My Dad loved to sing. And he had a beautiful voice. 

He grew up on the lower east side in an Orthodox Jewish community. He often told us that his parents urged him to become a Cantor. But he had no interest in that.

My Dad limited his singing to our home. He never sang publicly. But he sang often. He loved to sing songs made popular from the Brat Pack, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra or Sammy Davis Jr. or show tunes.  And, despite his lack of interest in becoming a Cantor he did enjoy singing songs in Hebrew.

There have been times that I have been in restaurants and the background music playing would be one of my Dad’s favorite songs. It always makes me smile thinking of my Dad’s version of the song.

Recently I was on vacation and the plane was landing in Bali.  There was a bit of turbulence on the way in and, being the nervous flyer that I am, I became very anxious. I thought of my Dad singing, as he did often, the song “Bali Ha’I” from the musical, “South Pacific,” and it made me smile. More importantly, it eased my anxiety. 

My Dad’s singing beautifully and brightly colors my memories of him. What attribute provides the color to your memories of your loved ones?