Dad Yorks really loved Allan, but then again, didn’t almost everyone? How do I know? One summer when Dad and Mom were here in Chicago with Sandy and Allan, early in their marriage, Allan wanted to attend a White Sox game. Was it hot? Oh, yes! And did Dad Yorks hate heat? Oh, yes. And did he willing go with us to the old Comisky Park? Oh yes, you bet.
I grew up hating the Yankees and loving da Bums, much to Allan’s dismay. But I willingly sat in those seats from Yankee Stadium as we overlooked the Hudson River from the porch in Cornwall. Why? I was talking with Allan, enjoying his company and listening to his stories. Didn’t everyone?
How rich and entertaining were the stories. I think his friends and his family will be able to fill in hours retelling some of his experiences. But as we retell his stories we will also remember a man who liked many, many people but absolutely loved his family. In turn, this love was reflected back to him.
Some months as I stood next to him in Arizona, with me wearing my Dodger hat and he modeling his Yankee jacket for the camera, he paraphrased what Lou Gehrig said, “Every morning I wake up and say, ‘I am the luckiest man in the world.’” And now, during this bittersweet time of remembrance, we also say, “We were the luckiest people for having known Allan Kuslansky!”
So, let us resolve to remember Allan by telling his stories, by seeking to make people’s lives better by cheerful compassion, and by facing difficult times with the resolve he showed throughout the years.