Sunday, February 15, 2009

The Book of Frank


Despite what you might infer from his last name, Frank Zimmerman is not Jewish. Born as the youngest of three sons to an environmental lawyer and a soon-to-be preacher, Frank comes from a conservative family who might as well change their last name to success. While his older brother is currently attending medical school, his other brother is a politically-savvy intellectual working in our nation's capital. But don't worry. Frank is no black sheep. Beyond his stereotypical boarding school roots, boring name, and all-Americana-frat-boy-lacrosse-playing looks (dont worry, Frank. I'll let you know how I REALLY feel about you later.), Frank is somewhat of a profound guy with grounded morals.

Through our conversation, I found that Frank values friendship, most probably because he's so good at being a friend. When asked how far he would be willing to sacrifice for strangers, his reply was simple: friends come first. But he seems to consider his greatest asset a fatal flaw and is at odds with crossing the friend barrier. Hey Frank, maybe you should just go for the Asian ladies. You seem to have the Asian peace sign down.

But we're not here to talk about Frank's love life or the lack thereof. Today, we are here to talk about a little book that Frank carries around with him all the time and the philosophy within it. And no, it is not a little black book with all the Mackenzie girls' numbers in it. It is The Book of Dao. From this little book, Frank gains ounces of spirituality and worldiness by soaking in the wisdoms of Mr. Dao. Although he had much trouble defining what he claimed to practice, Frank was able to interpret the Dao's philosophy. He explained to me that he hopes to reach a state of inner peace through mediation. Actualy, to tell you the truth, I don't really know what that means still, and neither do you! So if Daoism tickles your fancy, you should talk to Frank and define/judge/interpret it together.

That's all I have for you, Frank Zimmerman. To recap: Frank Zimmeran is not Jewish like half of you on this program, his name is not Jack, and he's all about the Dao.



KEY WORDS: Asian peace sign, Dao, my name is not Jack, black sheep, friend forever