Remembering a smart, newshound of a dad

I am proud to say I graduated Brooklyn College in 1970. I was a student during the turmoil of the Vietnam War. Demonstrations became an everyday occurrence after the tragic shooting of four students at Kent State in Ohio on May 4, 1970.
We lined up single file with anti-war signs and posters between classes. Students made speeches. We listened and applauded. Everyone turned a blind eye to those who objected. Killing college students in Ohio was our last straw.
My dad came home from work in the early afternoon. He worked in Manhattan and would go to the 42nd Street library each morning to find out the number of young men killed in Vietnam each day.
He would come to the Brooklyn College campus in the afternoon with a poster and show his support for our demonstrations. He would carry his sign with the number of fallen heroes up to date.
I was so proud of him. There were no other parents at the college demonstrating against the war. Only my dad, Fred Lefkof. He was easily recognized. He wore his suit, tie and fedora and stood proudly on the steps of Boylan Hall. He demonstrated with intense patriotism his dissatisfaction for an unjustified war. He felt the Viet Cong were no threat to the security of the U.S. There was no need to draft our finest young men and send them to war. A veteran of World War II, he understood what it meant to be in combat.

He made politics and current events a staple at the dinner table each night. Walter Cronkite and dessert went hand-in-hand. Walter and dad were my two most trusted men in America.
He always made a point of reading the New York Times and sharing the most important articles of the day with me. In my teen years he insisted that I “go through” the paper each day if I really wanted to be smart. We started with the top international stories and read the whole paper , including the obituaries. He made a news junkie out of me at an early age.
I have dad’s picture framed in the den next to the television. I’ll give it a subtle glance when I see a story that would interest him … a story he would feel strongly about. Yes dad, I know exactly what you’d say.
I read the N.Y times on line and think of you when I’m done. And you were right… it does make you smarter!
Fred Lefkof … greatest dad ever!

Weinberger is a North Woodmere resident.