What’s in your wallet, Neal Radler?
Neal Radler talks about why he keeps his grandfather's library card in his wallet.
Neil Radler: My name is Neil Radler and we are in my favorite Japanese restaurant in all of New Jersey. The firs thing you should know, this wallet was a gift from one of my daughters for father’s day one year. Little bit tattered at this point, a little bit frayed around the edges. Probably time for a new one. It’s got some cash in it, I don’t know, about 80 bucks, 100 bucks, what I normally keep in it. Got the driver’s license, not a pretty picture.
This is my grandfather’s library card. And the reason I keep this is my grandfather learned to read at a fairly advanced age, in his sixties. I think his wife helped him, but he basically taught himself. And I was always impressed by that. His son, my father, was a lawyer. I, myself, am a teacher. I was always impressed that he was able to put aside his pride and teach himself to read. And it was fun to walk into the library that day and watch him get his library card. So when he passed away, I kept it since. He was a symbol to me of it never being too late to try something new. And I remember thinking about that when I, myself, changed careers. He always represented that. He was always… that age to do what he did impressed me. It left a mark on me.