For as far back as I can remember, my mom would start her mornings with the Daily News; specifically, The Obituaries. I never knew it was peculiar recreation until mentioning it to people. I always believed she was starting her day with some unconscious habit of showing gratitude by paying homage to those who have had a long life well lived with large families and many accolades but also tragic and unexpected loss of a being we felt had so much time left on this earth. I’m almost certain you can imagine when my father died, her husband of 32 years passed away, she drafted up the most remarkable tribute to honor this man; quite an astounding evolvement for a publication that was started as “Memorial Advertisements” over two centuries ago. Since his passing in October of 2010, my devoted mother has posted something for my father every year so it's no surprise when October 8 rolls around we grab the newspaper to see how my dad is being honored. The Daily News even wrote an article on my mother & father, How Loved-Ones Can Live on Long After Their Gone. This past January, the Daily News posted an “In Loving Memory” piece with those who have passed away between October-December of 2020. My mom validated that every year this gets published but always on a random day in the month of January. This year it was published on January 15th, 2021. My brother’s 40th birthday. Due to the pandemic, the type of birthday this monumental age deserves did not ensue, but the immediate household gathered around, ordered takeout from our favorite Italian restaurant, and celebrated my wonderful sibling. My mom showed us the newspaper segment and to our bewilderment, my dad was amongst the 348 people pictured in the collage from San Fernando Valley, Pasadena, Southbay, and the Whittier area. The skeptics call this a clerical error and the believers of kismet say it is my dad wishing my brother a happy birthday on his 40th.

I scanned through all nine pages with a microscopic eye to see if this wasn’t indeed a serendipitous act by my dad. The information at hand remains the same: Leon L. Meek somehow made his way into the Daily News on that particular day. Whether you believe it was a mere chance miss-print or my father using divine interjection to make sure his family knew he was with him on that day, all I can say is we felt so incredibly loved and protected by our Guardian Angel it truly doesn’t matter.