Being Competitive

Ezekiel Emanuel is a distinguished bioethicist and key advisor on health care in the Obama administration.  He also is the older brother of the mayor of Chicago and Hollywood super agent Ari Emanuel.  This is a highly competitive family as you might expect.  Zeke's academic achievements were a spur to Rahm and Rahm's accomplishments a goad to Ari.  So whom did Zeke compete with?

Apparently me.  I was the kid (at least as he remembers it) who always did a little better than him in grade school to the point of driving him crazy.  I learned this when I was contacted by the ghost writer for the memoir a year and a half ago and now it is in the memoir itself. 

We were classmates, neighbors, and good friends until the Emanuels moved to the burbs after fifth grade.  I still see his folks from time to time, but haven't seen Zeke for more than forty years.  But the story of how he remembers things (see pages 80-81) was all new to me, except the part about him tripping me in first grade, biting my tongue, and then needing stitches.  Not really sure what to make of the line "I became obsessed with beating Spencer Waller, indeed for better or worse, part of me still is to this day."

Wonder if he runs marathons.  Check athlinks.com for the answer....