This year is Lee’s 70th birthday, but it was a quieter affair than on his 65th. At that time five years ago I had little or no perspective on Lee, so I had to rely on what people had to say about him at his party. I remember getting an invitation to a birthday party for a man I had met about six months before, and had met in person a handful of times, but was primarily in touch with only by email. When my wife and I set foot into the coffee shop, everyone there was a stranger. Eventually, I got a keener appreciation for Lee and went away saying to Kelli that he seemed to be a person I needed to be around more. It rang clearly that he was the type of person who would carry me to a new place in life; and a good thing because things were in a meltdown with my father that year. Meanwhile, at this party, there was so much praise and fondness going around for Lee—from fellow social activists or spiritually minded people and indeed his kids who told stories that shot to my heart—that I was certain this was a big clue to my future.
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