Flight of the Peacock

When rookie sportswriter Roy Berman, covering at his first intercollegiate meet, observed varsity swimmer Marty Katz strut around the pool, he thought the undergraduate seemed a little too full of himself. That impression was later reinforced a dozen years later when the athlete reinserted himself into the now cardiologist's life as a pacemaker salesman driving an expensive German sports car while engaged to the niece of Greg's partner. It was only when, a few years later, the two unexpectedly engaged in a tell-all conversation that the cardiologist realized that the arc of his life had closely mirrored Marty's and the two of them could have been twin sons of different mothers. This realization sparked a friendship that spanned almost thirty years and included a series of activities, adventures, and experiences that solidified a relationship that ended abruptly when Marty, at a relatively young age, succumbed to complications of an elective surgical procedure. This is their story.