Food is Love

Many of you, particularly in the ad community, know Rob Goldenberg. He's the one on the left. I first met Rob back in 2004, when I left my cushy job as a Group Creative Director, a fancy title that carries very little weight, like most job titled people, who can always say "No" but never have the pursestrings to say, "Yes."

Rob was working at the Kowloon Seafood Company which was transitioning their name to Secret Weapon Marketing, the brainchild of Dick Sittig, who made award winning Jack in the Box advertising the gold standard in the fast food industry.

You might know Rob as a snarky, quick-witted guy who received an unfair amount of robust Jewish hair and Zoolander good looks. 

But I want to discuss the side of Rob you might not know -- the menschy side.

Menschiness, that is the willingness to be kind and go out of your way for other people, doesn't get enough airplay these days. The world could use more Mensches and fewer Putins.

The day, after I announced my wife's passing, Rob took to social media and started a GoFundMe for my daughters and myself. In the spirit of Food Is Love, he raised an obscene amount of money in the form of digital Grub Hub cards which he passed along to me. 

I then passed it on to my two daughters who are much more familiar with the machinations of digital restaurant delivery.

At a certain point the amount got too high and I emailed Rob to send the rest of the proceeds to St. Jude's Hospital. 

I can't begin to tell you how helpful those Grub Hub cards came in. Particularly since my daughters and I had been hunkered down in the house under the dark and weighted shroud of Grief. 

And so I wanted to take some space and time to thank Rob for his incredible gesture of generosity. As well as all the friends and colleagues, mutual or otherwise, who pitched into the sizable pot. My daughters ought to write a restaurant review book that covers all the Greek, Mexican, Indian, Italian, Slavic, Chinese, Japanese, Himalayan (Tara's on Venice) and BBQ food we have sampled in the last three months. 

Oddly enough, because I've only been eating one meal a day, I've recently shed 20-25 lbs. There are easier ways to lose weight than to lose the love of your life.

But I would be remiss if I also didn't thank Lisa Lee and Glen & Elizabeth Friedman for arranging a meal train with friends and family who loved Debbie and reluctantly tolerated me. We enjoyed so many delicious home-cooked meals that all paired surprisingly-well with Bulleit Rye Bourbon.

If there's one thing I've learned, especially lately, is that it is NOT enough to say Thank You. 

There is also an obligation to pay it all forward. And so I enrolled as a monthly supporter of Chef Andres to feed Ukrainian children today and future victims tomorrow. Because Food Is Love.

You can do the same here: https://wck.org