Kind of a Reminder

Former Mayor Koch Is Hospitalized for Anemia

Edward I. Koch, the former three-term mayor of New York City, was hospitalized on Tuesday for anemia, said George Arzt, his former press secretary and longtime friend.

Mr. Koch, who is 87 and served as mayor for 12 years, starting in 1978, had been “extraordinarily weak” in recent weeks, Mr. Arzt said by phone.

“He used to eat like a horse, and now he just pushes the food around his plate,” Mr. Arzt said. He said he expected Mr. Koch to be released from the hospital within a few days.

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I hate to see these types of notices come up in the news. It's generally an indicator that the person in question is likely not long for this world. And I hate to hear this about Koch.

Believe it or not, I actually like the guy. Way back when, after he was no longer Mayor, he used to appear quite a bit on a USA network morning talk show that I have since long forgotten the name. I had just purchased a dish and Dad and I had more than the basic three channels. Fox and PBS had not started broadcasting out here yet.

At any rate, the show, which had a single female host, had Koch on all the time - it was based out of NYC - and even though Dad and I were dyed in the wool Democrats at the time, we found Ed Koch to be witty, funny, smart, charming and full of common sense. I'm sure there are plenty who will disagree, but I look back on those mornings spent with my father laughing or agreeing with something he said with a large fondness.

Ed Koch is one of the few politicians that I came to respect, and that happened after he was out of office. I surely hope his health improves, and we'll have him around a while longer.