[BNW] Re: Something To Remember

["Thomas E. Reed" <tomreed@sundial.net>]

About the "greatest generation"...a few comments from someone who grew up 
in the 1960's, that might have some significance to others. Please 
tolerate a bit of rambling for a moment.

From the people I've seen, it wasn't really the generation that was 
intrinsically great. It was that these people were handed a challenge, 
and they rose to meet it. My late father was born of a dirt-poor family 
on the Saint Louis riverfront. The only reason he joined the Navy was 
that his father couldn't afford to feed him any more. So he faked his 
birthdate and signed up, a few years before Pearl Harbor.

He was a man who had no education beyond sixth grade. Yet, he pushed 
himself to go beyond his modest background. He served as an aircraft 
maintenance chief in World War II and Korea, inspecting and working on 
prop and jet aircraft whose principles he barely understood. He developed 
a casual ability to talk to people into his last service for the Navy, as 
a recruiting officer.

When he entered civilian life, at an age when a sensible man might start 
thinking of retirement, he started a second career. He had to, since his 
Navy pension wasn't enough to take care of his four children and wife. He 
learned stationary engineering and worked his way from maintenance man to 
management in a large company. After his official retirement, his body of 
experience and knowledge - plus the fact that he knew what was going on 
more than the "suits" - brought him back as a consultant to the company.

In the movie "The Gallant Hours," James Cagney playing Admiral "Bull" 
Halsey spoke about greatness. From my faulty memory, the quote 
goes..."There are no great men. There are only men whom circumstances 
have forced to become great."

The "greatest generation" should be complimented for rising to meet their 
age's circumstances. But any generation, including whichever one you are 
in, could do the same. We have circumstances just as grave today - not 
wars (at least yet) but social and ecological problems. What are we doing 
to rise to meet those circumstances? What are you doing?

A peculiar thought from Thomas E. Reed
Publications Director, SunQuest Partners, Inc.
Contributing Writer, TOON Magazine


Tom Reed will be at The Games at MegaCon presented
by SunQuest, March 1-4, 2001 in Orlando, FL. Get
the details at http://www.megaconventon.com