"As we begin ..." my introduction to GENROZT

The story of how my parents got son #8 is as good a place as any for me to start these memories of generosities.

I am the second oldest of seven sons born to Rita (Daly) and Bill Kahnert. Mom had five brothers and five sisters and she often told us of the conversation about family size she and Dad had after their April 1945 wedding at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Toronto. Dad had one brother. "Well, average size," said Rita.

And so they had seven sons born to them - Thomas, Stephen, Patrick, Vincent, Peter, John, and Joseph. Along the way, friends would come through our back hall strewn with hockey sticks and coats ("Can't you boys straighten out this mess!!") and down to our basement to listen to music, to tell tales, and to chat with Mom in her laundry room. Rita was a terrific listener of guys.

And Bill listened to Rita's heart, which is how we got our brother #8, Mike, who was one of Vince's best friends since kindergarten. (Every family has a VinceNation - the one who stays in touch with dozens of friends as the years roll by.) 

Mike tells the story of how Mom appeared at his home the day of his Dad's funeral - his Mom had died young a few years before - and hugged him, saying "Well, Mike, now you belong to us."



At long last I've arrived at a definition of GENROZT, the word that greets me daily on my Illinois license plate: a gracious act that creates a joyful ache every time it is remembered. Like beauty, GENROZT is in the eyes of the beholder.

As you read these chapters, think about your own GENROZT story and how you can enrich our world by telling it to someone. Soon.