Remembering Jerome
Last Saturday night I gathered with a few friends from Debevoise to remember Bran Jerome Marah, who died two years ago in early August. We spent much of the time talking about Debevoise, and other things like hippies juggling fire, but did raise our glasses to his memory. Here’s a few things I think about when I think about Jerome:
- How he would drape himself against the doorframe of my office every afternoon about half an hour after he started work, and chat with whoever was there for awhile. The conversations were always strikingly different. Topics varied not only according to whom he was speaking, and were always interesting.
- When I had foot surgery and had to walk with a cane for awhile, I felt his presence very strongly.
- How he turned a photo of Peter and his new minivan into Peter and the Oscar Mayer Weiner-mobile.
- The instructions for using the new Flavia coffee machine that he authored with Matt.
- The excellent gifts he gave my daughter: a subscription to Ladybug magazine, a specially-illustrated Little Red Riding Hood book, the Philadelphia Chickens book and music CD.
- When he met Julia very briefly he knelt down to hug her, and his beard and hair flowed out around him like a cloud. She remembered him as my friend “who looked like Santa Claus”.
Jerome, I miss you.