Author: Jack Leitmeyer

  • Take Me Out To The Ballgame

    Because of my recent eye surgery, I’ll have to watch the Phillies opener from home this year. But baseball season always reminds me of my Pop-Pop Waters. Born in 1908, Pop-Pop was a lifelong Phillies fan. He would listen to every game on the radio, or watch them on TV…

  • Everybody needs to have a Friend

    “Trust in me, I’ll try to doEverything to help you that I canBroken wings can heal and mend againDon’t be afraid to cry your tears out loudEverybody needs to have a friend” Everybody Needs To Have A Friend- Wishbone Ash (1973) When I was in my early teens, I learned…

  • Do You Remember?

    “The laughter and the tearsThe shadows of misty yesteryearsThe good times and the bad you’ve seenAnd all the others in betweenRemember, do you rememberThe times of your life?” Recorded by Paul Anka (1975) – written by Roger Nichols / Bill Lane There are certain historical events from the first 50…

  • Feeling 20 Again

    Today Eva and I attended a special dinner and educational session for prostate cancer patients and caregivers at the Fox Chase Cancer Center. The dinner was in the cafeteria, the same place where I first talked to Eva some 45 years ago, when we were both young research technicians working…

  • The Most Terrifying Day of My Life

    It was 13 years ago today- March 11, 2011. at 2:46 PM Japan Time, a 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean, 45 miles east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region. It lasted approximately six minutes, causing a tsunami. It is sometimes known in Japan as…

  • You’ve Got A Name- A Letter to My Grandkids

    “Like the pine trees linin’ the windin’ roadI’ve got a name, I’ve got a nameLike the singin’ bird and the croakin’ toadI’ve got a name, I’ve got a nameAnd I carry it with me like my daddy did”Jim Croce (1973) You come from a big family tree of wonderful ancestors.…

  • Out In The Country

    “Whenever I need to leave it all behindOr feel the need to get awayI find a quiet placeFar from the human raceOut in the countryWhenever I feel them closing in on meOr need a bit of room to moveWhen life becomes too fastI find relief at lastOut in the countryBefore…

  • Mr. Leitmeyer Goes To Washington

    From February 25 – 27, 2024, I had the opportunity to attend my 4th annual Zero Prostate Cancer Summit in Washington DC. I started going to the summits shortly after I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2019. I previously attended the “education track” to get updated on the latest…

  • Gimme A Head With Hair

    “Gimme a head with hairLong, beautiful hairShining, gleamingStreaming, flaxen, waxen Give me down to thereShoulder length or longer (Hair!)Here baby, there mamaEverywhere daddy daddy Hair, hair, hair, hairGrow it, show itLong as I can grow itMy hair” (Hair Broadway Musical – 1968) One of my biggest arguments with my father…

  • Time Passages

    Well I’m not the kind to live in the pastThe years run too short and the days too fastThe things you lean on, are the things that don’t lastWell it’s just now and then, my line gets castInto these time passagesThere’s something back there that you left behindOh, time passages…