Lee Kravitz's Blog, page 5

Help Keep Her Memory Alive

Dear Friends: Andi Parhamovich was a remarkable young woman. After graduating from Marietta College, the Perry, Ohio, native began an odyssey that took her to Boston, where she worked for Massachusetts Governor Jane Swift; to New York, where she worked in corporate communications at Miramax Films and Air America Radio; and to Baghdad, where she helped Iraqi political parties develop strategies for reaching out to voters. Andi didn't support the war but like other idealistic young Americans, i...

I'm Sorry For Your Loss

Reader TJoyce shares a profound example of how it's never too late to express your condolences: "When I was in second grade the lady who had been our music teacher died after a long bout with cancer. Her daughter Mary was a classmate of ours and we all thought something must be different about her because we didn't want to think that it could happen to us. Adults told us not to think or talk about it. When her mom died, we were not supposed feel sorry for Mary and to let her get right back to...

Hello, It's Me…I've Thought About Us for a Long, Long Time

  My friend Scott reached out to an estranged aunt and uncle he hadn’t seen in over forty years: "I recently visited with my aunt and uncle whom I hadn't seen in 40 years or so. There had been much troubled water between my aunt and my father, who was her younger brother;  unfortunately, the rest of the family got caught in the crosshairs. I was in their city on business and when I suggested we get together, my aunt was delighted. She and my uncle changed their travel plans to make sure they ...

Going Deeper

After I got fired from my job as editor-in-chief of PARADE Magazine, I became aware of how much my job had defined and dominated my life and identity. I had become disconnected from the people who mattered most to me, including my wife and three young kids, so instead of rushing out to find a new job, I committed myself to a year of tending to my unfinished emotional and spiritual business. I found an abandoned aunt, paid back an old debt, thanked the teacher who had changed my life, made a l...

When It's Best to Let Sleeping Lions Lie. . .

  There are some amends it's better not to make. Here's my advice to one reader whose understandable desire to right a wrong could have provoked an even more grievous harm. "Dear Mr. Kravitz: I am a 63 y.o. male. When I was 19, I wronged my first girlfriend. I have been feeling guilty about it since then. I researched quite a bit and finally found her in her second marriage, with subsequent name changes. I have her address, and a number of years ago I sent a certified letter to her, it was s...

When You Can't Make Direct Amends

Several readers have noted how difficult it is for them to make amends to a friend or relative who is too infirm to comprehend their gesture. One reader came up with a particularly effective and touching solution. "I am a recovering alcoholic/addict. As part our 12-Step program, we identify and make amends to those we have harmed. My hardest amends were to my parents. I was very nervous about making amends to my mother, who I have never had a close relationship with. I didn't know what to exp...

Are You Happy, Daddy?

Children and parents want the same thing for each other -- to be happy. As Father's Day 2010 approaches, I am looking at a video I made eleven years ago, when our twins were only two-and-a-half. I always love watching this video, but suddenly it's taken on an important new meaning to me. In the video, Benjamin and Caroline mangle their newly attained vocabulary while mugging adorably for the camera. Caroline asks over and over again, "Are you happy, Daddy?" And to her giggly delight, I answer...

Just Do It

YOUR STORIES. . . The writer, a retired engineer, had lost touch with four different people in his life. And then, one by one, a strange force seemed to summon him to their side. The lesson he learned has meaning for all of us. . . JUST DO IT By Howard Sculthorpe   Uncle Tony My earliest recollection of Tony Noeth was as a 4-year-old boy in a park near our apartment in the Bronx. It was a cold, snowy day in New York and I was playing hide and seek with my two older sisters. Uncle Tony evened ...

It's Never Too Late To Right Your Wrongs, Big or Small

As you picnic with family and friends this long Memorial Day weekend, take quick note of the quality of your relationships with them. Are some relationships less easy than you'd like them to be -- are there grudges that linger, slights and dashed expectations that keep rearing their ugly head? As I write in the current issue of USA WEEKEND magazine, It's never too late  to right your wrongs, big or small, and gain the rewards that can come with reaching out to other people and making amends. ...

Why I'm so happy to know Marlo, Mitch, Bruce, Dave and Hope…

Marlo Thomas, Mitch Albom, Dave Isay, Hope Edelman and Bruce Feiler all wrote blurbs for my new book. I am delighted they did it, because they are among the people I respect most in the world. Marlo is a phenomenal actress, who inspired a generation of women with her portrayal of "That Girl" on TV. Of all the celebrities I've known and edited over the years, she's the one most deeply and genuinely involved in helping children  -- in her case, through the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital,...