It’s strange how circular things in life are. I was watching the Trials of Nuremberg the other night and started up some research on the trials, the holocaust, and other genocides.

In the late 80′s, I had worked for Crest Art, owned by Paul Finkel and Moe Krinsky. Moe had one of those tattooed numbers on his arm. I often think of my days at Crest Art. Moe with his twinkle in his eye and the sheer determination in his 3 foot hurried stride, running around, barking orders at his V.P.’s, two of which were his sons, the third, Paul Finkel’s son-in-law Jay. Paul and Moe were to be admired. Never afraid to look the fool if they were sure they were doing the right thing, like when they made their radio commercial talking about art neophytes. That was funny. Paul was awnry, outing Jay as a Rabbi (this in a company made up of mostly homosexuals), telling jokes, giggling, Paul reminded me of a mischievous Irish Leprechaun complete with rosy cheeks. They were both serious business men, tho. If you respected Moe and Paul, you worked as hard as Moe and Paul. Crest Art management knew the people working for them were human beings. However, the heart and soul of Crest Art, laid not only in the spirit of their convictions, but for me, in one type of person. You know, the type that you would love to shadow, to understand their magic, their thoughts, the type one deeply admires. Often, it’s not only ‘just business’.

I started searching around last night and found that Moe had passed away in 2006. While reading, I was surprised to find that Moe and his brother Joe owned Moe & Joe’s Pub, a long established and well-known Midtown hot-spot. I smiled, knowing that of course, Moe would be doing several things at once. It was sad to read that such a tour-de-force had passed.

It was late and I went on to bed. This morning, I decided to search around some more to see what happened to the Krinsky’s, Finkel’s, and Shapiro’s. Disheartened, I found that Jay Shapiro, my boss and mentor passed away March of this year. Jay was diagnosed with Glioblastoma, the same type of brain cancer that Senator Ted Kennedy died from. Jay and his family had only a few short weeks before he passed away. An unimaginable sudden death for his family and loved ones.

Jay was more than a boss, he was a mentor and friend. He ultimately was responsible for my becoming a programmer. When I met him, I was working at Binder’s Art supply in their paper department. He would cheerfully walk around the store, touching base with each area, making sure employees and customers were happy. I heard that there was an opening at the corporate office, Crest Art, Inc., for an inventory control clerk, and pleaded with Jay to give me a chance at the job. He thought it over for a week or so, then let me come and try for it. That was my first induction into computers, the corporate environment, Jewish people, and true friendship.

I used to just come and sit in Jay’s office, listening to him answer his phone calls, delegate work, chit-chat with him about various topics, mainly the Jewish religion, people’s personalities, and family, just ‘being’. I said to him once, “You know, they don’t teach us much about ya’ll, you know, Jewish people”, he just laughed and said “They don’t teach us much about people like you either, you know, Christians”. He told me about his Hanukkah bush – the neighbors old Christmas tree he’d drag into his childhood home and decorate after Christmas was over. No matter what he was doing, he would always take a few minutes to make sure I was doing okay and would stop for a few minutes, if I wanted to talk, no matter what it was about. I felt like I was visiting a big brother, he said I was like a daughter to him. lol Always feeling like the ‘old’ one in the bunch. I remember how annoyed he was when he had to get glasses and how he dreaded the teasing he would get. Always just taking life’s little curves in stride.

When I talked with him about an idea to start Creative Hearts, an organization to encourage creativity in children, he used his contacts to get us printed stationary, envelopes, art supplies, and volunteers. Jay was warned by the controller on numerous occasions that he was just too friendly (hugging, chit-chatting, etc) with the employees and that one day it would lead to a discrimination suit. Jay knew tho, that you cannot go through life scared, with a glass window between you and those you are asking to work for you. He knew they were human beings, with outside lives and interests, and that the best way to get someone to give you their all was to give them yours. I never ran into another manager that treated his employees with such respect and dignity.

When it came time to leave Crest Art, it was because I had an opportunity to learn programming. It was a chance for me to move up, and Jay was, as always, very supportive. I didn’t realize until my last day, what a crush I had on this man. I had not spoken with him for more than 20 years, mainly over embarrassment over my crush, yet, there was not a long time that went by, when I didn’t remember some little thing he said or did, or the way he laughed at himself or his own awkwardness. Last year, when Flash died, I thought of Jay and his heartfelt conversations when he had to decide to put his dog down. When my children were born, I thought of Jay and how excited he was when his sons were born, and how heart broken he and Andee were when some of the babies were not born. When a colleague at another business passed from cancer – with the company worried over insurance costs – I thought of Jay, and how he would have fought for this man’s dignity. Jay put people over profits, but also knew, that profits are what kept those people employed. He knew what to take and what to give.

He became a mentor to me, a Godly man, a man of strong convictions who knew what mattered the most in life and had the courage of his convictions to defend them. We used to tease Jay about being a 6 ft. sap tree, but we all knew that he was as strong as any maple tree out there.

I just want Moe and Jay’s loved ones to know how the gentle breeze of their souls filled my main sails for a long time to come.

Rest In Peace