The Power of Words

Dave Barry is the reason I wanted to go into journalism for a very long time. One of the highlights of my college career was the year I wrote a weekly humor column with a voice that was very much inspired by Barry’s column. But I was almost always impressed when he turned to serious subjects. His “Greatest Hits” book included a eulogy he wrote for his father. It’s stuck in my head since I read it in grade school. Over the last couple of weeks it’s been in my head even more. So I thought I’d share it here, as an example of what writing can do. It’s called “A Million Words” and it’s available on Barry’s website as a PDF. Here’s the link.

Author: Dave Thomer

Born and raised in Philadelphia. Studied philosophy at Fordham University in the Bronx, where I made many great friends and met my wonderful wife. We moved back to Philadelphia, where I studied philosophy some more and became a teacher. Online and off, I'm looking for ways that we can be better citizens and build stronger communities.