Norman H. Burbage (1935-2022)

My father died on December 6, 2022. He was 87 years old. His wife, my mother, died nearly nine years ago to the day, on December 11, 2013. 

My mother was a teacher at heart and loved to introduce us kids to new experiences and points of view. My dad loved that, too, but he enjoyed more of the "low brow" stuff that our mother didn't. Whereas Mom loved films, Dad loved movies. My mother introduced us to Charles Dickens and Shakespeare; my dad introduced us to James Bond and Tarzan. Mom loved Mozart, Beethoven, and Gilbert & Sullivan; Dad loved those, too, but he also listened to Herb Alpert, Dean Martin, and Simon & Garfunkel. Mom would take us to the art museum or to the zoo, but Dad took us to the Wild, Wild West or to the Planet of the Apes. 

Looking back, I'm sure I wasn't the ideal son for him. I didn't love sports, or cars, or Westerns. My older brother played soccer and loved to go out camping, fishing, and hiking. This was all stuff that I found deadly dull. I often wonder what my father thought of me as a child. Then from when I was about ten I started to read comic-books and to draw my own stories, but he never discouraged me or tried to get me to stop. Sometimes he even read them! 

One of my favorite boyhood memories was of my dad taking me on his motorcycle to our nearest Pizza Hut once a week so that I could pick up the latest promotional Pepsi glass. These were initially of super-heroes, but then became the Looney Tunes characters. You may remember the series I'm talking about. Now, I know he must have enjoyed having a reason to ride his motor-cycle, but he obviously did not have to indulge me in this way. I ended up with quite the glass tumbler collection, most of which survived into my adulthood. 

When my brother was older he was definitely the mechanical type; he and Dad often talked about or worked together on bicycles, motorcycles, and cars. I felt like Dad understood my brother. Meanwhile, I was turning into a book nerd. 

In the fall of 1982, my father asked me to try to win a free trip to Japan. His company was sponsoring a student exchange program for the children of its employees, and Dad wanted me to try to win. He had recently watched the TV-series SHOGUN with Richard Chamberlain and Toshiro Mifune and he wanted to experience Japan, vicariously, through me. Of course, I had no interest in Asia at that time, as I intended to be a writer or a journalist. Mostly just to please him, though, I did end up writing that essay, and (spoiler alert) have been involved with Japan ever since. 

My father could be a gruff old man, especially about things like his computer room, the dishwasher (he was the only one allowed to load it!), and ice cream. But at heart he was a deeply sentimental man. The most difficult English-Japanese translation I ever had to do was when my parents visited us in Japan, and they wanted to thank my in-laws for hosting them and for being such good parents to me in my parents' absence. I'm sure it is difficult for any child to see their parents crying, but when Dad teared up trying to thank my in-laws, there wasn't a dry eye in the room. Somehow, my wife and I managed to get our parents' messages across. 

So although I never did get good at sports, and I will never be mechanically inclined, for all my adventures and accomplishments I can tell you that my father WAS proud of me. I will miss him every day for the rest of my life. Thanks for everything, Dad! 

Love,
Russell

My father on his 80th birthday with his four loving children.