Beck Rudick: Listen to the Little One (De Hes de Kleine)

Beck Rudick: Listen to the Little One (De Hes de Kleine)

Whenever my mother was delighted with “her baby” (meaning me), she would say in Yiddish, “De hes de Kleine.” In English, it translates into the proud declaration: “Listen to the little one.” After saying it, she either flashed a loving smile or else she uttered a joyful laugh.

My mother had the ability to elevate me to great heights at such times, but she also embarrassed me as a teen when she introduced me to all as “her baby.” It was not until I had my own baby that I understood the love you feel for your children, a baby in particular.

When my own teenage children came of age, I better understood a teen’s need for identity and the embarrassment a dad could cause. My kids eventually returned home, but my mother is long gone. The house was strangely quiet when she died, and I wondered if the hole I felt in my heart would ever heal. It did.

Decades later, I still hear her voice in my head: “Ian!” she’d shout. “I’m in the bathroom,” I’d invariably reply. I can remember her calling out to me to listen to everyone, especially to the little ones who society has devalued as lesser people. I too wish to “de has de Kleinen,” and in so doing, elevate all. Thank you, Mom, I love you and I miss you.

Behind this good writer is a great editor; Mark Bloom. Learn more about Mark's talents at 

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Dites-Moi by Rogers and Hammerstein from South Pacific

Dites-moi
Pourquoi
La vie est belle

Dies-moi
Pourquoi
La vie est gai

Dites-moi
Pourquoi,
Chere Mad'moiselle,

Est-ce que
Parce que
Vous m'aimez?

Tell me
Why
Life is beautiful?

Tell me
Why
Life is gay?

Tell me
Why,
Dear Miss?

Is it
Because
You love me?

Sherrie Rudick: For Better and for Worse

Sherrie Rudick: For Better and for Worse

Sherrie, my “oldest” sibling, is ten years my senior. Being the youngest of four kids, I had the benefit of learning from my elders, for better or for worse. Just as the marriage vow states, “For better or for worse,” Sherrie understands a marriage is for better and for worse — as is a relationship with your baby brother, a job… almost anything.

Sherrie, now 71 years old, recently lost her full time job when the government did not renew the contract of the company she worked for. Although she didn’t exactly “welcome” retirement, my sister found her groove. She decided she liked the rhythm of not working full-time. Instead, she found that accepting part-time contracting work was kind of fun.

But six months after her job ended, she was offered and accepted a full-time job with a five-year government contract. She was the last of her peers to find a job and likely the most qualified. She was convinced her age was a factor.

So I had to chuckle when I read the email subject line my sister sent that announced her new job:

“Good news and bad news… I accepted a full time job.”

Like Sherrie, I better understand as I mature that nothing is quite black-and-white or completely good-or-bad. Relationships, jobs, experiences are all mixtures of black and white — or rather shades of gray.

Thank you, Sherrie, for your wisdom and guidance throughout my life, especially as we now are graying.

Behind this good writer is a great editor; Mark Bloom. Learn more about Mark's talents at

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Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell

Tears and fears and feeling proud
To say, "I love you," right out loud
Dreams and schemes and circus crowds
I've looked at life that way.
But now old friends are acting strange
They shake their heads; they say I've changed
Something's lost but something's gained
In living every day.

I've looked at life from both sides now,
From win and lose, and still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall
I really don’t know life at all.

Rob Rudick: Make Your Mark

Rob Rudick: Make Your Mark

Growing up with an older brother, I benefitted from following in his footsteps. For example, my brother made it easier for me to fall in love and marry a “shiksa” (Yiddish for a woman who is not a Jew), even of German descent, because Rob had already introduced my parents to his non-Jewish Bolivian wife. I don’t know if my parents would ever have come to know and love my wife without my brother’s help.

Recently, the woman I work for part-time told me I was the most loyal person she knew. “That’s because you don’t know my brother Rob,” was my reply.

Rob has been particularly loyal to Mark, whom he met more than a decade ago when he made a one-year commitment to serve as his “big brother.” When the commitment time ended, Rob continued being his “big brother,” even though it entailed bailing him out of jail numerous times, paying for and helping him obtain his green card, guiding him with relationships with his bosses, and always being there unconditionally for Mark whenever he was needed.

Although I have mostly outgrown the need for a big brother, I still find comfort in knowing my brother is there for me and my siblings whenever needed. For example, when my sister broke her leg, Rob was there with a home-cooked meal when she returned home. That’s loyalty and devotion.

I sometimes wonder where Mark and I would be were it not for the constant support of a big brother. I’m guessing that Mark would have been first in jail and then deported. My brother Rob knows how to make his mark — one sibling, one friend, one person at a time.

I too wish to make my mark, one person at a time. Thank you, Rob.

Behind this good writer is a great editor; Mark Bloom. Learn more about Mark's talents at

Mark Bloom: Clear, concise online writing services

There But for Fortune by Phil Ochs

Show me a prison
Show me a jail
Show me a prisoner, man
Whose face is growin’ pale
And I'll show you a young man
With many reasons why
And there but for fortune
May go you or I.