-Robin Roth
So moved reading all your reminiscences that I’ll try to share some of my memories. My friendship with David is lifelong, so hard to summarize. Many Jewish families whose parents worked in Washington, D.C. (Washington to us) moved to nearby suburbs like Langley Park, Maryland, where David Gershan and I were in the same grade at Langley Park Elementary, McCormick Elementary for 6th grade, Buck Lodge Jr. High and High Point High School. We were baby boomers, with hastily constructed schools, early and late school shifts, temporary classrooms, atomic bomb drills where we went into the hallways and put our heads between our knees (and kissed our ass goodbye), McCarthy scares among parents silencing us, new science curriculum to match Sputnik, called in bomb scares, civil rights, anti-Vietnam war debates and demonstrations, the promise of the ‘60s, the realizations of the ‘70s and ‘80s, finding careers in the medical field, settling in San Francisco.
David was always someone to talk to about our lives, honestly, deeply, insightfully, at the time and rehashing it all into our mid70s, still trying to make sense of it all and laughing at life’s absurdities, always enjoying our friendship and support.
I remember David rushing into Temple Israel, “oy, I’m late for my own Bar Mitzvah” but doing fine, looking cute with his 13-year old wispy mustache. I didn’t tease him about his mustache and he didn’t tease me about mine. We become closer and closer friends as we struggled through the teen years, feeling like outliers, finding like souls. Trips into D.C., Smithsonian Museums, Corcoran Gallery. David and his sister Janie true artistic talents, original perspectives. Though he was totally lacking in high school spirit, I could still count on David to come through with art for the Laureate literary magazine, joining in the anti-Vietnam War hunger strike. Advanced Biology had us touring to show science teachers how high school students could experiment with live egg fetuses, could implant electrodes in rat’s pleasure centers, truly advanced stuff that led to us both going into medical fields, David as an MD, me as a Health Educator and Women’s Health activist. After many adventures and years recounted by others here, we both settled in San Francisco, both worked in HIV, harm reduction, hep C, homeless issues, alternative medicine.
We shared gardeners, shared plants, shared recipes, shared politics, shared friends. David was one of my late husband Fernando’s favorites among my friends as they swapped books and theories during many fun dinners. In the last 10 years since Fernando died, David was even more there for me. His original perspective and humor could always make me laugh, even with tears. David was great support to my kids as they found themselves and developed their true identities. David was so generous emotionally. I’m glad to have had dinner at David’s just weeks before his sudden death. My tincture was on his shelf, his tea on mine. With who will I discuss the book he lent me, so recently?