I think most of you know that last Monday night, Louise and I lost our only grandson. He was only 26 years old and he died in a car wreck and we are overwhelmed by grief.
Over the last several days, Louise and I have been just blown away by the outpouring of support and condolences and sympathy so many of you have so graciously expressed for us. And I wanted to stop by this morning just for a few minutes, on the day of the funeral of our beloved departed 26 year old and only grandson, to say thank you to you all for your warmth and your encouragement and your friendship and your tears.
Over the last several months, many people have inquired of me why I do this – why I spend almost every night and large parts of every day trying in my own way – ways I understand some of you disagree with intensely – to help this county and this state and this nation turn blue, frequently facing criticism and ridicule and all the rest that goes with being a public face of the Democratic Party in a place where Republicans hold all the trappings of power.
The answer was always Christopher. He was our only grandchild, the only son of our only daughter. He was our joy. And I wanted so desperately to do my part to see that he grew up in, and inherited, a world so much better than the world we live in – a world where people care about one another instead of just about themselves, a world of peace, a world where discrimination and prejudice and hatred and fear have no place, a world where all people are cherished for their own individual worth, a world without want of health care for all and a world with poverty and homelessness for none, a world that would be safe – territorially and environmentally – for Christopher and his children should he ever have any (he didn’t) to live and grow up in, a world in which Christians and Jews and Muslims and Hindus and Buddhists and men and women and straights and gays and lesbians and Anglos and Latinos and African Americans and Asians and people born here and immigrants (documented or undocumented) could all work together and live together and pray together if they wished to and even criticize one another if they chose to, all as one people and one nation and in peace.
Well, all that could happen, if it ever could, I believe, as I always have, only if Democratic ideals and Democratic principles prevail and Democratic leaders and officials are in place to implement them.
It really was just that simple. It was always just about Christopher and the world I wanted for him.
So now that dream is over.
In a way.
For now I come face to face with the reality that it can no longer be just about Christopher or even about his beloved wife, Jennie, who he so totally adored. No, there are millions and millions of Christophers out there – none, I can assure you, as special or remarkable or caring or loving or loved or missed as our precious Christopher, but all desperately needing and wanting the world I was trying to help build for our wonderful grandson, Chris.
It’s going to take some time for me to begin to get over this and to return to anything resembling normalcy. So in the meantime, you’re going to have to do what I am going to be temporarily incapable of doing. You’re going to have to do your part to bring about that world I was trying to achieve for Christopher.
Will you do that for me? Will you do that for Christopher?
It’s traditional in tragedies like this for an obituary to read, “in lieu of flowers, the family requests ….. whatever.” Here’s what my family requests in honor of our 26 year old Christopher, our 26 year old source of all our joy. In lieu of flowers, for our departed hope for tomorrow, will you make 26 phone calls and then send 26 postcards and then knock on 26 doors and in his honor do what you can to help make this the world we so desperately wanted for him and for all the Christophers out there?
Thank you all for your love and your support and your overwhelming expressions of kindness.
Gerry Birnberg
Chair, Harris County Democratic Party
August 2, 2008
Every day we see more and more volunteers — both seasoned veterans and people getting involved in politics for the first time — flow into our offices helping make over 7000 calls a day!
