A musical moment to reflect on death and life
Joe Franklin, 88: Wonder of New York late-night TV ("The Joe Franklin Show") who interviewed thousands of guests, setting a Guinness record as longest continuous on-air talk host. Credit: Getty Images/ Mat Szwajkos
In January 2015, within three weeks, I lost three people: my brother, a man who had been like an uncle to me, and my old pal, New York showbiz guru Joe Franklin.
Joe would have loved the scene I witnessed recently at Manhattan’s 34th Street station, where I heard a gentle rendition of Brahms. As I strolled by a staircase, I saw a man bundled up for the cold weather seated at a Yamaha keyboard. He got up to thank a woman who tipped him before she boarded her train.
I thought about what it took for the mustached gentleman in his later years to get up that morning, amid the snow and ice and wind, and trundle his large setup through the city and down the steps.
Thinking about endings, of course, can also be about embracing life, if you do it the right way.
James H. Burns
Franklin Square
