Bryan Strawser

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Archives for 2004

RIP: Norman Hughes

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My neighbor for twenty years, Norman Hughes, who lived but 150 feet from my home in Covington, Indiana, passed away on Sunday:

Norman Dale Hughes, 71, of Covington, died unexpectedly Sunday (Aug. 1, 2004) at home.

He was born Nov. 1, 1932, in Covington, the son of Oscar and Gladys Hershberger Hughes and was a life resident of Veedersburg and Covington.

He was a 1950 graduate of Veedersburg High School and a Navy veteran of the Korean War. He was employed many years at Fountain County Co-op in Veedersburg and the VA Hospital in Danville in maintenance, where he retired. His memberships include: First Baptist Church where he served as a trustee, VFW Post #2395, American Legion Post #350, Fountain Democrat Club and Covington Senior Citizens. He was an avid Cubs fan.

Norman married Donna Dewlen on Oct. 26, 1958, at Covington. She died June 10, 2001. Surviving is a daughter, Sarah (Tim Taflinger) Keller of Catlin, Ill.; two grandsons, Jacob and Cole Keller; mother-in-law, Lenore Dewlen of Covington; a brother, Dean (Shelby) Hughes of Attica; an aunt, Goldie Yerkes of Danville, Ill.; and several cousins. His parents preceded him in death.

Unfortunately, it was my brother Steve who found Norman’s body.

In all of the years I knew Norman, I never knew that he was a veteran of the Korean War – and a Navy Vet at that.

Heroism and Horror

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As I make my way through the 9/11 Commission Report, two paragraphs about the FDNY response to the World Trade Center fire stuck me:

Immediately after the second plane hit, the FDNY Chief of Department called a second fifth alarm.

By 9:15, the number of FDNY personnel en route to or present at the scene was far greater than the commanding chiefs at the scene had requested. […] several other units self-dispatched. Third, because the attacks came so close to the 9:00 shift change, many firefighters just going off duty were given permission by company officers to “ride heavy”.. […] Fourth, many off-duty firefighters responded from firehouses separately from the on-duty unit [..] or from home.

And then this about leadership in the FDNY:

After the South Tower collapsed, some firefighters on the streets neighboring the North Tower remained where they were or came closer to the North Tower. Some of these firefighters did not know that the South Tower had collapsed, but many chose despite that knowledge to remain in an attempt to save additional lives. According to one such firefighter, a chief who was preparing to mount a search-and-rescue mission in the Marriott, “I would never think of myself as a leader of men if I had headed north on West Street after [the] South Tower collapsed.”

Where do we find such men? And how fortunate we are that we have found them….

Terror Alert Moves to Orange

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Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge has moved the threat level to Orange from Yellow in Washington, DC, the financial services sector of New York City, and in Northern New Jersey. He states that this decision was made based on specific credible intelligence from multiple reporting streams in multiple locations.

Here we go…

Speed Reading

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Kerri is pointing to a speed reading test. So I took it:

You read between 850 – 900 words per minute. Virtual Speed Reader. (The average rate is between 200 – 250 words per minute.) It is assumed that you did not skim the words nor fail to understand the meaning of what was read.

Not bad….

The Politics of Racial Destruction

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Boston is a city with a troubled past when it comes to race relations. But during my time here, I’ve seen nothing other than growth, opportunity, and community involvement from government, civic leaders, and community leaders to continue to improve race relations, crime, and other key issues in Boston.

But since Jesse was in town this week for the convention, he has to strut about, as the Boston Herald reports today:

Mayor Thomas M. Menino and the city’s black leaders are spitting mad over racial potshots the Rev. Jesse Jackson took at the city of Boston yesterday.

“Jesse’s talking trash and blowing smoke. This is Jesse’s showboat,” said the Rev. Eugene Rivers, chair of the National Ten Point Coalition and one of the city’s most respected leaders on racial issues.

Jackson stoked the Hub’s racial fires yesterday as he headed into the FleetCenter on the second day of the Democratic National Convention, saying Boston has yet to live up to its promise as a center of racial justice and equal opportunity for minorities.

“There is such a class gap between the haves and the have-nots,” Jackson said. “If you look at inner-city Boston and the suburbs, it’s like there is a doughnut and then there’s the doughnut hole.”

Jackson added that Boston falls short of being a model for urban democracy around the country.

“Boston must work even more diligently at being the academic center it is, at being the shining light on the hill,” Jackson said. “This can be the city with an urban agenda that becomes the ideal for all of America.Boston ought to aspire to no less.”

But there’s more to this story, you see. Jackson has apparently never once challenged, reached out, or consulted with Mayor Menino on any racial issues – or any other topic for that matter.

But Menino immediately fired back at Jackson, calling his statements not only “unfounded” but “unfair.”

Menino added that in the more than 11 years he has been mayor, Jackson has never called or reached out to him in any way on racial issues or any other topic.

“It’s nice he comes into our city and makes a statement like that,” Menino said with more than a hint of sarcasm.

I’ve met Menino. He’s not one to stand by idly and let Jackson get away with something like this. Nor should be.

It’s the politics of racial destruction all over again. I’m glad to see Menino and Reverend Rivers standing up to his smoke.

Feast or Famine

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It certainly feels like my blogging these days has been either feast or famine. I’ve spent the better part of the last few weeks leading our efforts to prepare for the Democratic National Convention – and have spent these last few days working in our operations center.

Not that interesting, I’m afraid, but it has certainly kept me busy.

More blogging to come in the coming days.