Sunday, September 10, 2023
I just learned of Phil's passing and am deeply saddened by the news, as are so many others who knew Phil. I first started working with Phil in Jim Lack's state Senate office back in 1979 or 1980. I left Long Island in 1987, but we always kept in touch, if only by a note on a Christmas card every year. When Phil became ill, we started emailing every few months or so. I will miss those correspondences very much. Those who knew Phil knew what a great writer he was. At a job I held after I left LI, I wrote something and re-read what I had just written. I thought to myself "That is a Phil Ingerman sentence. I know where that came from." That's the kind of influence he had on my own writing. I will miss our discussions about life, relationships and politics. I only wish we had shared more of them over the years. I hope that the universe allows me to keep channeling Phil's spirit.
