE WAS ON TO. SO HE APPROACHED ME BACK IN THE EARLY 1990'S JUST AS THIS THING THAT HARDLY ANYBODY HAD EVER HEARD OF WAS BREAKING. IT WAS CALLED THE INTERNET.
AND AL APPROACHED ME ONE DAY AND HE SAID, "I'VE GO THIS GREAT IDEA. I'M GOING TO DESIGN A WEB PAGE FOR THE SYNAGOGUE. IT'LL HAVE UNBELIEVABLE GRAPHICS. UP TO DATE NEWS SERVICE. LINKS TO OTHER SYNAGOGUES AROUND THE WORLD. AND I'LL EVEN WORK OUT A WAY TO PROVID JEWISH MUSIC AS WELL."
AL'S FACE WAS BEAMING AFTER HE MADE THE PRESENTATION.
"THAT'S GREAT!" I SAID. "GET RIGHT ON IT, AL. I JUST HAVE ONE QUESTION BEFORE YOU START. WHAT'S A WEB PAGE?"
NO SYNAGOGUE IN THE COUNTRY HAD A WEB PAGE AT THE POINT THAT AL DEVELOPED OURS. AND WITHIN 6 MONTHS TIME WORD HAD SPREAD AROUND THE COUNTRY, OUR GUEST BOOK FILLED UP WITH FAVORABLE COMMENTS AS OTHER WEB DESIGNERS BEGAN TO STEAL IDEAS FROM AL CROW AND AL CROW'S WEB SITE FOR TEMPLE KOL EMETH WON AN INTERNATIONAL AWARD THE FOLLOWING YEAR FOR BEST WEB DESIGN FOR A RELIGIOUS INSTITUTION.
YOU KNOW, AL NEVER TOLD ME THAT HE WON AN AWARD.
I DIDN'T FIND IT OUT TIL YEARS LATER.
SON OF A GUN, AL DIDN'T TELL ME LOTS OF THINGS ABOUT AL. I HAD TO PRY MOST OF THEM OUT OF DENA LYST, AL'S SISTER AND NATHAN, AL'S NEPHEW, THE OTHER DAY.
AL GREW UP IN INDIANAPOLIS 54 YEARS AGO AND THEN LATER MOVED TO FT. WAYNE FOR THE LAST YEARS OF HIGH SCHOOL. WHAT I DIDN'T KNOW WAS THAT AL LEFT HIGH SCHOOL BECAUSE IT WAS A TOO BORING FOR HIM. AL HAD THE KIND OF BRILLIANCE THAT CAN NEVER STAY FOCUSED, BECAUSE THERE IS JUST TO MUCH TO DO AND JUST TOO LITTLE TIME TO DO IT IN.
EVENTUALLY, THOUGH, AL MADE HIS WAY TO COLEGE IN FT. WAYNE. LIKE MANY OF US OF THAT GENERATION, AL WASN'T SURE WHAT HE WANTED TO DO WHEN HE GREW UP. SO AL KIND OF DEFERRED THAT WHOLE DECISION. HE MANAGED TO STAY IN COLLEGE FOR CLOSE TO 10 YEARS, OFF AND ON.
THERE IS NO TRUE WAY TO FULLY DESCRIBE ALL OF THE THINGS THAT ALEX CROW WAS OR WHAT HE DID, WHAT HE SAW, WHERE HE WENT OR WHAT HE CAME TO BE. IN THE WORDS OF SHAKESPEARE AL CROW WAS "A MAN OF MANY PARTS"
DID YOU KNOW THAT HE TOOK UP SPEAKNIG RUSSIAN WHILE IN COLLEGE. OR THAT HE HAD A FABULOUS COLLECTION OF INSTRUMENTS, BECAUSE HE COULD PICK UP ALMOST ANY INSTRUMENT AND PLAY BY EAR?
DID YOU KNOW THAT AL HAD BEEN A TRUCK DRIVER ?
DID YOU KNOW THAT AL HAD BEEN AN EXPERT JEWELER, WHO OWNED A JEWELRY STORE CALLED THE SCARAB? I'LL BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW THAT AL WAS THE FIRST PERSON IN FT. WAYNE TO SET UP A COUNSELLNG CALL IN HELP LINE FOR PEOPLE WITH DRUG AND ALCOHOL PROBLEMS.
NAH- I GOT A BETER ONE FOR YOU- I GUARANTEE YOU, YOU DON'T KNOW THIS ONE, BECAUSE I NEVER HEARD THIS ONE UNTIL YESTERDAY. DID YOU KNOW THAT AT ONE POINT, AL TOOK OFF A YEAR FROM COLLEGE TO GO OUT ON THE CARNIVAL CIRCUIT.
CAN YOU JUST IMAGINE THAT, AL DRESSED UP AS THE STRONG MAN OR THE CARNIVAL BARKER- HE HAD THE HAMMER CONCESSION AT THE CARNIVAL. YOU KNOW- WHERE YOU TAKE THIS HUGE HAMMER AND TRY TO HIT THE WEIGHT AND MAKE IT GO UP TO HIT THE BELL.
GEEZ, AL. YOU WERE A HIPPY AFTER MY OWN HEART!
MUSICIAN, JEWELER, COUNSELOR TO THE DOWN AND OUT, TRUCK DRIVER,
MAGICIAN, WEB DESIGNER, PROGRAMMER-ANALYST, CARNIVAL BARKER. GOD, AL, JUST TO LIST THOSE THINGS- IT MAKES YOU SOUND LIKE A JERRY GARCIA SONG. HOW EXACTLY DID YOU GET FROM BEING A TRUCK DRIVER TO AN EQUIFAX EMPLOYEE? AH-I'M NOT SURE I WANT TO KNOW.
I DON'T KNOW, AL- WAS THERE ANYTHING THAT DIDN'T INTEREST YOU? WAS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU COULDN'T DO? IT'S A GOOD THING THAT YOU DIDN'T WANT TO BE A RABBI, OR I WOULD HAVE BEEN OUT OF A JOB.
HANEFILIM HAYU VARETZ
THERE WERE GIANTS IN THE EARTH-
TO DINA, HIS SISTER AND NATHAN HIS NEPHEW. YOU ARE THE ONLY REAL FAMILY HE HAS. YOU ARE HIS ONLY FLESH AND BLOOD HE HAS. YOU HAVE MEMORIES OF AL, YOU SHARE COMON ANCESTORS WITH HIM, YOU SHARE SOROWS WITH HIM AND WELL AS HAPPY TIMES TOGETHER. DINAH AND NATHAN- OUR HEATS GO OUT TO YOU TONIGHT. YOUHAVE ENDURED OTHER LOSSES DURING THIS PAST YEAR AND A HALF OF OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS, SO THE LOSS OF AL HITS YOU, ONCE AGAIN, DOUBLY DIFFICULT AND DOUBLY HARD. TONIGHT WE LAUGH WITH YOU, BECAUSE AL WAS A GREAT GUY. AND TONIGHT, WE CRY WITH YOU, AS WELL. WE'LL MISS HIM AND WE WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT HIS LIFE WAS SPECIAL AND THAT HE MEANT SOMETHING TO ALL US WHO SHOWED UP AT 7:00 ON A SUMMER NIGHT.
NATHAN, EVEN THOUGH HE WAS YOUR UNCLE ON HIS LONG LONELY TRIPS ACROSS AMERICA, AS A TRUCK DRIVER HE WOULD BUY SNOW GLOBES FROM LOUSY LITTLE TRUCK STOPS TO BRING TO YOU.
YOU USED TO TEASE HIM AND CALL HIM "UNCLE AL THE KIDDIE'S PAL". AND ONCE WHEN YOU A KID HE SWEPT YOU UP AND THREW YOU INTO HIS CAR AND SAID TO HIS 10 YEAR OLD NEPHEW, "COME ON BOY, LET'S GO CRUISIN FOR CHICKS!"
I GUESS YOUCOULD SAY, HE WAS THE BIG BROTHER YOU NEVER HAD.
DINAH, FOR YOU, OBVIOUSLY HE WAS ALWAYS THE LITTLE BROTHER. IN LIFE YOU LOOKED AFTER, AS BIG SISTERS DO. IN DEATH, YOU CAME IMMEDIATELY,TO LOOK AFTER HIM. HE'LL ALWAYS BE YOUR LITTLE BROTHER.
THERE'S JUST ONE THING, DINA. YOU'LL HAVE TO SHARE HIM WITH US.
BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT AL CROW WAS FOR US, AS WELL. HE WAS KIND OF LIKE A LITTLE BROTHER FOR US, AS WELL.
WE ALL KIND OF ADOPTED HIM IN A WAY, BECAUSE, WELL BECAUSE THAT'S JUST THE WAY YOU FELT ABOUT HIM .
HANEFILIM HAYU VAARETZ
THERE WERE GIANTS IN THE EARTH
AL CROW WAS A GENTLE KIND OF GIANT. LOOK AROUND TONIGHT AT THE HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE HERE AND AT THE DIFFERENT GROUPS REPRESENTED, THE PEOPLE WHOSE LIVES HE TOUCHED AND INFLUENCED.
TURN YOUR HEADS DINA AND NATHAN AND LOOK FOR JUST A MOMENT. IT'S A WEIRD COMBINATION OF PEOPLE. AL WOULD HAVE BEEN DELIGHTED AND YOU SHOULD BE PROUD. TAKE A LOOK AROUND AT WHO SHOWED UP TO SAY GOODBYE, GOD SPEED AND FAREWELL TO THE MAN WE KNEW AS AL CROW.
PEOPLE WHO CAME RIGHT FROM WORK, THE EXECUTIVES OF EQUIFAX, HIS COWORKERS, CAROL MACINTEE AND OTHERS, WHO MOURN THE MAN THEY WORKED ALONG SIDE OF. I'M SURE THEY'RE DRESSED IN APPROPRIATE BUSINESS ATTIRE.
ISN'T THAT A HOOT, BECAUSE PROBABLY SITTING RIGHT NEXT TO THE SUITS ARE THE SOUTHER RIDERS, WHO CAME IN ON THEIR BIKES AND WHO ARE WEARING THEIR CLUB VESTS AND INSIGNIA. THESE ARE THE GUYS THAT AL RODE HIS BIKE WITH. DID YOU THINK I WAS GOING TO ARGUE WITH A BIKE CLUB WHEN THEY SAID THEY WANTED TO WEAR THEIR VESTS? BESIDES, I THOUGHT AL WOULD LIKE IT THIS WAY.
AND WHO ELSE IS HERE TONIGHT TO SAY GOODBYE TO AL. AL LOVED MUSIC AND SINGING. SO SOMEWHERE OUT THERE IS THE BIG CHICKEN CHORUS. SO THAT'S ANOTHER GROUP, ANOTHER CONSITUENCY THAT AL SOMEHOW MANAGED TO MOVE AMONGST
AND FINALY, WELL- THERE US. THE CONGREGATION OF KOL EMETH- OUR BROTHERHOOD AND CHOIR.
SO THAT'S THE END OF THE STORY. AL CROW, MOURNED AND CLEEBRATED BY HIS FAMILY AND HIS BLOOD KIN- NATHAN AND DINA LYST.
BY HIS COMMUNITY, TEMPLE KOL EMETH, BY EQUIFAX, BY THE SOUTHERN RIDERS, BY THE BIG CHICKEN CHORUS,BY THE BROTHERHOOD AND CHOIR OF TEMPLE KOL EMETH, BY THE PEOPLE WHO KNEW AND WHO LOVED HIM FOR 54 SHORT YEARS.
I GOT A PHONE CALL THE OTHER DAY, EARLY INTHE MORNING, FROM NORTH FULTON HOSPITAL. THE NURSE TOLD ME THAT AL CROW HAD DIED, WHEN I ASKED HER THE CAUSE OF DEATH, SHE TOLD ME CARDIAC ARREST- SHE SAID, HIS HEART HAD FAILED.
NO IS SAID, YOU NEVER KNEW AL CROW. THERE WERE A LOT OF THEINGS THAT MIGHT HE MIGHT HAVE FAILED AT, BUT THAT'S NOT ONE OF THEM. ANYBODY WHO KNEW HIM KNEW THAT AL CROW HAD A DEEP HEART.
HE MAY BE DEAD. I CAN LEARN TO LIVE WITH THAT AND I'M SURE THAT HE'S IN HEAVEN. BUT HEART FAILURE IS ONE WORD THAT I WOULD, NEVER EVER APPLY TO AL CROW.
ZIKRONO TZADIK LIVRAK.
MAY THE MEMORY OF A GOOD AND A RIGHTEOUS MAN BE A BLESSING FOR ALL OF US AND LET US ALL SAY AMEN...