Wonderful Speech...

Remember the guy who got on a plane with a bomb built into his shoe and tried to light it?

His trial is over and he was sentenced.
Everyone should hear what the judge had to say.

Ruling by Judge William Young, US District Court.
Prior to sentencing, the Judge asked the defendant if he had anything to say. His response: After admitting his guilt to the court for the record, Reid also admi tted his "allegiance to Osama bin Laden, to Islam, and to the religion of Allah," defiantly stating, "I think I will not apologize for my actions," and told the court "I am at war with your country."

Judge Young then delivered the statement quoted below:

January 30, 2003, United States vs. Reid.

Judge Young: "Mr. Richard C. Reid, hearken now to the sentence the Court imposes upon you.

On counts 1, 5 and 6 the Court sentences you to life in prison in the custody of the United States Attorney General. On counts 2, 3, 4 and 7, the Court sentences you to 20 years in prison on each count, the sentence on each count to run consecutively. (That's 80 years.)

On count 8 the Court sentences you to the mandatory 30 years again, to be served consecutively to the 80 years just imposed. The Court imposes upon you for each of the eight counts a fine of $250,000 that's an aggregate fine of $2 million. The Court ac cepts the government's recommendation with respect to restitution and orders restitution in the amount of $298.17 to Andre Bousquet and $5,784 to American Airlines.

The Court imposes upon you an $800 special assessment. The Court imposes upon you five years supervised release simply because the law requires it. But the life sentences are real life sentences so I need go no further.

This is the sentence that is provided for by our statutes. It is a fair and just sentence. It is a righteous sentence.

Now, let me explain this to you. We are not afraid of you or any of your terrorist co-conspirators, Mr. Reid. We are Americans. We have been through the fire before. There is too much war talk here and I say that to everyone with the utmost respect. Here in this court, we deal with individuals as individuals and care for individuals as individuals. As human beings, we reach out for justice.

You are not an enemy combatant. You are a terrorist. You are not a soldier in any war. You are a terrorist. To give you that reference, to call you a soldier, gives you far too much stature. Whether the officers of government do it or your attorney does it, or if you think you are a soldier. You are not----- you are a terrorist. And we do not negotiate with terrorists. We do not meet with terrorists. We do not sign documents with terrorists. We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice.

So war talk is way out of line in this court. You are a big fellow. But you are not that big. You're no warrior. I've known warriors. You are a terrorist. A species of criminal that is guilty of multiple attempted murders. In a very real sense, State Trooper Santiago had it right when you first were taken off that plane and into custody and you wondered where the press and the TV crews were, and he said: "You're no big deal."

You are no big deal.

What your able counsel and what the equally able United States attorneys have grappled with and what I have as honestly as I know how tried to grapple with, is why you did something so horrific. What was it that led you here to this courtroom today?

I have listened respectfully to what you have to say. And I ask you to search your heart and ask yourself what sort of unfathomable hate led you to do what you are guilty and admit you are guilty of doing? And, I have an answer for you. It may not satisfy you, but as I search this entire record, it comes as close to understanding as I know.

It seems to me you hate the one thing that to us is most precious. You hate our freedom. Our individual freedom. Our individual freedom to live as we choose, to come and go as we choose, to believe or not believe as we individually choose. Here, in this society, the very wind carries freedom. It carries it everywhere from sea to shining sea. It is because we prize individual freedom so much that you are here in this beautiful courtroom. So that everyone can see, truly see, that justice is administered fairly, individually, and discretely. It is for freedom's sake that your lawyers are striving so vigorously on your behalf, have filed appeals, will go on in their representation of you before other judges.

We Americans are all about freedom. Because we all know that the way we treat you, Mr. Reid, is the measure of our own liberties. Make no mistake though. It is yet true that we will bear any burden; pay any price, to preserve our freedoms. Look around this courtroom. Mark it well. The world is not going to long remember what you or I say here. The day after tomorrow, it will be forgotten, but this, however, will long endure.

Here in this courtroom and courtrooms all across America, the American people will gather to see that justice, individual justice, justice, not war, individual justice is in fact being done. The very President of the United States through his officers will have to come into courtrooms and lay out evidence on which specific matters can be judged and juries of citizens will gather to sit and judge that evidence democratically, to mold and shape and refine our sense of justice.

See that flag, Mr. Reid? That's the flag of the United States of America. That flag will fly there long after this is all forgotten . That flag stands for freedom. And it always will.

Mr. Custody Officer. Stand him down.

God bless Judge Young and God bless America.

Farewell, Jerry... We'll miss you.

We learned this week of the passing of an old friend, Jerry Holland. Perhaps I should say the unforgettable Jerry Holland. If your path and his had ever crossed, you would remember him. He was bigger than life.

I think I first met Jerry in late 1990. He had come to work for Camber Corporation and opened an office in Crystal City, a huge office complex in Arlington, Virginia. Jerry had presented a business concept to our CEO, Walter Batson, and Walter had hired Jerry on the spot. Jerry had an extensive and successful career in the Army, the last several years of which had involved the acquisition process. He knew the military acquisition process. His idea was to sell support services to program offices that are trying to wend their ways through the countless obstacles and roadblocks that slow down or kill them. He was very successful and soon had one of the largest, most successful Camber divisions.

On several occasions, I flew to Washington to provide support to Jerry's projects and programs. Jerry was a born leader. He exuded a well-founded confidence. A sign over the door to his office stated, "Do something! Lead, follow, or get out of the way." And he meant it. Jerry arrived at the office at or before 5:00 AM. By the time most of us arrive at work, Jerry had done a half-day's work! He was dynamic, concerned about everyone and everything under his management, and a great businessman. His integrity was beyond question. If Jerry made a commitment, it was gold-plated. Because of that, his clients loved him. They came back for further services at a very high rate.

Jerry was also a great judge of people. His bride, Av, was evidence of that! But in the business world, he picked great workers and leaders who became some of Camber's finest. Our president, Joe Alexander, was an early Jerry Holland protégé.

Jerry was a dedicated family man. More than once Margo and I visited Joe and Av (and their beloved St. Bernards!). We could feel the warm friendliness of their home. And Jerry spoke of his family in the most tender, caring terms.

It will take a while for Jerry's departure to sink in. He served on Camber's Board of Directors for many years after he retired, so I got to see him just about every quarter. It's a shame that we don't appreciate each other a little more while we can. Jerry, I will miss you. You have suffered your last. Enjoy the Glory.

Visitor from the North...

A week ago last Saturday, I proceeded on my normal morning routine, which includes feeding the dog and two cats. When I approached Sheila's dog pen, I spotted a huge animal, feeding at the cats' dishes. It was a full-grown Alaskan Malamute. If you've never seen one of these dogs, believe me, they are very large.

I approached him cautiously, hoping that he was friendly, and he turned out to be so. I led him into Sheila's pen so that he couldn't attack our cats. He looked capable of making short work of eliminating them. He sniffed Sheila, but there was no sign of aggression. He did, however become very protective of the food dish.

I kept him in the pen and let Sheila stay outside the fence, since I didn't want him to run out in the road and get hit. I also began to realize that I couldn't keep him and hoped I could find his rightful owner.

Mary Ann and I placed an ad in the local newspapers and on the local radio station, to no avail. I realized that if I took him to the pound, he would most certainly be destroyed, an option I didn't even want to think about. I called Elsie West, who works in the gift shop, since Elsie is quite a dog rescuer, and she indicated she might know someone who could help.

Through a friend of a friend, we were put in contact with a young lady from Hartselle, Alabama, who saves Malamutes! Krista and her fiancé, Josh, came up to our home this afternoon and took the dog to their rescue site. They have four acres where they keep 14 Malamutes, Huskies, and wolf mixes. I can't tell you how relieved and happy I was to know that this animal has been saved.

Please spay and neuter your pets. Be a responsible pet owner.

People of Influence, Part 1...

Professor Edward S.C. Smith

Saturday morning I was having a conversation with my friend Dan Shady. We turned to the topic of how much our lives are really a reflection of the hundreds of people with whom we have come into contact. And how serendipitous that interaction is. What if some of our teachers hadn't been as inspiring as they were? What if our parents hadn't put a high value on education and hard work? There are just so many influences in our lives over which we have or had no control, but have made us the people we are today.

I've decided to start a series of blog entries on some of the fascinating and often amazing people whom I know have been an important influence in my life. I've already done an entry on Clarence Johnson, who just by accident happened to deliver mail to my home, but was certainly instrumental in fostering my love of science. I've also written about Mildred Guernsey, who taught me 8th grade algebra. Today I'd like to give credit to Professor Edward Staples Cousens Smith, who was another important influence.

I grew up in the shadow of Union College, a small Liberal Arts and Engineering college in Schenectady, New York. Union was founded in 1795. It has a gorgeous campus, full of ivy-covered traditionally styled buildings. I spent much of my youth exploring every corner of that campus.

One day I happened upon the mineralogical museum that was a part of the department of Geology. This department was housed in a modest two-story Georgian building and much of the first floor was taken up by the museum. In one corner was a small, curtained-off area of flourescent rocks and minerals. A switch permitted the visitor to change from darkness to white light to ultra-violet light. One could see the rocks under normal light and then be exposed to the brilliant colors that were exhibited under "black" light.

All the samples were labeled -- Hyalite from Mexico and North Carolina, Brucite from Texas and New Jersey, Calcite from Montana and California. Exotic names for the rocks and, to an 8 or 9-year old boy, the names of exotic places. I can't tell you how many dozen times I went to that magic darkened place to see the rocks that glowed. I took my friends as well. We'd ride our bikes and prop them against the building as we went in to be amazed by the phenomenon of flourescence.

As I paid one of my frequent visits to the museum, probably around 1948, a distinguished-looking gentleman suddenly appeared and asked me if I knew why those rocks did what they did. That was the beginning of a long friendship with Professor Edward S.C. Smith, the Chairman of the Department of Geology. As I learned much later, there was a long period during which Professor Smith was the only member of the Department of Geology.

He was a natural teacher. He would pose a question like the one about flourescence. I, of course, would respond that I had no idea why the rocks glowed. We'd proceed to his office where he would erase whatever was on his chalk board. He would then teach me the principles of science in terms and drawings that a young boy could understand. It was all about learning and understanding science.

A few months after we met, I ran across plans for a crystal radio set. I needed a crystal of galena, a lead sulfide that forms cubic crystals and becomes the signal detector in a crystal set. I remembered that I had seen galena in the geology museum. Off I went on my bike to see if I could get a piece of galena from Professor Smith. He made sure that it wouldn't be that easy.

He asked me if I understood what goes on in a crystal detector and why galena worked as part of the detector (The other part was called the "cat's whisker" and is a thin wire that makes contact with the crystal.). We proceeded to the office and the blackboard.

After he had taught me how these natural diodes work, he gave me an assignment that I still remember, some sixty years later! He took a cigar box off a shelf and proceeded to fill it with small rock and mineral samples - the galena I had asked for, but also Calchopyrite, Zinc Sulfide, Zincite from the New Jersey Zinc Company mines, Sphalerite, Willemite (a zinc silicate as I recall), and others. Then he said, "Bobby, some of these will work in a crystal set and some won't. Some will only work if you use another one of these as the cat's whisker. I want you to go home and try all the possible combinations and report back to me what you find out." He was teaching me the scientific method!

Professor Smith took me on field trips with the college classes and let me sit in on his classes. I think he was truly disappointed that I didn't go to Union College as a geology major.

I spent a lot of time with Prof Smith and his wife Frances. He had a lovely collection of music boxes and we both enjoyed the intricacies of these vintage devices. He was, in fact, a close friend of Elizabeth Bornand, a world-renowned expert on vintage music boxes. He often went to her store in Pelham, New York, to have his music boxes worked on. He also knew of my interest in antique cars and spoke of someday owning a Metz roadster like the one his father had owned.

After Professor Smith retired, his wife took a job in the library at Penn State and we gradually lost touch. He died in 1971, having left a wonderful legacy. I owe much of my love for science to this man.

I found the following article on the Internet which I believe is from an encyclopedia of Union College:

"Smith, Edward Staples Cousens (Aug. 23, 1894-Nov. 11,1971).

Professor of Geology, 1922-60.

Born in Biddeford, Maine, the only child of James G. Cousens Smith, a merchant—later mayor and state legislator—and Eva Lorena Staples Smith, E.S.C. Smith attended Bowdoin College as a chemistry major (BS, 1918). Too small for the army, he devoted a year to First World War work with Dupont, then entered MIT for graduate study. After one semester he switched to Harvard, where he studied geology, earning an AM in 1920. Despite additional graduate study during two years as a teaching assistant at Radcliffe College, Smith never obtained a PhD.

He came to Union as an instructor in geology and chemistry, and on James Stoller's retirement in 1925 rose to assistant professor and chair of the Geology Department. This represented a re-establishment of Union's geology program. The previous attempt by Charles Prosser (1894-99) had faded away after Prosser's departure, and although Stoller had maintained courses in geology and had made important contributions to the study of New York State geology, his advanced training was in biology. Smith was a geologist both by inclination and education, and he set about creating a comprehensive program in the science.

Certainly the best-known geologist in Union's recent history, he was mentor to a long string of geology students, a remarkable number of whom went on to eminence in the field. Smith was geology at the College for over thirty years, from his ascension in 1925 to the addition of a second regular faculty member in 1957. From 1931 until the onset of the Second World War, the only period in which Union offered a master's degree in the field, Smith was able to teach a sound curriculum in geology, often with the help of a young instructor who was also a master's degree candidate.

Although diminutive in stature (five-foot four, 135 lbs., in 1935), Smith was a presence on campus, and the subject of numerous anecdotes repeated by former students and colleagues. While many of these touch on a certain imperiousness, they also reflect the students' affection for him, which was no doubt a response to his concern and fondness for them. He was nicknamed "Alphabet Smith"—because he often used three initials— and "Snuffy" (after Snuffy Smith, a short-statured comic strip character of the time), but to many people he was simply "Prof," without any surname.

While not extensive, Smith's professional publications touched upon some very significant areas of geology, especially the geology of his home state of Maine. A special interest in the state's highest mountain led him to compile, with Myron Avery, An Annotated Bibliography of Katahdin, (1922; rev. ed., 1936). He was the first to prove the presence of Cambrian age rocks in Maine.

One of Smith's most interesting contributions was in the field of mineral fluorescence. With his student William Parsons '36, he did experimental work on fluorescence spectra of minerals, a phenomenon familiar to many who have seen "black lights" produce striking colors on specimens in the darkened chamber of a mineralogical museum. Smith's collection of fluorescent specimens is still a fascinating part of the mineral collection at Union.

Although he was above all a dedicated teacher, Smith did not confine his teaching to the campus; he was strongly concerned with educating the general public about geology. Responsible for one of the earliest television series devoted to the subject, he also spoke over WGY in a series of radio lectures for the General Electric Science Forum. He contributed a section on "Natural Radioactivity" to Applied atomic power (1946); one of the earliest books on nuclear energy, it proved not only a useful technical compilation, but an enlightening work for the general public.

His concern for conservation and the environment preceded by many years the fashion which became general a decade or so after his retirement. Smith's role in geology was recognized by many colleagues. He was a close associate of New York State Geologist Christie A. Hartnagel '98 and the noted paleontologist and stratigrapher, Rudolf Ruedemann. With Smith's help, Ruedemann studied important Cambrian sections in Maine, and he named a fossil, Oldhamia Smithi, in Smith's honor.

A fellow of the Geological Society of America and the Mineralogical Society, Smith helped organize the New York State Geological Association and served as its president in 1930.

He played the piano, collected music boxes, and in 1946 set up an "enjoyment course" in symphonic music, playing phonograph records in Old Chapel. His other hobbies also had consequences for the College: he organized a Philatelic Club in 1927, and his interest in photography led him not only to make still and motion pictures for class use, but also to shoot in 1935/36 Union's first promotional film, "George goes to Union." A long-time bachelor, Smith served as a proctor in Old Gym and South College, then as head proctor, residing in North College, until his 1946 marriage to Frances Shaver, head cataloguer in the College library. From 1951 until 1960, the couple occupied the College house at 856 Nott St.

When Smith retired in 1960 he was honored by his former students, who established the Edward S. C. Smith Geology Prize for a geology major who shows high professional potential. Although the College no longer offered a geology major at the time of Smith's death in 1971, the later renewal of the department and of the prize has somehow brought him to life again, as a presence among those dedicated to geology at Union.

-George H. Shaw"

Addendum dated 23 March 2017:
 Today, I ran across a memorial for Prof Smith that was published by the Geological Society of America.  It's too beautiful to not be included in my tribute to a treasured mentor.  With all due credit to the author,


Memorial to Edward S. C. Smith 1894-1971 
PHILIP C. HEWITT Department of Earth Sciences, State University of New York, Brockport, New York 14420
Professor Edward Staples Cousens Smith, chairman of the geology department of Union College in Schenec­tady, New York, until his retirement in 1960, died in Gainesville, Florida, on November 11, 1971. His wife Frances survived him by almost three years. Mrs. Smith passed away on October 12, 1974.

Known as the ‘‘Prof" by his students and many of his colleagues, Smith epitomized everything of value as a scientist, a geologist, and a teacher. With his ready wit, immense knowledge, and crackling “down Maine” accent, he developed a small but excellent program in geology and taught many fine and highly loyal students. He imparted something of his own enjoyment in field and research work to them, showing his real affection for the young men and his eagerness to teach them.

Born in Biddeford, Maine, on August 23, 1894, Prof. Smith studied chemistry at Bowdoin College, from which he was graduated in 1918. At that time Bowdoin had no geology department but his interest in mineralogy had been whetted by his love of the outdoors and nursed by his instructors in chemistry. His graduate study was taken at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, and it was from Harvard that he received his M.A. degree in 1920. From 1921 to 1923 he was an instructor at Radcliffe College; then he went to Union College to spend the next thirty-seven years, the remainder of his career as a teacher.

In 1925 Prof. Smith became chairman of the geology department at Union and began to develop a strong major. His primary interests were in mineralogy, geomorphology, and the history of geology. However, he taught courses in many areas and had breadth in geology generally as well as depth in his own particular specialties. He established an excellent library for the use of his students, which included virtually all American and many foreign journals. In addition, many rare and highly valued acquisitions are in the Union College Library, thanks to his efforts. This includes a fine copy of the original William Smith Map in remarkable condition.

In addition to the excellent library, Prof. Smith nurtured and developed excellent collections of minerals which established Union College as a repository for many fine and rare mineral specimens. Few small colleges can approach Union in the excellence of such collections, which includes the Wheatley and Pfordte Collections as well as his own fluorescent minerals collection, a subject in which he had great interest even during his later years. It was in the area of mineral fluorescence that he did much research even after his active teaching duties were completed.

Prof. Smith was a Fellow of the Geological Society of America and of the Mineralogical Society and a member of numerous other profesional organizations. He was very active in the Society of the Sigma Xi. In addition, Smith was an early organizer, supporter, and presi­dent of the New York State Geological Association.

His professional interests were notable; yet he did not ignore the necessity for bringing geology to a popular level. Frequently, he spoke for groups other than professionals and helped to develop an appreciation of geology in those whose interests in the Earth were not professional. As an example, Smith developed one of the earliest television courses in geology—a series of programs, which were well received and which helped to provide for the public a real insight into the field. He also delivered a series of radio talks for the General Electric Science Forum over WGY in Schenectady.

He was an early and tireless worker in the field of conservation and was involved in environmental concerns well before it became fashionable. The need to preserve and protect our natural and nonrenewable resources was a major interest. He spoke before many groups and wrote for many publications on the subject.

Prof. Smith was so obviously a “down Mainer” that it is no surprise to note that much of his research was based upon field work done in his native state. His contributions in that area included study of the Cambrian of northern Maine, various aspects of Mount Katahdin, an area along the Kennebec River, igneous exposures of Mount Kineo and vicinity, and Rangeley conglomerate as well as a number of others.

He did not ignore New York State, for he published a number of scientific articles on the geology of that area also. His breadth of professional interest is demonstrated by the variability of sub­ ject matter. Smith wrote on such varied subjects as polycrase in New York, tillite in Maine, and rock creep on Mount Katahdin. Along with William H. Parsons, he wrote an article on mineral fluorescence.

Prof. Smith published in a number of journals, including the American Journal of Science, American Mineralogist, Geological Society of America Bulletin, Geographical Re­view, Bulletin of the Appalachian Mountain Club, and others. In Reynolds’ Excursions in Science (1939), he wrote an article on meteorites. Applied Atomic Power, a book by Smith and others, was published by Prentice-Hall in 1946. One of the earliest compilations of the subject matter designed for the new “atomic age,” this was a useful reference work for the student and the general public as well.

Smith wrote an excellent manuscript for a book on the history of geology that he never published. Originally written for a course he offered in this subject, the manuscript covered that period from the early Greek philosophers to the vigorous American geologists. Although he was asked many times to publish this work, he never did. It is regrettable that it never reached the geologic public, for Smith stood in a special place in time and space. He followed the group of New York geologists who had developed the basis for our own stratigraphy, yet he was, in his early and middle years, a contemporary of those who worked for them. Thus, he straddled two eras—theirs and ours—and it was through him that much of the early flavor of American geology was passed on. Students who heard his lectures on this subject were imbued with a love for and knowledge of the past and a healthy respect for the prowess of our geologist ancestors.

Prof Smith was a friend of those whose names appear in many areas of the science of geology. He helped Rudolf Ruedemann in Maine and Ruedemann named Oldhamia smithi for him. He helped Chris Hartnagel in New York, and it was Hartnagel who provided the wonderful stories and anecdotes about James Hall and others (which thrilled Profs students and colleagues). His research qualified him as a fine scientist. His love of the outdoors qualified him as a special person—a geological scientist.

Yet it was his love of people that is most important. Prof. Smith was a warm, wonderful man with a huge talent for teaching. A listing of his students would be a long one with many distinguished names appearing on it. He was able to bring life to his subject and to develop in his students a love and understanding of the study of the Earth. His influence on future professionals was immense. His influence on the layman toward an appreciation of the Earth was equally great.

On his retirement, his students established the E.S.C. Smith Prize, an endowed fund to provide an award for promising geology majors at Union College. It was established with the warm affection of his friends, students, and colleagues. At no time did they forget him nor did he forget them. His newsletters kept them in touch with him, even after his retirement.

I know that one of Prof. Smith’s most difficult tasks was to write a memorial to Chris Hartnagel, his very close friend. Chris had taught him much. Now I realize this same difficulty in writing about the “Prof.” Partly it was difficult because he was my friend who taught me so much. He taught me to teach and made things possible for me. But it was difficult mostly because it is an ending, a last word—a word of love, but a last word nonetheless.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF E.S.C. SMITH
1923 The Rangeley conglomerate: Am. Jour. Sci., v. 5, p. 147-154.
1924 Rock creep on Mt. Ktaadn, Maine: Geog. Rev., v. 14, no. 3, p. 388-393. ------- (and Avery, Myron H.) A bibliography for Mt. Ktaadn revised: Appalachia, 12 p.
1925 (and Perkins, E. H.) A geological section from the Kennebec River to Penobscot Bay: Am. Jour. Sci., v. 9, p. 204-228.
1926 Larrabee and “the backwoods expedition”: Appalachia, 7 p. ------- The Ripogenus gorge: The Northern, v. 6, no. 3, p. 3-4.
1928 A possible tillite from northern Maine: Am. Jour. Sci., v. 15, p. 61-65. ------- The Cambrian in northern Maine: Am. Jour. Sci., v. 15, p. 484-486.
1933 An occurrence of garnet in rhyolite: Am. Jour. Sci., v. 25, p. 225-228.
1938 (and Parsons, William H.) Studies in mineral fluorescence: Am. Mineralogist, v. 23, no. 8, p. 513-521.
1946 (and others) Applied atomic power: New York, Prentice-Hall, Inc., 227 p.
1947 (and Kruesi, Oscar) Polycrase in New York State: Am. Mineralogist, v. 32, p. 585-587.
1964 Memorial to Chris Andrew Hartnagel [1874-1962]: Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 75, P1-P6.

Happy Birthday, Boy Scouts of America!

On February 8th, 1910, Chicago publisher W.D.Boyce incorporated the Boy Scouts of America. He had gone to England in 1909 and witnessed the scouting movement that had been founded there by General Robert Baden-Powell.

St. John the Evangelist Church today.  The Boy
Scout "barn" was behind and to the left of the
church, an area long-since converted
to parking space.

In February of 1951, almost exactly 41 years later, I joined Troop 72 in Schenectady, New York.  We met every Wednesday evening in a barn behind St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church. It was a big deal. My brother had joined the scouts four years earlier and was about to become an Eagle Scout. Many of my friends were members of the troop. I wanted to be part of this organization.

Our Scoutmaster was a wonderful man named Ray Rokovich. He was a World War II veteran who had been paralyzed during the Pacific campaign. After spending a period in a wheel chair, "Rocky" as we knew him, had made a remarkable recovery and regained use of his legs. He was assisted by Assistant Scoutmasters Jack McGowan and Don Cassidy, also very dedicated, hard working scout leaders. Another adult leader I remember was Carl Schaefer, whose sons Peter and Carl Jr. (known as "Buddy") were active in the troop.

This was a dynamic energetic organization. We had constant activities. Some, such as boxing matches (I got the living snot beat out of me by Jimmy Sorrentino) could probably not be done today because of liability concerns. Others, such as hiking, canoe trips, ski weekends at North Creek (where Carl Schaefer owned an old cabin), and toboggan trips were memorable in a young boy's life.

One area in which Troop 72 led the district was fundraising.  During the Korean War, scrap newsprint reached the astounding value of 1 penny per pound.  We realized we could get paid $1.00 for 100 pounds of something that most people were eager to get rid of!  Our leaders mapped out the entire city into areas that we could cover in a single 8-hour day of collecting.  We would go into a neighborhood with station wagons, vans, and pickup trucks.  Each pair of scouts had a wagon to carry our booty.  The mail would have saturated the area about our upcoming paper collection drive.  Many homes would have already tied the newspaper into bundles to make our jobs easier.  We'd collect from a few houses until our wagons were full to overflowing, then we'd return to the adult vehicle to unload and then resume where we had left off.  This went on all day with perhaps two dozen collection teams of eager young scouts.  And the vehicles were running back and forth to the church yard to unload the treasure into a giant trailer that the salvage dealer had left for us to load.  In a couple of weekends, we could fill up an 18-wheeler.  We made enough in one Summer and Fall to completely replace every bit of camping gear used by Troop 72!  It was a very good year.  Not long after, the bottom fell out of the scrap paper market.  Our timing had been perfect.

I went to Boyhaven Scout Camp on at least two summer encampments. I still remember the Camp Doctor, Jim Early, whose younger cousin went to school with me. I nearly drowned trying to earn the lifesaving merit badge (which I never was able to complete) in the freezing waters of Kayderosseras Creek. I never made Eagle, but I did earn enough merit badges to become a "Life" scout.

Years later I went to work in Pascagoula, Mississippi. I was approached one day by a colleague, Bill Clancy, who asked if I might be interested in becoming a Scout Leader. Before I knew it, I had new uniforms, including a Stetson "Smokey-the-Bear" hat and I was an assistant district training commissioner of the Singing River District. That meant I did anything Clancy asked me to do. Our mission in life was to get more black youngsters involved in scouting. This was not necessarily popular in Mississippi in the early 1970's, but Bill Clancy was a force to be reckoned with. By the time I left Mississippi, a significant percentage of Boy Scouts in our part of the state were from minority families.

Shortly after I arrived in Huntsville in 1978, I was recruited again. Margo and I became scout leaders of a faltering troop and nursed it back to health, after which we took on a co-ed explorer post at Holy Spirit Catholic Church. That's a topic for a later blog...

Happy 100 years birthday, Boy Scouts of America!!!

Word is Out!

I have heard from a reliable source that one of my favorite cars of all time, the Wagon Queen Family Truckster, is going to appear at the Super Bowl. What could be cooler???

A Saints Moment...

I lived on the Mississippi Gulf Coast in the 1970s. The New Orleans Saints were a relatively young team, with Mississippi native Archie Manning as their star quarterback. I don't believe they ever had a winning season while I lived in the area.

As I would drive home each afternoon from work, I'd listen to radio station WWL in New Orleans. The sports broadcaster "Hap" Glaudy would constantly slaughter the King's English as he lamented the Saints' dismal record. One day, on a call-in show, I heard a lady tell Hap that "da reason dem Saints got such a turrible record is 'cause Gawd is pissed off at 'em. Dey used da name "Saints" an' dat's a sacred woid." Such went the discussion year after year, trying to figure out how any football team could be so disappointing. They were football's equivalent of the "gang that couldn't shoot straight."

Hap Glaudy was succeeded on WWL by Bernard "Buddy" Diliberto, the "Voice of the Saints." Buddy D announced the Saints games for many years, and often said that if the Saints ever went to the Superbowl, he'd walk down Bourbon Street wearing a dress. Unfortunately, Buddy died in 2005, never having realized that part of his dream.

Last Sunday, Bobby Hebert, the former Saints quarterback who took over sportscasting at WWL after Buddy's death, kept Buddy's promise. In memory of this departed sportscaster, Bobby Hebert, attired in blonde pigtails and a Gold Lamé dress, led thousands of similarly dressed men in a parade from the Superdome to the French Quarter.

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reported an attendance of 87,000! Only in the Crescent City...