With Claudia out of town I have a heckuva time watching the television. It has two remotes with its cable box, three if you count the Roku. It felt like it took half an hour to turn it on last night but I’m glad I did. I ran into the National Geographic Channel which had a Tom Hanks narrated program on Lincoln’s Assassination. I caught the last half and then saw two successive programs on great intellectual rivalries. The first was Microsoft’s Gates vs. Apple’s Steve Jobs. It showed their blow by blow interactions which I matched with my own computer progress from the Apple IIes at Washington Jr. High that had no allure for me to the MacIntosh we bought when our son Robb was born. That was followed by the Wright Brothers vs. Curtis which outlined the patent rights lawsuits I read a long treatise on a few year’s back. They will have a couple more episodes next Monday which sound equally interesting.
I learned something new about my Grandfather today, or at least something that put what he once told my Mother into perspective. It was in the Introduction to that book on the 369th Infantry I mentioned a post or so back. My Mother once asked him if he was ever afraid of the black soldiers under his command. “Wouldn’t you be?,” he replied. Well, the introduction mentions that during the War one black soldier in the 369th was killed by a white officer and one white officer was killed by one of his black troops. I don’t remember reading that in the book by Major Arthur Little who was no doubt happy to paper over such things. Times don’t change nor do people who are given guns in times of war. During the Vietnam War we learned the word fragging. It was a common enough event that word of it reached home. It was a slang term for soldiers taking out a commander who got on their nerves, usually a second lieutenant. My Grandfather was a second lieutenant.
At the Merrit Creek graduation this afternoon I was introduced to a staff member who commented that being a school board member was a thankless job. That’s something I often heard twelve years ago back before the school board melted down like it has this year. Then they mentioned that they had sat with Art Johnston at a recent dinner recognizing the achievements of Merrit Creek students. Contrary to the terrible reputation being pinned on Art by his board colleagues this person was charmed by Art and surprised at how different he was from the disgraceful reputation he’s been painted with. Yeah. I keep meeting friends of Art’s who can’t believe what’s been said about him.
At tonight’s ALC graduation none of the school board members handed out diplomas. We just sat in the front row and stood to tepid applause when we were introduced. I guess it was some sort of punishment……..and well deserved it was.
It was quite a contrast to the honor that retiring Assistant Superintendent Ed Crawford was given. He spoke to the students of our alternative schools and described the hard life he had in the Duluth Schools to give them hope. It was nicely explained by Jana Hollingsworth last Sunday. As I mentioned my son, who had some issues with other East High poobahs, has fond memories of Mr. Crawford. Ed will take with him some of my own much reduced trust when he starts his new life. He has my best wishes.
