This week after Rabbi Arthur Schneier returned from the special services of the shooting victims in Pittsburgh, he set up a service at the Park East Synagogue in Manhattan.
It was a special service to unite religious leaders from all religious groups. One of those leaders was the big hearted catholic leader, Cardinal Dolan. On this day his heart was very strong and very wise. Also present was Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. who himself has had a very difficult year with all the killings in the Bronx but has diligently and carefully dealt with it.
To a man, the biggest factor in dealing with this situation is using the most powerful word in the world…..LOVE. It is a word that is taken for granted, yet if people took the time to truly understand the true meaning of the word then we would be in a better place.
I remember being at a charity event with Ruben Diaz and his father, Ruben Diaz Sr. A child of about eight years of age asked me why I loved kids so much and I told him that I felt that kids understand the meaning of love better than the adults who are supposed to be their teachers.
In all of this negativity in our world, the only ones that are truly getting hurt in the long run are our children. I am truly saddened by the fact that we are going to leave the conditions of our world in a horrible state for the next generation and our kids and grandkids will inherit this world in such a bad way that there will be nothing that they can do about it.
The most powerful man that I have known in my lifetime was George Steinbrenner lll. He was powerful and he knew it. I used to get mesmerized by who he was and sometimes I used to just stare at him while he worked.
People sometimes ask me what the most important lesson that I learned from him was.
I have to say the lesson that I learned is that nothing, but nothing is more important than our children. I heard him say this to some of the most powerful people on earth. I also heard him talk about the fact that we must always look out for all of our children. The thing about all this is that I saw this man come into baseball in 1973 and right until the day he died in 2010, he was always consistent about the importance of our children; the importance of all children.
I loved the fact that Mr. Steinbrenner always had an open door policy with me, I never had to call for an appointment. I would go up to his office and take a seat. Sometimes we talked sometimes we just sat there but I always learned from this man. The reason I think that I’m a good father is because of the times that he told me how important his kids were to him. This country and this world could take a lesson from this man who always extended his hand to kids like me who came from poor surroundings and so many like me. If more of our World leaders had hearts like the Boss than the world would be in a much better place. Till then, we will depend on the good Rabbi Schneier, Cardinal Dolan and the rest of the people that really give a damn.