Mike Berkus --

[Rich Klein]

I subscribe to this daily Emal published the month before Rosh Hashanah and each night this year there is a tribute to a parent or parents. I was pleased to see tonight's tribute was from Nate Berkus and I think you can guess who his dad was. I think we need to lighten the mood in this room a bit

Elul 11 ~ Nate Berkus

My father had a way of living big…you knew when he was in the room. And he could see through everyone’s defenses and get to the heart of what was going on. Sometimes his directness was on the brink of being rude, but he was so charming and funny that it was disarming.

I aspired to be like him; he was so witty and vibrant. He taught me that humor makes good experiences better and bad experiences digestible. We found the same things funny, and that ability to laugh - at myself most of all - I learned that from him.

That, and how a little bit of grace and charm goes a long way in this world.