Donnie Took Over His Mother’s Hometown’s Newspaper Column
Donnie Took Over His Mother’s Hometown’s Newspaper Column.
My mother passed away on New Year’s Day and left behind a legacy that is miles long. She was a contributor to our hometown newspaper called The Ewing Observer where she wrote funny and relatable stories once a month. She did this without pay for 20 years and really loved to share her life with her audience. She titled the column “Betting On Black” and it was a big hit in our hometown of Ewing, New Jersey. When she suddenly passed away, the column was going to end and a lot of people were asking me if I would continue it. I was really hesistant at first because if you read any of my mom’s stuff, you would know that she has superior writing skills and I don’t have that quality.
One night I was just sitting there on my couch in my feelings and said to myself “I have to do this for her.” I contacted the editor of the newspaper and he was really excited that I wanted to take it over.
The first column was just published a few days ago so I thought I would share it with you all.
Donnie Black: What am I doing here?
You might have come to this page looking for an Ilene Black special. Unfortunately, my beautiful mother passed away on New Year’s Day (see last month’s issue of the Ewing Observer for a story and my thoughts on my mother’s passing), and my tribute to her will be to continue this column for as long as I can.
She was such a good writer that me trying to follow up is like being the quarterback for the New England Patriots after Tom Brady. I’ll try not to be Mac Jones when I write. If you didn’t understand the football reference, Tom Brady is the best NFL football quarterback ever, and his replacement Mac Jones is kind of in a tough spot to replace the greatest. Sorry to all the Patriot fans reading this— he isn’t good!
My mom was the greatest of all time, and me trying to replace her is not what I want or am trying to do. How can I replace perfection? You can’t do it! My first few columns will of course be about my mother. She was my biggest fan and listened to every radio show I’ve ever been on, no matter what dial it was on. For those who don’t know me, my name is Donnie Black, and I am Ilene Black’s youngest (and best looking) son. I work at 92.5 XTU in Philadelphia as a producer/on air personality/promotions director. If you knew my mother, you would already know exactly what I do for a living.
She bragged a lot about her son’s. At my wedding, our mother-son dance was to the song “Perfect Fan” by the Backstreet Boys. She loved this song, and so did I, because it described my mother perfectly. She was my biggest fan, and the woman was perfect in my eyes. So “Perfect Fan” it was.
My best friend, my idol, and the guy who paved the way for me—my brother George—is a teacher, and at the time I’m writing this, is a former soccer coach and now the head tennis coach at Red Bank Catholic. The guy has never held a tennis racket in his life, but knowing my bro he will succeed. I can’t wait to write more columns about my brother and my adventures and the stuff that my mom didn’t know. I’m not going to lie—there isn’t much she didn’t know.
My mom also wrote about her husband, George, who should win an award for the greatest dad of all time. This guy worked two jobs as long as I can remember to send my bro and me to catholic school, and to have the best Christmases a kid could ask for. My dad is prouder that I’m continuing this column than anyone in the world. There is a song by a local rapper turned superstar Asher Roth called “His Dream,” and this song basically describes my relationship with my dad. If you have the time, take a listen to the song. A lot of my references will be about music, because that’s what I do for a living, and that is one of the biggest things my mom and I had in common. We both loved music and we used to quiz each other, and that woman would crush me. She should have been a radio DJ!
While I was writing this, I thought, “should I go happy, or do I go sad?” I’m still pretty sad, since it’s only been a few weeks since my mom passed, and she and I had a really close relationship. We could talk about everything and when I say everything, I mean “Everything!!” My mom knew every detail of my life. My wife Michelle would say, “you don’t have to tell your mom everything,” and I would reply, “she will figure it out one way or another. She’s like a ninja.” I can’t explain it but she had that mother magic that all of you moms reading this know exactly what I’m talking about.
All that being said, I’m going to try my best to do this column. I wear a size 11 shoe and my mother wore a size 8, and I still won’t be able to fill her shoes, but I felt that “Betting on Black” had to go on. I will continue the column in my mom’s honor, and I hope to bring a smile to your face each month.
