August 13, 2011
August 13 was the date of my parents wedding anniversary ז״ל
These past few days, I have been reminiscing about my parents and their immigrant life in Canada (father from Russia, mother from Poland). My thoughts reminded me about Leonard Cohen's gracious thank you to Canada at a gala a few days before he received his special Lifetime Achievement Grammy in January, 2010. I was so moved by his sentiments, I posted an extract from an article on my personal blog, Arlene Now (which pre-dates this Leonard Cohen Scrapbook.). The post title is mine, "A Real Mensch." Here is that post.
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A Real Mensch
The Canadian Consulate in Los Angeles threw its annual Grammy bash to celebrate and showcase this year’s nominees from north of the 49th parallel. Leonard Cohen will be honoured on Saturday with a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy, which puts on the Grammys.
The 75-year-old Cohen, clad in his ever-present dark suit and fedora, made a brief appearance to say he was “deeply grateful” for his accolade.
“My great grandfather, Lazarus Cohen, came to Canada in 1869, to the county of Glengarry, a little town in Maberly,” the folk-rock icon said. “On this occasion, because of the great hospitality that was accorded my ancestor who came here over 140 years ago, I want to thank this country, Canada, for allowing us to live and work and flourish in a place that was different from all other places in the world. So I thank Canada for the opportunity that was given me to work and play and flourish.”
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I referred to the distinctive lectern in the screen shot above in, My Leonard Cohen Button Goes Everywhere
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