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American Morning

A Father's Story

Aired June 13, 2003 - 09:50   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: My next guest here, you probably know the name and face, Joel Siegel, film critic for "Good Morning America," has a 5-year-old son named Dylan. Before Dylan was born, Joel discovered he had colon cancer, which was treated with surgery, and radiation and chemotherapy. Siegel wanted to make sure that his son would know who his father was, and that turned into a book. It's called "Lessons for Dylan: From Father to Son," and most appropriate with "Father's Day" this Sunday. Joel Siegel is live here this morning.
Great to see you in person.

JOEL SIEGEL, AUTHOR, "LESSONS FOR DYLAN": Great to see you. Thank you. Good morning.

HEMMER: How do you feel?

SIEGEL: I feel good.

HEMMER: Up and down?

SIEGEL: Hey, I've been -- it's been -- I've song, I've been down so long, it looks like up to me.

HEMMER: You had some really great comments. I'm just reading through a lot of the things that you wanted your own son to know. What do you remember about your own father that you want to transfer to Dylan?

SIEGEL: I remember my father pretty well, which is one reason I wrote the book. I was almost 40 when my father died. He was an electrician, he worked hard; he liked people. But the things I didn't find out about my father until after he died, some of the very serious things. He was an electrician, and he got the first African-American and first Mexican-American in the Electrician's Union in L.A. I had no idea about that.

But what I really didn't know, is when he was 8 years old, he ran -- my grandfather's, his father's hose, into his Model T Ford. So when my grandfather, his father, opened the car door, he was hit with a tidal wave of water. Had I known that, I could have gotten away with anything when I was a kid.

HEMMER: You made a comment, you say you remember your father laughing the most.

SIEGEL: Yes, and that's really how I want Dylan to remember me. I write things for Dylan, movies I want to watch with him, TV shows I want to watch with him. There he is playing with his godfather, Roberto (ph), a year and a half old, some of the first footage we have of him. And he's applauding, of course. Watching television, I remember watching "Sid Caesar" and hearing my father's laugh, and turning to my right and seeing him laugh. That's a very vivid memory of my dad, and that's how I want Dylan to remember me.

HEMMER: How much do you think your 5-year-old understands about what you've been through and what you're trying to do, in terms of your legacy for him?

SIEGEL: A surprising amount, and sometimes a very sad amount.

HEMMER: Really? How do you perceive that?

SIEGEL: In school. Something about when you're 4 years old. Four-year-old kids want to know about dying. Some of them, they just want to know what it means. It's like, they don't was a serious metaphysical conversation. It's like there was an old "Mary Tyler Moore Show," where the kid wanted to know where he came from. And they went through this whole thing about -- Jimmy was born in Oklahoma. Where do I come from? And sometimes, that's all they want to know. But a nursery school teacher told me they were talking about how things die, and Dylan was standing by himself and saying, my daddy might die. So he does know. Kids know much more than you give them credit for.

HEMMER: You said something. You said cancer changes your life, and oftentimes for the better.

SIEGEL: Yes. I was -- good thing Gilda Radner started Gilda's Club with Gene Wilder. And she said this in her book. What cancer does is, it forces you to focus, to prioritize, and you learn what's important. I mean, I don't sweat the small stuff. I used to get angry at cab drivers. It's not worth it.

HEMMER: What's the saying, don't sweat the small stuff, because it's all small stuff.

SIEGEL: That's right. And when somebody says, you have cancer, you realize it's all small stuff. And what Gilda said is, if it weren't for the down side, everyone would want to have it. But there is a down side.

HEMMER: Listen, thanks for talking, and it's a good topic for this weekend. "Lessons For Dylan." Great to see you. Stay healthy.

SIEGEL: I'm doing my best.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired June 13, 2003 - 09:50   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: My next guest here, you probably know the name and face, Joel Siegel, film critic for "Good Morning America," has a 5-year-old son named Dylan. Before Dylan was born, Joel discovered he had colon cancer, which was treated with surgery, and radiation and chemotherapy. Siegel wanted to make sure that his son would know who his father was, and that turned into a book. It's called "Lessons for Dylan: From Father to Son," and most appropriate with "Father's Day" this Sunday. Joel Siegel is live here this morning.
Great to see you in person.

JOEL SIEGEL, AUTHOR, "LESSONS FOR DYLAN": Great to see you. Thank you. Good morning.

HEMMER: How do you feel?

SIEGEL: I feel good.

HEMMER: Up and down?

SIEGEL: Hey, I've been -- it's been -- I've song, I've been down so long, it looks like up to me.

HEMMER: You had some really great comments. I'm just reading through a lot of the things that you wanted your own son to know. What do you remember about your own father that you want to transfer to Dylan?

SIEGEL: I remember my father pretty well, which is one reason I wrote the book. I was almost 40 when my father died. He was an electrician, he worked hard; he liked people. But the things I didn't find out about my father until after he died, some of the very serious things. He was an electrician, and he got the first African-American and first Mexican-American in the Electrician's Union in L.A. I had no idea about that.

But what I really didn't know, is when he was 8 years old, he ran -- my grandfather's, his father's hose, into his Model T Ford. So when my grandfather, his father, opened the car door, he was hit with a tidal wave of water. Had I known that, I could have gotten away with anything when I was a kid.

HEMMER: You made a comment, you say you remember your father laughing the most.

SIEGEL: Yes, and that's really how I want Dylan to remember me. I write things for Dylan, movies I want to watch with him, TV shows I want to watch with him. There he is playing with his godfather, Roberto (ph), a year and a half old, some of the first footage we have of him. And he's applauding, of course. Watching television, I remember watching "Sid Caesar" and hearing my father's laugh, and turning to my right and seeing him laugh. That's a very vivid memory of my dad, and that's how I want Dylan to remember me.

HEMMER: How much do you think your 5-year-old understands about what you've been through and what you're trying to do, in terms of your legacy for him?

SIEGEL: A surprising amount, and sometimes a very sad amount.

HEMMER: Really? How do you perceive that?

SIEGEL: In school. Something about when you're 4 years old. Four-year-old kids want to know about dying. Some of them, they just want to know what it means. It's like, they don't was a serious metaphysical conversation. It's like there was an old "Mary Tyler Moore Show," where the kid wanted to know where he came from. And they went through this whole thing about -- Jimmy was born in Oklahoma. Where do I come from? And sometimes, that's all they want to know. But a nursery school teacher told me they were talking about how things die, and Dylan was standing by himself and saying, my daddy might die. So he does know. Kids know much more than you give them credit for.

HEMMER: You said something. You said cancer changes your life, and oftentimes for the better.

SIEGEL: Yes. I was -- good thing Gilda Radner started Gilda's Club with Gene Wilder. And she said this in her book. What cancer does is, it forces you to focus, to prioritize, and you learn what's important. I mean, I don't sweat the small stuff. I used to get angry at cab drivers. It's not worth it.

HEMMER: What's the saying, don't sweat the small stuff, because it's all small stuff.

SIEGEL: That's right. And when somebody says, you have cancer, you realize it's all small stuff. And what Gilda said is, if it weren't for the down side, everyone would want to have it. But there is a down side.

HEMMER: Listen, thanks for talking, and it's a good topic for this weekend. "Lessons For Dylan." Great to see you. Stay healthy.

SIEGEL: I'm doing my best.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com