Our Teacher Heroes

Today I found out that the most influential teacher in my life passed away at the age of 92.  Herschel Abbott was a mentor, teacher, advisor and friend.  Herschel taught many forestry courses at UMass.  While great in the classroom, he was even better in the woods.  I totally absorbed his techniques for learning about the environment.  There was nobody that knew the woods better than him. I have used his techniques in my own classroom.  I will remember him for the rest of my life.

Herschel not only taught me in the classroom, he gave me life lessons that I have followed throughout my life.  None of those lessons were political, they were lessons of the woods.

After Herschel's retirement, he was run over by a hit-and-run driver that broke over 90 bones in his body.  Hospitalized for almost a year, Herschel survived.  I think he was around 72 years of age when the accident happened.  Herschel was tough, caring and committed to the forests of New England.  He mentored hundreds of students and cared deeply for them.

It has been a long time since I have posted on line.  I can't pass this day without expressing my love for this great man.

tomtoak

A Veterans Day Comment

This Veterans day I did a lot of thinking about my father who passed away 8 years ago. He served in the Navy in the North Atlantic before the official war. He was an original crew member of the Battleship Massachusetts (1941) and stayed with her throughout the war. He served as a signalman so he had opportunity to observe the war from the bridge. When decisions were being made in the heat of battle, he was there. From Casablanca and then to the South Pacific, he took part in numerous battles; Tarawa, Leyte Gulf, Coral Sea, Guam, Siapan, Palau, Okinawa, the Marshall Islands and the Gilbert's. Like most war veterans who were in the thick of things, he never spoke of his experience; at least not often. Beware the veteran that is always talking about their war stories.

My dad spent his later life working to memorialize the Battleship Massachusetts and spent thousands of volunteer hours on her behalf. This is the way he coped. I know he saw a lot - he saw a lot of men die. I can't relate to his experience but I can relate to the man he became. I remember the way he treated an employee who had been scarred horrifically from war. The man's name was Red Brady and he had a serious drinking problem. Red was a binge drinker and would disappear for a week or more. His psychological hurt was so debilitating that he was claustrophobic and could not go behind any locked door. Because of his drinking, his wife had to drive him to his appointments (he repaired kitchen and laundry appliances for my father's business). He couldn't even service my father's largest client; a psychiatric hospital in Waltham, Massachusetts, because they locked the doors behind you when you entered. My dad had to cover all of those calls.

One day, sensing the frustration in my father, I asked him why he kept Red working when anyone else would have fired him long ago. My father then told me that Red has some trouble that is not his fault and he is coping as best he can. Wanting further clarification, I pressed on. My father then told me that Red was aboard ship when it was torpedoed and the ship partially sunk. Red was trapped for days below deck before he was rescued. I then understood; my dad knew that Red's story could possibly have been him. My father would never judge him or fire him for that matter.

This is truly a great memory that I have preserved over the years. My father made his decisions long before anyone invented the term "post traumatic stress". Red certainly suffered from post traumatic stress and my father didn't need any psychologist to explain it. This lesson taught me to recognize post traumatic stress in veterans that I would have to supervise one day. And, yes, I had to deal with a severe case of post traumatic stress in a Vietnam veteran that sought the help he needed. That person went on to become a great supervisor within the division I was managing. I learned from my father; I learned from a veteran; I've learned from all veterans. There are wounds that we can not see, we can not totally understand, but we have to learn to live with. I'm glad that Red Brady had my father to help him. I'm thankful for the service of Red Brady, my father and all veterans.

tomtoak

39 Years Ago

Today I'm thinking about 4 students that were killed at Kent State University and the 58,000+ U.S. soldiers that gave their lives for an ill-defined cause in Vietnam. May 4, 1970 is forever etched in my memory and was the day that my politics changed.

The senseless murder of college students was orchestrated by the Nixon administration; and while there was a trial for National Guard troops involved in the massacre many years after the incident, they were found not guilty.

People should take a moment and reflect on those days today. You can click on any links below to see some history of this tragic event. That's all I'm going to say!

(LINK) (LINK)

tomtoak

I Enjoyed my Tea Yesterday

OK; While I enjoyed a cup of tea yesterday, I didn't enjoy listening to Republican radio. I try to listen as little as possible, but sometimes you just get that urge to listen to people squawk. While traveling a few miles down the road to bring home some Chinese food, I had an unfortunate encounter with a scum-bag.

On Route 3 in Coventry, a driver started beeping his horn as he moved to pass me. His windows were down and he had WPRO Republican radio blasting. As he pulled along side, he started yelling at me through the window, informing me that Obama is a communist. You see, I do have a single Obama sticker on my car. I listened to his rant as we approached the red light and then had to decide how to respond. I'm always in for a good political fight, so I gave it right back to him as we waited for the green light. You must know; I did ask myself, does this nut have a gun? I didn't care; for once in my life I'm in the political majority and he needed to know that. We exchanged fingers and parted ways as he turned left off of Route 3.

Funny thing about the middle finger; does anyone know where and when the middle finger was born as a statement of feelings towards your fellow man? The Dan York show on WPRO was covering the Tea Party in Providence and was allowing the hatred filled comments to spew forth over the air waves. My new friend had been incited by the classy discussion on the radio and decided he was going to do something about it. That something was to verbally assault a person he did not know because I had expressed my belief in a political candidate on the bumper of my car.

Now I believe in the right of all of those folks to protest in Providence. Heck, in my younger days I attended many protests a lot larger than that. If you've done it, you're in no position to complain about it. What I have never done is step on somebody Else's right to display their belief, or express their belief in a civilized way. I enjoy political discourse with reasoned people that think differently than I do. I like people that think differently than I do. The verbal assault that occurred was the action of a scum-bag. I could give out the guys license plate now but I guess I'll just hold onto it.

So what was accomplished in the protests of yesterday? I guess it empowered one right wing extremist to show why he is an uneducated moron. My scum-bag friend does not have a constitutinonal right to verbally assault anyone. As for the good folks in Providence that were enjoying their constitutional rights, I'm not sure they all agreed on the message of the day. On today's radio broadcast, Dan York couldn't figure out what it was all about yesterday; and he knows everything.

tomtoak

How Old is the Earth?

In High School many years ago, my Social Studies teacher, Brother Leo (A Christian Brother) proposed the following question; "Is democracy always right?". The class debated the issue for the entire period, took a vote and concluded; "yes, democracy is always right". He then proposed the following; a teacher brings a hen into a classroom of grade school children and asks the class to decide whether it is male or female. The class votes and decides that it is male. Did democracy work? Yes it did, but it got it wrong was his response.

Almost half the U.S. population believes the earth is less than 10,000 years old. While studies seem to vary considerably, (2% of the U.S. population scares me) responses do depend on how you ask the question. One Harris poll found that 73% of Republicans believe in creationism as compared to 58% of Democrats and 57% of Independents (high for all concerned, probably because of the question) (The straightdope.com , November 10, 2006).

This is really scary stuff! Mike Huckabee won 5 states in the Republican primaries. He espoused changing the Constitution to make it more like the Bible and he believes that the earth is 7,000 years old. Yes, he believes that people walked with the dinosaurs. Sarah Palin, our latest Republican Vice-Presidential joke believes the same thing.

As I write, this is getting scarier! Theocracies can get in the way of democracy and, in the end, get the question wrong. If you don't believe me, look at Hamas. How can we afford leaders that are so wrong?

The earth is an estimated 4.5 billion years old and that's the fact; and the hen is female, and that's the fact. When was the last time we had a Democrat running for President that believed the earth was 7,000 years old?

George Bush and all the other Republicans should have had Brother Leo's class. Maybe if they had, they would be very careful how they propose to democratize populations that may get the question wrong. Then again, they think they were always right, yet they always got it wrong.

Blog On

Political Roots - Understanding Self

The following story Chronicles my early political life. The images contained in the story have followed me throughout my life.

Political Roots – Thoughts on Change

I was eleven years old. The year was 1961 and traveling through the south with Massachusetts license plates could, on rare occasions, be hazardous to your health. In my family’s case, we were lucky; my dad kept a level head and managed to find a small police station in rural South Carolina. The truck that tried to run us off the road and followed for over 100 miles disappeared in the dark southern night.

Our destination was Americus Georgia, the hometown of my father’s parents. My southern relatives were great people that clung tightly to southern traditions. This was not an easy time in the south during the first years of the Kennedy administration. My dad, having grown up in the south viewed life a little differently. Surviving the war in the South Pacific, marrying my mom from Boston and settling in the northeast probably changed him.

As children, my sister who was thirteen and I could not fully comprehend the turmoil. We would question and not understand why most stores downtown excluded blacks. In the stores that allowed blacks to enter, items on the floor had 2 separate prices; the lower price was always for the white customers.

My grandmother was dying of Parkinson’s disease and because of her deteriorating condition needed help daily. On this trip, the help was a young black girl that probably was not more than 14 years of age and that certainly seemed to belong in school. I can’t remember her name but I vividly remember the incidents that followed.

After this young black girl served dinner to the ten of us in the dining room, she went out to the kitchen to eat alone. My sister insisted that this girl be allowed to eat dinner with us at the dinning room table. It was politely explained to her this was not done in the south. My sister lifted her plate and walked into the kitchen, sat down and ate her dinner with this girl that was so near to her own age. I was very nervous and remained seated and ate my dinner. By the time desert was served, I mustered up the courage to join my sister in the kitchen with her new friend. Through this all, both my parents never said a negative word.

After dinner, I walked outside and found a young black boy who was about my age in the street by himself. I asked him if he wanted to play catch. He said he did not have a glove so we shared mine, taking turns catching ground balls and fly balls in the street. It just so happened that this boy was the brother of my sister’s new friend. He was sent by his family to walk his sister home. They lived down the street at the beginning of the black section and all of the houses along this side of West Church Street were in very poor condition. My sister and I walked our friends back to their house and they invited us in. I can remember a large kitchen table, but that is not the thing that stayed with me all of these years. Above the table on the kitchen wall was a framed color photograph of President John Kennedy. It seemed to be the only thing in color in a black and white world.

Through this all, my parents only offered positive support and my loving southern relatives never said a negative word. At least I can’t remember a negative word, but maybe there were some discussions when my sister and I were out of the house. While southern traditions would at times dictate behavior, it did not change the fact that I’m confident my very sick grandmother cared deeply, and yes, loved her care givers.

This brings me forward to today, November 4, 2008, some 47 years later. I’m proud to have a framed picture of President Barack Obama hanging in my den. To me it completes a journey of hope; the hope that all people can learn to love and respect one another. I’m as proud of hanging this picture in my den as that poor black family was proud of hanging their picture so long ago.

tomtoak

Governing Against The Tide

As I begin my new venture into blogging, I have chosen the theme "governing against the tide". What in the world does this mean? I have been totally frustrated with popular belief that public employees are to blame for the economic woes of today (2009). Ronald Reagan said that government was "the problem". I could never understand this philosophy that demonizes government. It is my belief that Reagan, who started the great march towards the privatization of government services is responsible for our current economic decline. It is my intention to post my thoughts on the problems of government based upon my long career inside of government. What I see as problems in government have few connections with popular opinion that we hear continuously on conservative radio talk shows. We need to think differently; and this is what this blog is all about. I hope to make the case, using facts, that will hopefully add a new dimension to popular misconceptions about government.

I want to make one more statement before I begin my blogging career. I choose the title of this blog based upon the title of the book written by Lincoln Chafee, the former Republican senator from Rhode Island who courageously left the Republican party and endorsed Barack Obama for President. I highly recommend reading his book, "Against the Tide", as he has a lot to say about governing.

Blog on.