#40 Jesus Christ

Happy Easter Sunday, one and all!!

It is with great pleasure that I conclude my Lenten 40 list today. It was a self-imposed challenge that accomplished exactly what I wanted it to accomplish... to honor 40 people, some known to only a few, and others known to the world, who are deserving of my respect, admiration and compassion, for reasons that go far beyond the fact that they are merely (in some cases) famous.

I lost "friends" over the fact that I was not (in their eyes) suitably mournful and sympathetic over the death of Whitney Houston. In my mind, those who were so caught up in her drama, and were willing to chastise me for my lack of shock and horror over one of the most predictible outcomes in druggie history, are people who I can certainly do without in my life. It was suggested that I didn't know what I was talking about because I "didn't walk a mile in her shoes". Maybe that's because I had enough character and self-control and valued my life enough that I wasn't going to get trapped in the self-indulgent garbage in which she wallowed.

Once I finished writing each of these Lenten 40 posts, the litmus test for me was were they "Whitney WHO???" -worthy. Were these people notable and worthy of respect for genuinely significant reasons? In my opinion, yes, they were. Each and every one.

And that certainly applies to this Man who, of course, I saved for last, and for today.

Jesus Christ is the Son of God, born in Bethlehem in the year 1, to the Virgin Mary and her betrothed, Joseph. There was no room in the inn.... I trust you know the rest.

(Reading Wikipedia, it is amazing to me how many theologian / historian / scientists have tried, over the past two millenia, to determine his exact date of birth and death. I am planning on keeping it simple. He was born on Christmas Day. Sir Isaac Newton figured out the day of death was Friday, April 3rd, 33 A.D. I can work with that.)

Even though His first foray into teaching the masses (pun intended) was as a child in the temple, the majority of His ministry actually happened during the last 3 years of His life.

He journeyed throughout Judea and Galilee, performing miracles, and teaching about His Father and the path to Heaven.

Basically, what He was saying was that we need to love God, and to love our neighbours as we love ourselves. For THIS He was crucified.

It is difficult to grasp how threatening that concept was, in that era. He taught that the only King that mattered was His Father. He feared no law of man. That did not imply lawlessness; it implied that in order to achieve everlasting life, one must follow the Word of God.

Fortunately for us Christians, it's not like the Word of God was telling people to fly jets into skyscrapers in His name...

No. The Word of God was telling people that we should be kind to one another. Not murder each other, nor steal from one another. Honor thy mother and thy father. And fear God.

I think that more often than not, most people try to be kind to one another. But, I really have to wonder, in this day and age, if people really fear God the way we're supposed to. We all, at one time or another, say, "God has no expectation that I do this, or don't do that." Hmmm... I hope I'm right when I profess those assumptions! We're here for a short time, but Eternity is forever.

So, amid all the miracles and parables and teaching, when He was really hitting His stride, Judas Iscariot betrayed Him for 30 pieces of silver, and to make a long story short, Jesus fulfilled God's will by being crucified and dying for our sins.

But, what separated Jesus from all the other prophets was what happened three days later. He rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven, assuring us all everlasting life.

We mark that event today, on Easter Sunday.

God knows I'm no theologian. I am hardly one who can expound in any deep, meaningful way about the effect Jesus' life, death and resurrection has had on mankind. All I know is the profound effect it has had on my life.

As I wrote last year in another blog post about Easter...

Santa gives us presents. The Easter Bunny gives us eggs. Jesus gave His life so that we may have everlasting life. Jesus wins.

To bring this to a close, here is something I hope you will enjoy. The following are two video clips sent to me by a friend, Rhonda, who thought - rightly - that I would appreciate them. The first is a preview of an Imax film about Jerusalem. The second is about an artist's rendition of Jesus rising from the dead, amid the spirits of other Biblical figures. They both are amazing, and I hope you will think so too.

Happy Easter!!! And thanks for coming along on my Lenten 40 ride. I hope it's given you food for thought about those who inspire and move you.

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#39 Florence Nightingale

It would be just plain wrong of me to write a Lenten list of 40 people I admire and respect without including "The Lady with the Lamp",  Florence Nightingale.

Florence Nightingale was a nurse, as well as an author and statistician. She was born in Italy in 1820 to a wealthy British upper class family, during an era when well-to-do ladies excelled at marrying and having children. As it happens, her father was a believer in educating his daughters, and taught her languages, philosophy and history, as well as mathematics and writing.

She was courted by barons, poets and politicians, but rejected their advances because she felt that marriage would interfere with her ability to practice her calling as a nurse. Some scholars believe that she remained chaste for her entire life; perhaps because she felt a religious calling to her career, or because she lived in the time of Victorian sexual morality.

She announced her desire to enter nursing in 1844, and worked hard to educate herself in the art and science of nursing, much to the dismay of her mother and sister. By 1853, she occupied the post of superintendent at the Institute for the Care of Sick Gentlewomen in London.

In 1854, her most celebrated contribution to health care came as a result of her work during the Crimean War. She and a staff of 38 nurses arrived in what is now Istanbul to find what she described as horrific conditions. She and her nurses found wounded soldiers being badly cared for by overworked medical staff. Medicines were in short supply, hygiene was being neglected, and mass infections were common, many of them fatal.

During the war, Florence Nightingale gained the nickname "The Lady with the Lamp", deriving from a phrase in a report in The Times:

"She is a ‘ministering angel’ without any exaggeration in these hospitals, and as her slender form glides quietly along each corridor, every poor fellow's face softens with gratitude at the sight of her. When all the medical officers have retired for the night and silence and darkness have settled down upon those miles of prostrate sick, she may be observed alone, with a little lamp in her hand, making her solitary rounds."

She prepared many reports on the conditions she found, as well as compiling statistics to support her requests for aid from England. She made extensive use of the newly developed pie chart in order to illustrate her points to civil servants who, she believed, would either not read or not understand a typical statistical report.

From Wikipedia:

"In 1860, the Nightingale Training School and Home for Nurses based at St Thomas' Hospital in London opened with 10 students. It was based on two principles: Firstly, that nurses should have practical training in hospitals specially organized for that purpose. The other was that nurses should live in a home fit to form a moral life and discipline. Due to the foundation of this school Nightingale had achieved the transformation of nursing from its disreputable past into a responsible and respectable career for women."

Nursing's "disreputable past" was based on the fact that in an age of moral propriety, the only women deemed suitable to be exposed to illness and difficult conditions without offending their sensibilities were prostitutes.

And, contrary to popular belief, Florence Nightingale herself did not die of syphillis, but suffered from brucellosis, also called Crimean fever, a highly contagious condition caused by ingestion of unsterilized milk or meat from infected animals or close contact with their secretions. She was intermittently bedridden with this illness from 1858 to her death in 1910, at 90 years of age.
 
Florence Nightingale's lasting contribution has been her role in founding the modern nursing profession. She set an example of compassion and commitment to patient care.

She received many awards and honors. International Nurses Day is celebrated each year on her birthday, May 12th.

Her image appeared on the £10 banknotes issued by the Bank of England from 1975 until 1994. She was depicted in both a standing portrait, as well as in a field hospital in the Crimea, holding her lamp.

Beginning in 1968, the US Air Force operated a fleet of 20 "Nightingale" aeromedical evacuation aircraft. The last of these planes was retired from service in 2005.

In closing this tribute to Florence Nightingale, I include here the Nightingale Pledge, written in her honor by a committee from Harper Hospital in Detroit in the 1890's, a pledge taken by all new nurses of the time, a modified version of which is still used by some schools of nursing to this day:

I solemnly pledge myself before God and presence of this assembly;
To pass my life in purity and to practice my profession faithfully.
I will abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous and will not take or knowingly administer any harmful drug.
I will do all in my power to maintain and elevate the standard of my profession and will hold in confidence all personal matters committed to my keeping and family affairs coming to my knowledge in the practice of my calling.
With loyalty will I endeavor to aid the physician in his work, and devote myself to the welfare of those committed to my care.

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#38 Frank Crotty

I'm closing in on the end of my Lenten 40 list of people I admire and respect, and today, it's all about someone who is like my Knight in Shining Armor, like the brother I never had (aside from the two I DO have)!

Frank Crotty, Jr. is the 3rd generation 'Crotty' in Crotty Auto Services. Officially, it's called Napa SomethingOrOther now, but to me, it always has been and always will be "Frank's".

There are people in life whose assistance in our time of need we all take for granted - plumbers, electricians and the like.

Frank and his staff are a team that my family never takes for granted. They have hauled our collective butts out of some sticky situations with vehicles more times that we can count, over the past... I dunno... 20 years or so.

Something happens to my car? I call Frank. Suddenly, my problem becomes his problem, and it gets dealt with like I'm the only customer in the world.

I bought my brand new Honda C-RV in 2003, and once it was driven off the lot, Honda mechanics never laid a finger on it again. No one tinkers with my car's innards except for Frank's guys.

That said, if something came up that was under warranty, Frank will tell me, so I could go that route and not be charged for the repair. In my experience, there are not many who are that honest, that's for sure.

Here it is, 2012, and my nine-year-old C-RV is still purring like a kitten. I'm not even entertaining getting something new. There's no need. Of course, there's a lot to be said for Honda quality, but even a vehicle of the highest quality is not going to last without tender loving - and competent - care.

My sister has known Frank forever. She and Dad have been dealing with him long before I first moved home from Fort McMurray in 1995.

One of the first times I got to know Frank was when I was working on a ship that was sailing in and out of Argentia, out to the Grand Banks and back. I can't remember now what happened to the Jeep YJ that I was driving at the time, but it was something big that was going to take days to repair. All of a sudden, here I was with no means to get back and forth to Argentia. Dad loaned me his car, so I managed to get to my ship, but now he was going to be stuck without his car until I got home.

So, what did Frank do?

Frank got my Jeep fixed, then he drove it out to Argentia, parked it, and drove Dad's car back for him. Unbelieveable.

That was back around 1998, and I'm still awed by it. Talk about going above and beyond the call!

There is always something, though, that can give displeasure, and Frank is no exception. My one complaint of him is that every time they move shop, they move it further away from the East End! When I first knew him, they were on Pippy Place. Then, they moved around the corner and up Kenmount Road, near Kelsey Drive. That wasn't too bad. But then! He moves out around the bay, to Mt. Pearl. Grrr!! He needs to move just one more time, onto Stavanger Drive. Then, all will be perfect!

I'll soon be heading back out to Frank's, with my summer tires in tow, needing to get my studded winter tires off. I'll drop my car off the night before, and put the keys through the slot in an envelope with a note for Frank. These notes have become a lot of fun to write!

Along with what needs to be done with the car, there are usually some vague and colorful suggestions on how I might pay for the services, or some other nonsense, but it's all quite innocent! It's a riot to see how Frank can blush. Haven't quite decided if he's embarrassed, or horrified!

But, their motto is all about giving "miles of smiles", so that's all I'm trying to do, to repay the favor. Frank has been so good to us, it is hard to repay him and his staff, for keeping us on the road, and for knowing without a doubt that if there is car trouble, it's going to be dealt with soon, and well.

Thank you, Frank! Do you want to clear off your desk, or shall I???

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#37 Cassie Brown

When I think of people who have done much to record and preserve the history of Newfoundland, Cassie Brown is one of the predominant people who comes to mind.

Cassie Brown was a journalist and author, born in Rose Blanche in 1919. She is the author of several books about maritime disasters that occurred off our coast, probably the most notable being "Death on the Ice".

"Death on the Ice" is the story of the 1914 sealing disaster, in which 78 men, sealers on the SS Newfoundland, lost their lives in a blizzard while out on the ice. It is not only about the disaster itself, which is described in stunningly vivid detail, but it gives a rich, historical snapshot of the politics of sealing in that era, and the power of the sealing captains, even between father and son.

Captain Abram Kean, thought by many to be responsible for the men marooned on the ice.

His son, Wesley, was the captain of the SS Newfoundland.

When I was in Grade 8, our class was assigned to read "Death on the Ice". Fortunately for me, I had already read it probably three or four times before we ever did it in school. I remember one afternoon at home, reading it while gnawing on a cake of hard bread, the one little thing I could do to try to make it real for me.

As part of that school assignment, it somehow transpired that I got to go to actually visit Cassie Brown at her home. I remember going armed with a list of naive questions, questions that a 13 year old schoolgirl would dream up. I only wish that I had that opportunity now, to have a real conversation with her.

I remember her saying that while she wrote the book, she felt the sealers looking over her shoulder, encouraging her. That image impressed me so much.

For years now, every time I trudge through blizzardy weather, I think of the sealers out on the ice. Nowadays, I think of Burton Winters, too, but for many, many years, it was all about the sealers and their suffering. It makes any brief, chilly discomfort I may feel pale in comparison. For all of us who live here, it gives some sense of what our forefathers had to endure, and just how many died trying to put bread on their family's tables.

The sealers of the SS Newfoundland were left on the ice for 53 hours in a raging blizzard.

As I write this today, there is a blizzard blowing outside and I am homebound. Warm and cozy, lots of food in the fridge, blankets and a thermostat to keep me warm - things that the sealers of 1914, who had the thinnest of clothes and were forced to sleep on the piles of bloody seal pelts could not even imagine. And their circumstances are those that I could not even imagine, without the labor of love of Cassie Brown in telling their story.

Cassie Brown's other books include "A Winter's Tale - The Wreck of the Florizel", "Standing into Danger" about the wreck of the USS Truxtun and the USS Pollux, "The Caribou Disaster and Other Short Stories", and "Writing the Sea", an autobiographical account of growing up in Rose Blanche, including essays she wrote for the Daily News newspaper, one of which was called "Death March", which was the beginning of her fascination with the SS Newfoundland disaster.

I have read some of her other books, but "Death on the Ice" struck the most resonant chord with me. Maybe it was because of my youth when I first read it, I don't know, but I have never forgotten it, or those poor souls of whom she wrote.

I am sure that the spirits of the sealers, who stood over Cassie Brown's shoulder as she wrote, were very satisfied with how well she told their story.

To paraphrase the inscription she wrote for me on Dad's copy of "Death on the Ice"...

Thank you, Cassie Brown, for keeping Newfoundlandia alive.

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#36 Jim Henson

There are few people in the world who have not, at one time or another, been swept up in the delightful, magical world of the Muppets.

Whether you were watching Sesame Street, or The Muppet Show, or one of the Muppet movies... no matter how young or old or crooked you were... the Muppets proved to be the most endearing, funny and universally-loved critters that were ever sewn together.

Any of us who has ever laughed at the Swedish Chef, or hummed along to "It Ain't Easy Being Green" or posed the question, "Moi???" a la Miss Piggy, has creator Jim Henson to thank.

Sesame Street is a television show directed towards a youthful audience, intended to entertain and educate. My nephews learned to count to 10 in Spanish, thanks to Sesame Street (the American version, that is.)

Sesame Street premiered in November, 1969. I was almost 9 years old. It was one of my 'go to' shows to watch any day that I was home sick from school.

It is now in its 43rd season. There are people who watched Sesame Street as children, who are now watching it with their grandchildren.

The Muppet Show aired from 1976 to 1981.

The opening sequence of The Muppet Show

Imagine... a show full of puppets, aimed at a more adult audience! It was styled on a variety show, with Kermit the Frog as host, and an A-list group of guest stars, including Elton John, John Cleese...

Cleese as a Mexican maraca soloist as part of his 1977 guest appearance on The Muppet Show

...John Denver, Ethel Merman, Rudolf Nureyev, Diana Ross, Bob Hope, Julie Andrews and even 007 himself, Roger Moore. It was such a popular show that celebrities approached the producers, wanting to appear on it, and not the other way around.

These days, when you say a show is aimed at an "adult audience", half the time it is offensive even to adults! But The Muppet Show was not like that. It was 100% kid friendly, but with humor that appealed to more mature viewers. Ohhh, those were the days...

If you do not remember "Veterinarian's Hospital", then you just weren't there.

Who thinks these things up? Jim Henson, that's who.

At least he did. Jim Henson passed away at the age of 53, in 1990.

Jim Henson was to puppets what Steve Jobs was to phones, the major difference being that what Jim Henson created was readily available to everyone across all socio-economic strata. You didn't need a mortgage and to be locked into a 3-year plan to buy what Henson was selling.

It is said that the term "Muppet" is actually a portmanteau of the words 'marionette' and 'puppet'. Henson himself actually used this explanation, while at other times said it was just a made up word. You be the judge.

There are oodles of websites that will describe the technological evolution of the Muppets. One fascinating bit of trivia that my research uncovered is that most Muppets are left-handed, due to the necessity of the Muppeteer using his or her right hand to control the head and mouth! I LOVE trivia!

The Muppets are so lifelike and engaging that children who see them 'in person' will still interact with the Muppet, even when the Muppeteer is visible to them.

I am old enough and wise enough to know that anything seen on TV or in the movies is manipulatable, but I am nevertheless still fascinated with wide-eyed wonder, watching Kermit the Frog ride a bicycle as he did in The Muppet Movie.

This is the stuff of a brilliant, creative, childlike mind; the simple images that reduce people to rolling on the floor laughing, the stuff that is so rarely seen anymore, especially in entertainment geared towards adults.

That brilliant, creative, childlike mind was Jim Henson's.

I remember I was living in Fort McMurray, and on my way to Ottawa to a conference, when I bought a People magazine with a cover story about the passing of Jim Henson. Inside, there was a sketch of Kermit being comforted by Mickey Mouse, an image created by the Walt Disney Company in sympathy on Jim Henson's death.

So there I was in some airport, sat there reading this magazine, looking at this sketch, with tears streaming down my face. Funny... it still has the same effect, 22 years on.

Even at the time of his death, the Muppets taught us that 'the show must go on', even when it was a painful thing to do...

From "A Tribute to Jim Henson", 1990, broadcast around the world 

This song, "Just One Person", was also performed by the Muppets and their Muppeteers at a memorial service for Jim Henson.

Scooter's line says it best: "Perhaps the substance of Jim Henson's genius was the ability to see wonder far off in crazy directions and get people to follow him there."

It is a wonderful thing that his work has lived on, that Sesame Street and the Muppets are still a part of our world, educating and entertaining us.

To conclude my tribute to Jim Henson and his genius, which has enriched all of our lives, here is a video of the Muppets and Queen, singing "Bohemian Rhapsody" (...and here are the lyrics to this version). Today is the first time I've seen this. He is STILL enriching my life. Brilliant. (Especially brilliant is the way they deal with the rather dark-themed lyrics of the first verse, after the prelude.)

Enjoy...!





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#35 Sarah Palin

Before the 2008 American presidential election season, most of us had never heard of the Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin. Since that time, there are very few who have not heard of her, and depending upon one's politics, you either love her or hate her. Well, I happen to be on the 'love her' side. I deeply admire and respect her and God knows, this is a woman who has earned my compassion.

Former Governor Palin began her political career on the city council of Wasilla, Alaska in 1992, and was elected mayor in 1996. She successfully ran for Governor of Alaska in 2006, and during the presidential campaign of 2008, was selected by John McCain to be his vice-presidential running mate.

Sarah Palin with John McCain, 2008

Sarah Palin and her husband Todd are the parents of five children, the youngest of whom, Trig, was diagnosed prenatally with Down Syndrome. Her eldest daughter, Bristol, became a single mother in a very public way, after the world knew who Sarah Palin was. 

The Palins - Track, Piper, Willow, Sarah with son Trig, Todd, Bristol with son Tripp

 

Sarah Palin is a Republican, and as such, her views on issues are conservative-right. As a vice-presidential candidate, her stance on issues such as abortion, immigration, oil exploration, the economy, health care and so on were put out there for public consumption, for voters to decide if they agreed or disagreed with her, and would choose to vote for her (and John McCain, the presidential candidate), or not. Fair game.

What was (and still is) not fair game is the vile, horrible, hate-filled garbage that has been spewed about this woman, her family, her choices, her politics, even her faith, ad nauseum since 2008.

Palin has a style that is - refreshingly - not typical of 'inside the Beltway' politicians. She is young, pleasant, folksy, and from time to time wears a pony-tail. She's outdoorsy, knows how to hunt and shoot big game, and is in her element living in the far north. She's got a doll of a husband...

Sarah Palin with husband Todd, Alaska's "First Dude"

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..and... she's smart as a freakin' whip, with skin as thick as a moose hide, and is very, very deserving of the "Mama Grizzly" moniker she coined. All of this drives Democrats INSANE.

Unless your "choice" is to abort a fetus with Down Syndrome, then left-wingers deny you your right to "choose", or so it seems. To them, there is only one "choice". To carry her child to term and give him life was Sarah Palin's "choice". Since becoming a nationally-known public figure, she has been accused of such malicious and ridiculous crap, even going so far as to claim that the child, Trig, is not even hers, but her daughter's. How, one must ask, could one then abort a child that is not even one's own? Liberal nut-jobs like those, however, don't get bogged down in the details. You either "choose" to abort a child at the drop of a hat, or you are nothing more than a crazed clinic-bomber. There is no other "choice" in the left-wing world.

Her daughter, Bristol, did get pregnant around the time of Palin's being chosen as the vice-presidential running mate. Bristol was going to marry the father, until he was sucked up into the media vortex. Next thing, he's posing semi-nude in Playgirl, and "dishing" supposed tell-all details about the Palin family in a book deal, which, had he done the honorable thing, would never have been offered to him. He took the 30 pieces of silver over the mother of his child, and his child. Not a guy whose word I would take concerning the weather, let alone on anything having to do with the Palin family. Blood sucker.

Sarah Palin has been called every gross, horrible, misogynistic name in the book. The "b" word is tame compared to some. And why? Because people don't agree with her politics. That, apparently, gives left wing loons the right to be intolerant, ignorant, vicious bastards.

And interestingly, whereas other such beleaguered women of power would be stridently defended by various national women's groups, no one stands up to defend Sarah Palin. I guess it's only liberal women supporters of abortion who are worthy of defence.

As much as I love America, and I do, it is their most unattractive quality as a nation, this vitriol-spewing hatred towards conservative politicians, and the support this hatred gets from the main-stream media. I don't know who would have to run for office in Canada or Britain, or any other westernized country, that would be subjected to what Sarah Palin, and others, particularly conservative women, have had to put up with.

Anyone whose sole source of American political insight is CNN or MSNBC gets a very narrow, biased, negative, slanted view of those on the political right. Fortunately, for those interested in facts, there are options that don't include these sources.

I have heard Sarah Palin speak on any number of occasions. I cannot tell you chapter and verse of every political stance she espouses, but I'll tell you this - I have never heard her express an opinion with which I did not agree. Whether it concerns drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, or abortion, or dealing with immigration, I agree with her. I respect and admire her bravery for taking such stands and being willing and able to defend them. But, most of all, I feel compassion for Sarah Palin, for all that she and her family have had to endure, while she puts herself out there as someone who just wants to serve her country. What a price to pay, and no wonder so few good people run for public office. That's a scary place to be, and that's exactly what liberals want those with conservative values to fear. Well, they underestimated Sarah Palin and America's response to her. She didn't get to be vice president, but she's not going anywhere, and America will be the better for it.

To conclude on a more pleasant note... who can hate a woman who raised Piper, this sweet little girl who took care of Trig while Mommy was giving her speech at the Republican National Convention in 2008...?

 

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#34 William Harris

No list of people that I admire and respect would be complete if it did not include my father.

Dad & me on the Staten Island Ferry, NYC, 2005

(Statue of Liberty in the far background)



As I write this, Dad is two months away from his 93rd birthday. He is in amazing shape for someone that age, and as a nurse who, on a daily basis, sees chronically ill people half his age, I know of which I speak.

A few years ago, Dad realized that he had outlived his own father. Somehow, I don't think any of us will live to see 93, or anywhere close to it!

From my earliest memory until now, in my eyes, Dad hasn't changed a bit. His hair is a little greyer, maybe, but that's it. It's no wonder everyone he meets can't believe he is as old as he is. He certainly doesn't look it. There's nothing that makes his day more than to hear that!

My father was a Chartered Accountant until he retired just a few years ago. Even now, some of his close friends and clients will call him during the tax season to have him pick up their paperwork. At 92, he still doesn't mind hopping in his car to do that for them!

My siblings and I all learned about "tax season" at a very young age. It was the period from January to April 30th each year when Dad was pretty much on the missing list - working morning, noon and night, seven days a week. April 30th, though, was almost as good as Christmas. We'd all stay up late until after midnight, when he'd come home and we'd order out for Chinese food from Hong's Take-Out on Torbay Rd, and usually get it all for free. YUM!!

It was also hockey season during that January to April period, and at the time, Dad watched hockey when he could. I remember that he would buy hockey tickets, little tickets that came in their own little envelopes. The tickets would be based on the time of a goal or a penalty, one second before the goal and one second after, too, if I'm not mistaken. I used to be in charge of the tickets during tax season and I remember calling Dad at the office in the night time with a play-by-play of how his tickets were doing! I must have driven him cracked, but he never let on.

My mother was the disciplinarian, and as she used to say of Dad, "Your father never raised his voice or his hand to any of you". Except Alice. The story lives on about how he said to her once, "Don't you speak to your mother like that, you saucy brat!" She was traumatized!

Mom always felt it was ridiculous to tell us "wait until your father gets home". She was of the opinion, rightly so, that if we were bad, she needed to deal with it there and then, and believe me, she was up to the challenge! I remember many times, calling Dad at the office in tears, telling him how mean Mom was being. He'd ask to speak to her, and as far as I was concerned, Mom was going to be told to be nice to me! I now have no doubt that he probably asked her if she needed milk or anything brought home, and that was that.

I remember many afternoons during the summer when we'd meet Dad as he was driving up the street after work. He'd let us climb up onto the bonnet of the car and drive up the rest of the street with us sitting there, leaning back against the windshield. He'd probably be arrested if he let us do that today!

Staying home sick from school was the best! One call to Dad in the morning, saying "I'm sick..." guaranteed that when he came home for dinner, he'd be bearing fudge sticks and creamsicles and dixie cups and comics. Little Lulu, Casper the Friendly Ghost, and of course, Archie! It's a wonder we EVER went to school!!

Then we grew up and reached driver's license age. He even taught Mom how to drive, and was as calm and patient with her as he was with us, even when she crashed into the garage door! When it came to accidents, Dad was always all about "are you all right", and never "what have you done". Unfortunately, we all gave him way too many opportunities to have to ask us, "are you all right?"

There are a million memories I could write about from childhood...

- The summer holidays to Clarenville, Gander and Corner Brook, which I loved as much as if it was Disneyworld.

- Going to Gander from Clarenville on a Sunday morning to go to Mass.

- Driving out the highway singing "A Bicycle Built for Two".

- The trip on the coastal boat MV Cabot Strait up to Goose Bay and back.

- Bringing him glasses of grapefruit juice when he was building Alice's bedroom downstairs.

- Delivering Christmas presents every Christmas Eve.

- Going to Midnight Mass at the Basilica, all dressed up and sitting in the front pew whle Dad ushered with the Knights of Columbus. I used to love the stories afterwards of how he had to kick the drunks out of the confessionals!

It was a kick, too, to have Mom and Dad come visit me when I lived in Fort McMurray. It was also a wonderful experience to get to go with them to Hawaii, just two years before Mom passed away. I'm so glad we got to do that.

All of us learned to share Dad's love of baseball. It was a thrill indeed to get to go with him and Alice to Yankee Stadium in 2005 and see our team, the New York Yankees play four games.

Me, Dad & Alice at Yankee Stadium

It was magic! Wonderful, wonderful memories.

Dad was a great athlete in his own right, having pitched a perfect game for St. Bon's against Mt. Cashel back around 1948. It was a nine-inning game, too, not a wimpy seven-inning game like they play now around town! He also rowed in the Regatta, and played hockey, and whatever else was on the go, enough to earn him the honor of being inducted into the Newfoundland Sports Hall of Fame in 1977, a fact of which we are all very proud!

In recent years, Dad has required my services as a nurse from time to time, and for the most part, he is a very compliant patient. When he's in hospital, the nurses all love him because he never complains, and never asks for anything. He leaves all that to me, to fight the battles!

Dad talking to Doug on the phone, after knee replacement surgery.  

He never complained a bit!!

He's a trouper when he needs a heart bypass, or total knee replacements done under epidural anaesthetic, but he's a big ol' sook when he gets "man flu"!!

As we've been getting older, all of us, we realize how lucky we've been to have a Dad whose been such a positive influence in our lives. He never wavered from the straight and narrow when it came to how he led his life as a husband, father, businessman, athlete, friend, colleague and Catholic.

Father John McGettigan (seated) with Alice, Dad and me,

celebrating 50 years in the priesthood.

Trying to live up to that example has varied from difficult to impossible.

He has set for us a standard of honesty and respect that I believe we have all tried to meet, as best we can, with at least modest success, I hope!

I would consider my life a success if he is as proud of me, as I am of him. He is the best Dad ever.

Dad & me at his 90th birthday party.

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#33 Mary Jo Kopechne

Today's post takes me way, way back, to an episode that occurred when I was only 8 years old, yet the name, and the place, are words that I remember. If you are looking to find someone for whom to feel compassion, Mary Jo Kopechne is your girl.

Mary Jo Kopechne, 28,  was the woman who was in the car being driven by Senator Ted Kennedy, that went off a small bridge on Chappaquiddick, Massachusetts, in 1969. He escaped the submerged car. She didn't. That's the short, very sanitized, Kennedy-ized version. The truth, like most things related to the Kennedy clan, is a lot uglier. But, let's start at the beginning, and learn a little about who Mary Jo Kopechne was.

Mary Jo was a secretary to Ted Kennedy's brother, Robert Kennedy, around the time Robert was elected to the US Senate. She was one of the six "Boiler Room Girls", so known because they worked in a hot, noisy, windowless room in Robert Kennedy's campaign headquarters. She was close enough to the 'power' that on one occasion she spent a whole night at Hickory Hill, Robert's residence, retyping a speech that he and his staff were revising. Kopechne and the other staffers were knowledgeable politically, and were chosen for their ability to work skillfully for long hours on sensitive matters.

She was devastated by RFK's death in June, 1968. Though she felt she could not return to Capitol Hill after his death, she continued to work in politics. In December, 1968, she worked for one of the first political consulting companies.

According to the New York Times, she was "a devout Roman Catholic with a demure, serious, "convent school" demeanor, rarely drank much, and had no reputation for extramarital activities with men."

On July 18, 1969, Kopechne attended a party on Chappaquiddick Island, off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. The celebration was in honor of the dedicated work of the Boiler Room Girls, and was the fourth such reunion of the Robert F. Kennedy campaign workers.

At approximately 11.15 p.m., she left the party to go back to her lodgings, after agreeing to be driven by Ted Kennedy. For some unknown reason, she left her purse and keys at the party.

According to Kennedy's inquest testimony, he drove towards the bridge, took a wrong turn, and ended up going off the side of the bridge, into Poucha Pond.

He managed to get out. He claimed that he tried to dive down to rescue Mary Jo about eight times, but was unsuccessful.

He also claimed that he then rested on the side of the pond for about 15 minutes, then made his way back to the house where the party was being held, to get help.

He passed at least four houses on his journey back to the party, but felt no inclination to go to either of them to summon help.

Once he got back to the party, two gentlemen accompanied him back to the waterway; Joseph Gargan, Ted Kennedy's cousin and Paul Markham, a school friend of Gargan's who previously served as the United States Attorney for Massachusetts. They both dove in the water in an attempt to rescue Mary Jo Kopechne, but were unsuccessful. They insisted to Kennedy that the accident had to be reported, but Kennedy became hysterical. They finally agreed to go back to the party to advise Mary Jo's friends what had happened, while Kennedy was to go inform the authorities.

Kennedy then swam the 500 foot channel back to Edgartown, on the other side of the bridge, and returned to his hotel room, where he changed out of his wet clothes and went to sleep.

From Wikipedia:

"Back at his hotel, Kennedy complained at 2:55 a.m. to the hotel owner that he had been awoken by a noisy party. By 7:30 a.m. the next morning he was talking "casually" to the winner of the previous day's sailing race, with no indication that anything was amiss. At 8 a.m., Gargan and Markham joined Kennedy at his hotel where they had a "heated conversation." According to Kennedy's testimony, the two men asked why he had not reported the accident. Kennedy responded by telling them "about my own thoughts and feelings as I swam across that channel ... that somehow when they arrived in the morning that they were going to say that Mary Jo was still alive". The three men subsequently crossed back to Chappaquiddick Island on the ferry, where Kennedy made a series of telephone calls from a pay telephone near the crossing. The telephone calls were to his friends for advice and again, he did not report the accident to authorities." 

John Farrar, the diver who recovered Kopechne's body and captain of the Edgartown Fire Rescue unit, asserted that Kopechne did not die from the vehicle overturn or from drowning, but rather from suffocation, based upon the posture in which he found the body and its position relative to the area of an ultimate air pocket in the overturned vehicle. Farrar also asserted that Kopechne would likely have survived had a more timely attempt at rescue been conducted. Farrar located Kopechne's body in the well of the backseat of the overturned submerged car. Rigor mortis was apparent and her hands were clasping the backseat and her face was turned upward. Farrar testified at the Inquest:

"It looked as if she were holding herself up to get a last breath of air. It was a consciously assumed position. ... She didn't drown. She died of suffocation in her own air void. It took her at least three or four hours to die. I could have had her out of that car twenty-five minutes after I got the call. But he [Ted Kennedy] didn't call."

- testimony of diver John Farrar, Inquest into the Death of Mary Jo Kopechne, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Edgartown District Court. New York: EVR Productions, 1970.

Farrar testified later at the inquest that Kopechne's body was pressed up in the car in the spot where an air bubble would have formed. He interpreted this to mean that Kopechne had survived in the air bubble after the accident, and concluded that...

"Had I received a call within five to ten minutes of the accident occurring, and was able, as I was the following morning, to be at the victim's side within twenty-five minutes of receiving the call, in such event there is a strong possibility that she would have been alive on removal from the submerged car."

Farrar believed that Kopechne "lived for at least two hours down there."

In spite of this testimony, the medical examiner concluded Mary Jo Kopechne died of "accidental drowning". "Accidental" and "drowning", my eye.

For the sake of brevity, I have trimmed this summary of what happened down a great deal. The whole article on Wikipedia has many more details than I have provided here.

That Senator Ted Kennedy (thereafter known as "The Swimmer" in some circles) got away with a mere slap on the wrist - a two-month suspended sentence and a suspended license for approximately 18 months for leaving the scene of an accident causing injury - is a sterling example of the stranglehold and thrall that the Kennedys had over those in power in the 60's. It was almost Mafia-like, the way Ted Kennedy escaped any real punishment for this woman's death.

In the summary about Mary Jo Kopechne on Wikipedia, it lists her political affiliation as "Democrat" . Somehow, I believe that during the two to four hours she spent in that car before she suffocated to death, she probably had a re-think about that.

She is the reason that Ted Kennedy did not campaign for the presidency in 1972 or 1976. He did, however, try for the Democrat nod for 1979, but was beaten by Jimmy Carter.

Not that Carter was the real deal. Far from it. But better him than a murderer to occupy the Oval Office.

Her parents did not pursue civil proceedings against Kennedy, fearing they would be accused of going after "blood money".

Kennedy died in 2009, and I imagine he is STILL at the Pearly Gates, trying to spin what he'd done.

This 28 year old woman, with her life ahead of her, died, essentially at the hands of Senator Ted Kennedy. Whether she was in a position to embarrass him politically, or what his motivation was, God only knows.

For her, I have only the greatest compassion. To have been merely living her life, forging a career as she had, and to then die such a terrible, avoidable, rescuable death... it's so difficult to rationalize. The only thing we have to be grateful for is that the incident ruined him. He continued to be a senator - Massachusetts was under the Kennedy spell - but he would never achieve what he could have, and that, my friends, is karma at its finest.

Rest in peace, Mary Jo. "Vengeance is mine" sayeth the Lord, and I have faith that he's exacting your revenge.

a.

#32 Condoleezza Rice

Today, I wish to acknowledge a woman to whom I know I will not do justice: Condoleezza Rice, the 66th United States Secretary of State, having first been National Security Advisor under President George W. Bush.

Condoleezza Rice was born in the segregated South, in Alabama, to a Presbyterian minister father and a high school science, music and oratory teacher mother.

She began to learn French, music, figure skating and ballet at the age of 3.

She graduated high school in 1971, and went on to study piano in college. She realized she did not have the talent to play professionally, so considered a new major, in political science.  

Despite changing majors away from piano, she is considered an accomplished pianist and has performed in public since her youth.

From Wikipedia: 

"At the age of 15, she played Mozart with the Denver Symphony, and while Secretary of State she played regularly with a chamber music group in Washington. She does not play professionally, but has performed at diplomatic events at embassies, including a performance for Queen Elizabeth II, and she has performed in public with cellist Yo-Yo Ma and singer Aretha Franklin."

With Yo-Yo Ma after performing together at the 2001 National Medal of Arts and

National Humanities Medal Awards, April 22, 2002

This woman has a list of credentials and accomplishments, half of which I can hardly pronounce. Here's a smattering: 

• In 1974, at age 19, Rice was inducted into the honor society Phi Beta Kappa.
• Awarded a B.A., cum laude, in political science by the University of Denver.
• While at the University of Denver she was a member of Alpha Chi Omega, Gamma Delta chapter.
• Master's degree in political science from the University of Notre Dame in 1975.
• Worked in the State Department in 1977, during the Carter administration, as an intern in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
• In 1981, at the age of 26, she received her Ph.D. in political science from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. Her dissertation centered on military policy and politics in what was then the communist state of Czechoslovakia. Coincidentally, Josef Korbel was the father of Madeline Albright, another future Secretary of State
• Hired by Stanford University as an assistant professor of political science (1981–1987).
• Promoted to associate professor in 1987, a post she held until 1993.
• Appointed to the boards of Chevron, Transamerica Corporation and Hewlitt-Packard.
• Professor of political science at Stanford University where she served as Provost from 1993 to 1999.
• Served on the National Security Council as the Soviet and East European Affairs Advisor to President George H.W. Bush during the dissolution of the Soviet Union and German reunification.

I read this partial list, and find myself mentally exhausted and humbled.

Rice was a Democrat until 1982, when she changed her political affiliation to Republican, in part because she disagreed with the foreign policy of Democratic President Jimmy Carter, and because of the influence of her father, who was Republican. As she told the 2000 Republican National Convention, "My father joined our party because the Democrats in Jim Crow Alabama of 1952 would not register him to vote. The Republicans did."

Condoleezza Rice was the National Security Advisor at the time of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. She recognized that a preventative versus a punitive policy was necessary, as further successful attacks would result in the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands, as it had on that day. Thus, she supported the administration's use of the many information-eliciting tactics that were (and, despite assertions to the contrary, I'm willing to bet still are) employed in Guantanamo Bay, such as waterboarding, forced nudity and stress positions.

As methods of torture go... let me think about which would be preferable - a little session of nekkid waterboarding, or the impossibly horrible unthinkable torture of having to choose between staying in your burning office on the top of the World Trade Center and burn to death, or jumping from the flames to your death. Nothing will ever convince me that waterboarding terrorists is a bad thing. I further think it should be used from time to time at Her Majesty's Pen, but I digress...

She also recognized very early on that communication failures and barriers in the intelligence community made the United States vulnerable. A year before 9/11, she was quoted as saying, "There needs to be better cooperation because we don't want to wake up one day and find out that Osama bin Laden has been successful on our own territory." No, indeed.

She knew that counter-terrorism efforts needed to not only focus on terrorism-supporting nations, governments and organizations, but on ideologies that fuel terrorism.

She is one intelligent, insightful woman.

As Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice traveled widely and initiated many diplomatic efforts on behalf of the Bush administration. She championed the expansion of democratic governments. Rice stated that the September 11 attacks were rooted in "oppression and despair" and so, the US must advance democratic reform and support basic rights throughout the greater Middle East. Rice also reformed and restructured the state department, as well as US diplomacy as a whole.

With President Bush in the Oval Office

At the end of her tenure as Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice returned to Stanford University. There was some speculation that she might run for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2008 elections, but said at the time, "...the one thing that I have not seen myself doing is running for elected office in the United States." What a shame. It is often said that the most qualified people never run for office, and this is a sad example of that.

At only 57 years old, Ms. Rice still has lots of time to change her mind. We shall live in hope. What a remarkable president she would be...

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