Before he died in 2004, the last words my father spoke to my son, Alex, were, “Just be strong.” Alex, who was a junior in high school at the time, never forgot it, and after he graduated, he had those words tattooed over his heart.

And while I question how strong one actually has to be while going to college in San Diego and living in a place with your buds down on Pacific Beach…

It does not detract from the wisdom of the advice. My father, the single best improviser I’ve ever known, had a way of boiling things down to their essence. He was a teacher who often had no idea what he was teaching. He was just living his life, going about his business, sharing what he discovered along the way. And one of the things he shared to great effect was the idea of being strong — in character, in focus, in action — in everything you do. (more…)