Guestbook
I am here seeking the book Dr. Freedman wrote so I never met the man but from what I have read I can only admire the legacy he left behind.
My deepest condolences.
Gary
As much as I wanted to I couldn't speak at Dan's memorial because I knew I would cry too much to be coherent. I also felt like I didn't have a nice speech - just alot of random thoughts and feelings. Here are some of them:
Dan always wore a hat, usually a baseball cap of some sort, but in New Mexico sometimes an Indiana Jones type hat.
He always drank green tea in the morning.
I lived with Dan off and on for 3-4 years when I was going to acupuncture school in New Mexico, and I remember mornings, coming down the spiral staircase, finding Dan at the kitchen table, drinking his tea, reading Neitzsche or Hegel, or some book on genomics, or watching the hummingbirds battle over the feeder. He would explain Neitzsche or Hegel or genomics to me, and in those few minutes when he was explaining it to me I would actually understand it. But as soon as he would finish I wouldn't.
A couple weeks ago I took my son Andy and a friends of his to the planetarium, and he got to see the sky show, where they project the night sky on the dome above, for the first time. We couldn't find 3 seats together, so the kids sat a couple rows behind me. I was grateful because I wept the whole time. I learned my constellations living out in Ribera with Dan, it was really my first experience with the night sky, and it was such a deep experience. I felt like the sky and the movements of the sun and moon and stars connected me to infinity. So the sky show was the first time I had really seen the night sky since I left New Mexico.
I (sometimes) read the New Yorker, and so did Dan. After I left New Mexico there were so many times that I would read an interesting article in the New Yorker, and then call Dan up so we could discuss it. So often he knew the people involved or some background history to the story. They just sent me a subscription notice, but I don't think I will subscribe again. It just makes me miss him.
I was listening to my i-Pod on shuffle the other day and a song came on that made me think so much of Dan:
The way you wear your hat;
The way you sip your tea;
The memory of all that;
No, no they can't take that away from me.
The way your smile just beams;
The way you sing off key;
The way you haunt my dreams;
No, no they can't take that away from me.
We may never never meet again
On the bumpy road to love
Still I'll always, always keep the memory of
The way you hold your knife
The way we danced til three
The way you changed my life
No, no they can't take that away from me.
Dan Freedman was a terrific faculty mentor. I would not be where I am today if not for Dan. He gave advice gently and kindly--and wisely.
Very sorry to hear about Dan and sorry for your loss. I must say, though, it brought back many fond memories from growing up. My best to you all.
I am deeply saddened to hear of this. Dan was like a father to me when i was growing up in Hyde Park. He was a great man. Fond memories will always be with me. My condolences, Brian
One of Dan's students from "The Trip". Interesting to see it referred to that way -- it's how I always think of it. Definitely one of my strongest set of memories from the trip was my friendship with Dan, Nina, Tony and Gregory. Do you guys remember the long trip we took to Ubud and Kitamani? I can't believe how much Natalie looks like Tony did (when he was a smart interesting kid). I am thinking of you and of Dan and I will soon send you photos of all of you I recently unearthed of the trip. My thoughts are with you. Regards, Lois
Dan was my mentor for a Master's degree in social science from 1972-1974. He had a lecture on the genetic and behavioral differences between different breeds of dogs and I suggested that he integrate these findings with his work on one day old babies from different human races. He thanked me and placed my name in the acknowledgement page of the book.
My masters thesis, Levels of Mind, went beyond Freud and Jung into the controversial and difficult world of parapsychology. The paper was over 100 pages long and took an extra year to complete. Dan was very open and accepting of my unorthodox paper as he recognized that as a scientist, I was doing my best to understand a very difficult topic. It took over 30 years, but the seeds of this paper finally resulted in a book Transcending the Speed of Light: Consciousness, Quantum Physics and the 5th Dimension, which will be published this year (2008) by Inner Traditions. I googled Dan to see where he was and found to my dismay that he just passed away. Dan was an important influence on me as a student and a model which has helped me become the college teacher that I have become.
My best wishes to his family.
Hey Dan, we'll miss you. I'll always remember the stories my mom (Jacki) used to tell about growing up with you.
Danny will be missed by all that had the pleasure of knowing him personally, and also by those who did not neccesarily know him personally, but benifited from his tireless work and contribtion to mankind. His humor was endless, and I am so happy that we had the opportunity to celebrate his two 80th birthdays with him at our home when he visited with us in Vietnam.
Danny, I am sure I will be joining you soon as we all will at some point in time. It is often forgotten by many that our lives dangle by a very delicate thread. I am happy that I had the opportunity to spend many joyous times with Danny while that delicate thread existed between us.
Thank you for being there for me in my times of need, and thank you for allowing me to call you a friend and the father of my nephews.
With much love, admiration, respect and a heavy heart.
Frank
