Skip to main content

Writer Peter Hirsch '82 Speaks at Father-Son Dinner

Lawrence Hirsch told stories: Kangaroo intestines were successfully used to set a shoulder injury he sustained after being stabbed by a soldier with a bayonet, who had failed in his previous attempts to shoot him.

The yarns he could spin with alacrity! Presented as truth, often embellished or fictional, they unspooled in ways that were entertaining and always contained a message. He loved to tell stories.

Lawrence's son, Peter Hirsch '82, captivated all of us with his own storytelling gifts and wise words about the father-son relationship, at our annual Seventh Grade Father/Son Dinner on Wednesday night.

Peter is the Emmy and Peabody Award-Winning Head Writer of the Curious George and Arthur series. He is also a Saint David's alum who traces his first significant piece of writing to an eighth grade short story assignment at Saint David's. Although he never set out to be a television writer, after being offered a chance to write scripts for Arthur, Peter found that the themes he could write about, such as jealousy and greed, were universal, the same ones that he might tackle in a novel. At that point, he said he stopped "treating the job as a gig, and made it a passion."

It was having a father who so clearly delighted in crafting and sharing stories that inspired him to cultivate his own writing. Peter encouraged the boys present to cherish the stories that their own fathers tell: "They are priceless." To the dads present, his advice was to "choose your stories wisely," for the "stories dads tell live on through their sons."

During the question and answer segment of the evening, Peter touched upon writer's block ("It's not about writing, it's about fear.") and his favorite book (Anna Karenina), among other topics. It was a pleasure to listen to Peter. He gave us with wit and wisdom, much to digest about the influence of a father and the importance of finding one's passion.

Our gratitude to Peter, to current parent and Peter's good friend Bob Lorenzo, and to Assistant Director of Development John Dearie '95, for bringing the evening to fruition. Thanks also to Cater to You, our dining services, for a delicious meal.

This Seventh Grade Father and Son Dinner is an annual special event in which fathers and sons explore what it means to be a good man, the relationship between parent and son, and other mission-inspired themes.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

NE Patriot Tom Brady at Saint David’s

Last night, Saint David’s was honored to have one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, four time Superbowl champion and three-time MVP winner Tom Brady, as the guest speaker for our Alumni Parents Council Lecture Series. Tom, who is the father of one of our Saint David's boys, addressed a standing-room-only audience in Hyman Hall comprised of our eighth graders, alumni, alumni parents and faculty. Friendly, introspective, witty, and wise, he directed his talk to the delighted eighth graders in the front of the room, and focused on the topic of leadership. “You are the young men and leaders of Saint David’s,” he noted. Tom debunked the perception that leaders are born not made, and credited his leadership abilities to “standing up to and facing fears” and to “cultivating a mental strength,” which he cited as “more important than being physically strong.” He also stressed the importance of working hard, honoring teamwork, believing in oneself and being a good lis...

Fascinating Art Talk by Michelle Marder Kamhi at Grandparents Event

Yesterday evening, independent scholar and critic Michelle Marder Kamhi ( www.mmkamhi.com ), co-editor with husband Louis Torres of Aristos , an online review of arts; author of Who Says That's Art? A Commonsense View of the Visual Arts ; and grandmother of two Saint David's boys, gave a thought provoking talk on art for our grandparent community. An advocate of objective standards in arts scholarship and criticism, Ms. Kamhi focused her talk on the ways in which art critics such as Clement Greenberg promoted the shift from representational art to abstraction. Kamhi argues that the abstract and post-modern art prevalent today, which often requires explanation by docents in order to be understood, goes against art's purpose. Taking issue with Greenberg's contention that representation is an expendable convention of painting, she quoted the late art critic John Canaday: "Art is the tangible expression of the intangible values that men live by." ...

Digital Universe Unit With AMNH-Hayden Planetarium Kicks Off

The second year of our unique partnership with the American Museum of Natural History-Hayden Planetarium kicked off on Friday when the sixth grade had their first session of the Digital Universe unit. The session included a private viewing at the planetarium in which boys were able to explore the entire universe. They and their teachers were invited to view the show from the vantage point of the floor in the center of the round theater, staring up into the apex of the dome. What an amazing perspective! Museum educator and astro-visualization expert Nathan Belomy took the boys on a tour of the observable universe, allowing them to get a feel for the scale of distance and size in the universe. In a fun activity related to scale, the boys set down  a volleyball (representing the sun) at 79th Street, and walked for blocks down Columbus avenue with the planets in our solar system represented by a variety of smaller objects – a cupcake sprinkle, a marble – predicting and then m...