8/3/2019 The pain of losing a loved one

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4 Springboro Sun, Thursday, February 2, 2012

OPINIONdskinner@tcnewsnet.com

We havecome

pastanother

MartinLuther

KingDay observancewith per-

haps a shademoreconfidence

thatAmerica canstill beameltingpot.Yet thereare voic-

es thatparadoxicallycomplain

that itis not, yet insistthat itis

wrongtoblend intothewhite

culture.

There isno denying thatour

country hasdemonstratedhow

ugly prejudice canbe,especial-

lywhenit iseasy toidentify

thoseothers. Blackskinis a

loteasier forsomepeople to

react negativelytoward. Irish

heritage,Jewishness, Native

Americanismand Arabs (to

name just a few)areharder to

detect throughnarrowedeyes.

ButKings dreamis very

muchaliveand actually hasbeen theguiding idealfor a

good part ofourhistory.That

wehavent alwayslivedup to

thatideal isa discouragingfact,

nota sign offailure.

TheCivilWar was the

defining momentfor thenation

torealizethat we had a lot of

worktodo toreachthe idealin

theDeclarationof Independ-

ence:Wehold theseTruths to

be self-evident, thatall Menare

createdequal . It tooka

post-CivilWaramendment,the

14th, tomakethispart ofour

Constitutional lawand several

morepost-war generationsto

make ittrue.Thecivil rights tri-umphof the 1960s was a bi-

partisanvictory foreveryone,

not justAfrican-Americans.

Itstartedin thatWar Be-

tween theStates.Historians

have noted howdifficult itwas

for thewhite, largely Protestant

establishment, to understand

thatIrish Catholics, many im-

migrantsandblackswere real-

lyjustpeoplelike themselves

though hidden behind facades

of religion, languageand skin

color.Yet underAbrahamLin-

colns guidancethe evolution

began.

Noone cansaythatOhios

soldierswere paragonsofun-prejudicedvirtue,although

theycametorealizewhatthe

fight was aboutand madeit

part of theirpatrioticduty to

undergothehardships of the

struggle.A passage fromthe

history of the73rdOhioVolun-

teerRegiment,raised inChilli-

cothe,givesusa glimpseof

this.Theregimentmarched

fromChattanooga to therelief

ofKnoxvilleand back inDe-

cemberof 1864.Thisis whatit

waslike:

Manyof ourmen were

suffering forshoes; somehad

beenbarefoot fordays.Threehundredmen inour corps

alone,were organized into a

barefootbattalion; anditmade

onethink there was loveof

countrystill inAmerican

hearts tosee those faithfulfel-

lows ploddingalong.Many of

themhadmarchedmorethana

hundredmiles,barefoot, in the

middleofDecember, with feet

soreand bleeding.They illus-

trated, notunworthily, the

heroismand endurance ofour

revolutionaryfathers.

Our taskis toliveup tothat

example inwordand deed, if

notbarefoot, byrecognizing

andopposingracismof everysort andseeking curesforthe

ignorance thatfostersit.The

strugglesand sacrificesofgen-

erationspast, andby peopleof

every color, languageand reli-

gionwho areendowed by

their Creatorwith certainun-

alienable Rights, thatamong

theseare Life,Libertyand the

PursuitofHappiness calls

us tothisduty.

WilliamWildretired from

CoxPublishingand a 40-year

journalism career in1990.He

was part ofan initiativeat the

ShroyerRoad BaptistChurch

tohelprefugees,especially

those fromAfrica,to followtheAmericanDream.

Imcalling thismyGo

Figurecolumn.Mygo

figurecolumngoeslike

this.

Ata timewhencrime seemsto

be at an-all time high, thesheriffs

departmenthere inmy neck of

thewoodsis reportedly facing

deepbudgetcuts.

Go figure.

Saw a classifiedad inmy localpaper theother day placedby

somebodywho was tryingto sell

a dog for$575.

A dog for$575?

Go figure.

ATVsports show recently

madea bigfussabouta certain

professionalbasketballplayers

abilityto dunka basketball any

timehe feelslikedunkinga bas-

ketball.

Thereport wentonto say the

player isalmost7 feet tall. Gof ig-

ure.

Nexttime youstart wondering

about whats wrong withAmerica

these days rememberthe recent

networknews storyabouta busi-nessexecutive whowas convicted

offraudafterhiscompany col-

lapsedandhe now has one ofthe

largestdelinquentsales anduse

tax debtsonrecord inthe stateof

California .

Go figure.

Spotteda sign ina storewin-

dow theother day that said Open

24Hours.Anothersignbelow

thatsign saidClosedSundays.

Go figure.

Ata timewhenAmerica has

all kindsof majorproblemsI

learneda groupofscientists has

beenspendinglots of time lately

studyingrats at their university.

Yup,I said rats.

Thewholecountry is inashamblesand these scientistsare

studying um rats.

Those studies,we are told,

showed rats havea senseofcom-

passion anda willingnessto help

other rodents.

Gof igure.This from my friend

BarbVancheri wholivesin Pitts-

burgh, Pennsylvania: A manin

Alaska , whose truckbecame

strandedina snowdrift for three

days, survivedbyeating frozen

beer inhis truck.Theman says it

worked sowellhe never hadto

un-wraphissandwich.

Gofigure.

I havea friendwholives ina

two-bedroom apartmentover-lookingtherent.

Gofigure.

And, last butnotleast, I hearda

radionewsreporttheotherday

that saidAmericans ata time

whenso many people inAmerica

menand women arein a period

of timewhenjobs arescarceand

pricesare sky-high spent$469

billiononChristmas gifts this

year.

Yeah, billion.

Gofigure.

* * *ContactBob at

bbatz@woh.rr.com

Quote

Quote

IIwas really too honest a

man to be a politicianand live.

- Socrates

Was slaverys end

just incidental?

William H.

Wild

TimesColumnist

Bob

Batz

Senior

Moments

Go figure...

The text message

came in at 12:01

a.m.

Jennifer, asleep at the

time would read it in the

morning. It was a cell phone

love note from her

boyfriend, fianc love of her

life, Troy Rauh in Redding,

Calf. Up at 7, she got her 8

year old son dressed, fed and

ready for the school bus then

a moment to relax with a cup

of Joe, read Troys text and

send some love back before

getting ready for work. But a

phone call interrupted

everything. Troys neighbor

was calling from Redding.

Not sympathetic or caring

the female voice uttered,

Are you Jennifer? Ive been

trying to get a hold of you,

Troy passed away this morn-

ing, is there someone there

that can take care of you,

hello, hello. Jen in total

shocked grabbed his shirt he

had left from his last visit

and fell to the floor clutch-

ing it tightly to her chest.

Shaking and in complete

shock she was unable to call

for help or even speak.

Her manager called me

about two and a half hours

later wanting to know if she

was alright since she had not

shown up for work and was

not answering her phone. I

raced to her apartment let

myself in with a spare keywe had yelling her name as I

entered and truly frightened

to what I was going to find.

When I entered the hall way

I saw her on the bathroom

floor shaking and convuls-

ing and totally incoherent to

my voice or presence. I

stepped back and called 911

for help. Rescue took her to

Sycamore Medical Center

immediately. It was over an

hour before she could speak.

I quietly asked, Honey,

what happened? She

looked me in the eyes crying

..Troy is dead, Troy died

this morning. It hit me like

a Mack truck. Troy, Jen,

Lucy and I had just spent a

whole Saturday together two

weeks prior. They were plan-

ning their wedding this sum-

mer on Catalina Island. Troy

was the 200th recipient of a

heart transplant at UCLA

Medical Center when he was29. He organized a mountain

bike downhill race team

comprised entirely of trans-

plant recipients who used

their many podium success-

es to promote the gift of life

they all received. He was an

avid surfer and owned

Local Honey a manufac-

turer of long boards (skate

boards) cruisers that are 6ft

long. In 2007 Troy required

another heart transplant,

drove himself to San

Francisco for the procedure

and had an excellent recov-

ery with no problems until

this day.Jen would spend the day

at the hospital, talking to her

children who came to visit,

minister, mental health

counselors, and other family

members. She would stay

with us for the next few days

while her older daughter

would tend to her youngest.

Phone calls to Redding and

plans for a funeral, wake,

etc., were going on all week.

Changes, new days, changes

againthen finally the plan

was completed by Nor Cal

Dual Sports that was started

by Troy.

Saturday, February 4, all

family, friends, surf and

bicycle club members from

the state would assemble in

Redding to remember and

give thanks.

Jen and her daughter

Brittany are there to be a

part of that celebration. A

paddle out at Sunset Beach

is also scheduled for the

Mothers Day Art Festival in

May.

Later that Tuesday Jen

would read Troys last text

message that came in while

she was sleeping. Hi Jen, I

hope every things OK I love

you sooooo much and miss

you dearly, get back to you

when ableBeen thinking

good thoughts about us all

day. Love you, Troy I

carry your heart, I carry it in

my heart. from the poem

by e.e. cummings.

The pain of losing a loved oneDonWright

ColumnistSpringboro

Sun

Jennifer and Troy

One of the sad-

dest stories,

most dis-

agreed upon issues and

hottest postings on my

Facebook page relates

to the passing of for-

mer Penn State head

football coach Joe

Paterno. Relieved of his duties after

allegations he knew about, but looked

the other way, when Asst. Coach and

longtime friend Jerry Sandusky was

charged with sexually violations ofyoung boys, Paterno lived the past

months in seclusion and disgrace.

As I said on Facebook I always

admired Joe Paterno as a coach, and

as a man. Weve heard great things

said about him now that he has

passed. As far as I am concerned there

are things people can do (or not do)

that erase any good they might do in

life (like some Catholic Clerics). One

of those is allowing the alleged sexual

abuse of young children who cant

defend themselves. While Jo Pa was

never convicted of knowing I will sim-

ply say, if he knew and didnt do what

needed to be done, as far as I am con-

cerned he should have NO statues,

awards or accolades.One Facebook defender said of

Paterno said on my page I believe

that he did report this to his supervi-

sors and they fail to act on what he

had told them.

Another enabler

claimed .but I still

think that Joe Paterno

was used as a scape-

goatsure he probably

could have done more,

but have you forgotten

about grace and for-

givenessisnt that

what it is all aboutdont be so harsh

on your brothers and sisterswe are

ALL recovering from

somethingenough said.

Far more suggested things like thisI think the library on campus named

in his honor should be renamed. In my

eyes he is AS GUILTY as Sandusky

for letting it to continue to happen.

One sports anchor/reporter added

Having been a PSU fan from the time

I was 10 years old until November and

having covered PSU before coming to

Dayton I consider myself to be quite

knowledgeable on the program.

Paterno had ZERO superiors at PSU!

He did the bare minimum of what he

shouldve done.

He chose to protect the programs

image over the welfare of kids and its

disgusting. That being said he did do a

lot of great things but unfortunately

this trumps them all.And yet one more added Im sorry,

but for me his memory will always be

tarnished. Football means nothing

compared to the lives of all those chil-

dren.

Some of his defenders say he

shouldnt be judged on this one mis-

take. Tell that to boys who were

allegedly raped; rapes that could have

been prevented! If I drive the getaway

car for you when you rob a bank, sit

on the knowledge that you did rob it

or just bury my head in the sand there

are legal and moral ramifications for

my actions, or inactions. Robbing a

bank is nothing compared to these

allegations.

Once we put on those big boy pants

and shoes in life and say goodbye toMom and Dad, we assume the respon-

sibilities of adulthood. With those

responsibilities come consequences.

And by the time youre in your 80s

both all that should be perfectly clear.

I am sorry for his family and for

those who mourn for the good days,

and years, or Joe Paterno, but I cry

inside for the young lives that will be

damaged forever by any alleged abuse

that may have been ignored by the

Coach.

* * *Mike Scinto is a 35 year veteran

talk show host serving locally,

statewide and nationally behind the

microphone. For the past dozen years

he has authored this award-winningcolumn. You may have also seen him

offering his unique insights of Fox

News Channel. Friend Mike at

www.facebook.com/mikescintoshow or

visit mikescintocolumns.blogspot.com

A eulogy for Joe PaternoMike

Scinto

Times

Columnist

Letter to the Editor noticeThose who wish to submit letters to the editor for the March 8

primary election should note that all letters must be received in

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Letters are limited to 300 words in length and must be signed

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TheSpringboro Sun thanks you for your cooperation.

This Week in HistoryFeb. 2, 1887: The first Groundhog Day is observed in

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Feb. 4, 1789: George Washington is unanimouslyelected President by the U. S. Electoral College.

Feb. 5, 2008: A major tornado outbreak over thesouthern U. S. kills 57.

Feb. 6, 1911: U. S. President Ronald Reagan wasborn.

Feb. 7, 1935: The classic board game Monopoly isinvented.

Feb. 8, 1952: Elizabeth II is proclaimed Queen of theUnited Kingdom.