April 12, 2026
January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945
In 1952, Mr. Farina had a little barber shop near the corner of 2nd and Columbia in Olde Kensington. Like many Philly barbershops today, back then it was a gathering spot for neighborhood men, even if they weren’t getting a haircut or shave. Sometimes, I was sent to retrieve my Grandpop for lunch after he had spent the morning overseeing barbershop politics. Grandpop was the Republican ward leader, and I was his seven-year-old assistant.
As I waited for “The Duke” (grandpop’s nickname) to sum up his morning arguments, I loved to watch Mr. Farina lather up a face for a shave, then lift that heavy strap from the chair’s arm. He would repeatedly slash his long razor on its already sharp edge, as I waited wide-eyed to see if the bearded patron survived the first slice!
On election day, Farina’s Barbershop became the district polling place. It was an exciting transformation. On the wide windows, red, white, and blue bunting had blossomed overnight. Balloons were tied to lawn chairs crowding the pavement. And kids like me scrambled to collect campaign buttons. The prize in 1952 was “I Like Ike”!
My family then were staunch Republicans. It seemed to my seven-year-old self that it might actually be a sin for someone to vote Democrat (a sin I have been committing all my adult life. Sorry, Grandpop!) I asked my Mom about it once, and she told me that we only voted for a Democrat in one circumstance – Franklin Roosevelt. She almost genuflected when she said his name.
Franklin Roosevelt died exactly one week before I was born. I sometimes wonder if we passed each other on our ways to and from heaven and earth, because I am so deeply fascinated and inspired by him and his inestimable contribution to history.
If you’d like to learn more about FDR and the times in which he served, I recommend these two books:
- Franklin and Winston: An Intimate Portrait of an Epic Friendship by Jon Meacham
- No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II by Doris Kearns Goodwin
You may also enjoy the movie classic, “Sunrise at Campobello”, available for free on the Internet Archive:
https://archive.org/details/sunrise-at-campobello-1960
While this essay is not really a “reflection”, my intention is to celebrate FDR’s life while inviting readers to think about their own place, history, and contribution in civic society. Certainly, our sense of patriotism will suggest some standards. But more importantly, in these conflicted political times, our Gospel inspired-faith must inspire our participation in a global community seeking human rights and dignity for all people. As President Roosevelt put it:
“We have faith that future generations will know here, in the middle of the twentieth century, there came a time when those of good will found a way to unite, and produce, and fight to destroy the forces of ignorance, and intolerance, and slavery, and war.”
FDR: February 12, 1943
Music: Going Home – from the film “Eleanor and Franklin”
Suggested Scripture: 1 Timothy 2:1-4
For Your Reflection:
- What feelings or reactions do I have after reading this reflection?
- Do my feelings or reactions remind me of any passage or event in scripture, especially in the life of Christ?
- What actions might I take today because of my response to these readings?
Lavish Mercy 