A Special eBook Just for You and Your Choose to Serve the Great Republic Touching Stories From Veterans Just Like Me

A special ebook just for you and your choose to serve the great republic touching storiesfrom Veterans just like me

Preface / Introduction

This is a article to inspire your choose to serve your nation.

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Table of Contents

1. 'And the days dwindle down...' Thoughts for dear friend and colleague Wallace Johnson upon theoccasion of his 86th birthday April 18, 2011. 2. About Spc. David Hickman, the last of the U.S. troops killed in Iraq. He was just 23. 3. The boy next door... the best of the Great Republic. You sleep easy through the night because ofhim... and millions like him. A Tribute! 4. It’s been a long, a long-time coming.’ A man, a heart stronger than metal, his choice, ourchallenge, singing out to ensure that change is gonna come. The Louisville InterdenominationalMale Chorus in its 27th year.

'And the days dwindle down...' Thoughts for dear friend andcolleague Wallace Johnson upon the occasion of his 86thbirthday April 18, 2011. by Dr. Jeffrey Lant

Today is a special day, a festive day, a day of celebration and hijinx... today Wallace Johnson,friend, turns 86 years young; legions of his friends and well wishers will gather via the Internet totoast, to laugh with and to note the day and the man.

Wallace, for all that he was a test pilot with the Apollo Project, (and so truly flew high) is a man ofsentiment, art, culture. So I looked for a suitable song to mark this event, and had no troubleselecting "The September Song" by Kurt Weil (music) and Maxwell Anderson (lyrics). It firstappeared in the Broadway musical "Knickerbocher Holiday" (1938).

It is a grand tune with haunting music and a message that grows more apt and poignant day by day.

A host of top artists have recorded this song, and no wonder; Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, JimmyDurante (in 1955 in a particularly touching manner). I select Lotte Lenya. She did, after all, knowWeill best; she married him twice. Her rendition is mesmerizing. Go to any search engine and findit; let the music and its lyrics envelop you as you read an article straight from the heart on this hisspecial day.

".And the days dwindle down To a precious few September, November And these few precious daysI'll spend with you. These precious days I'll spend with you."

Thoughts from a whippersnapper of only 64.

Readers, if you're lucky in life you have a friend and colleague like Wallace. He is dedicated,conscientious to a fault, and he knows the fine art of handling a CEO, which (being the CEO inquestion) I appreciate more than he knows Today, greatly daring, with grave temerity, this self-sameCEO offers a few limpid reflections and observations in the hope that they are welcome...and, moreto the point, correct.

1) You've lived.

In 1955 best-selling author Patrick Dennis wrote a pip of an novel entitled "Auntie Mame". Itoffered this pithy admonition well loved by my mother, "Live! Live! Live! Life is a banquet andmost poor suckers are starving to death."

Wallace, you are a lucky man; you have lived... you have loved... and most importantly you havebeen loved, and still are. You have known and lived by the truth of Sigmund Freud's famousobservation that the best life is composed of love and work. It is not given to all to know, much lessto benefit from, this.

"Happiness is composed of love and work." (Glück ist Liebe und Arbeit zusammen.")

You have, of course, made errors; not one of us is immune from that. But I suspect, as well as onehuman can know another, that yours were the faults of generosity. You, I know, are quite capable ofgiving too much to those who may not have been worth the gift, being neither capable ofunderstanding nor reciprocating. If this is a "fault", it is a good one to have. It is, after all, alwaysbetter to have given, even if from time to time, to the unworthy. Let a man be evaluated by sucherrors...and he shall be found, assuredly, a good man, a kind man, a man of heart. That man is you.

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A special ebook just for you and your choose to serve the great republic touching stories from Veterans just like me

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2) You served America proudly, regarding her as needing the support of all who love her, a bastion,not a milch cow for exploitation.

Wallace, you have been since your earliest days, a man who knew the secret of life was always tolook up, to the place beyond the rainbows, for it is only by the exertions of untrammeled people thatprogress can come. You looked up and saw the cosmos as a subject of study, as a great adventure, asa never-ending source of wonder; a place to embrace and excite, never to shrink from. As a test pilotfor the Apollo Project during the heady days of its inception and development, you saw first-handwhat this great nation can do... no technical impediment too difficult... no vision too unlikely... nodestination too remote.

You are one of the very elect who can say, and proudly, "I was there... and it mattered." And so itdid. The salary was meager; the hours long; the effect profound and inspiring. And you were there,dedicated.

3) You have been a great teacher.

Ask a new member of our Worldprofit community to name a single member, a single monitor, andthe odds are overwhelming they will name you. I know why. First because you saw in us the best ofyou and in joining did no lip service but made the most serious of commitments. You resolved notmerely to take, but to enhance, improve, and through every season and year, to give.

You learned our innovative business... you excelled. You understood, as so many have not, that theInternet is not a destination; it is a process, a process of connecting the members of our species,wherever they are located, so that they may communicate the very best of which we are capable.

You embraced this mission as you embraced all your missions: with seriousness of intent, with fullcommitment, and with an unexampled talent for training other good people worldwide whounderstood the vital importance of our monitor program and wanted to add their talents to the corpsepitomized by you. As such you have, first, touched the lives of these monitors, directly, personally,diplomatically, thoroughly. In turn these monitors, with their important tasks, have touched the livesof untold thousands, who may perhaps never know they have benefited from you and your gift ofgiving. But they most assuredly have.

4) You have helped your CEO, a "lad" still on the sunny side of Social Security, just.

Wallace, many people today, and on many days to come, will extol your virtues, and rightly so. But Iam the only man in the universe who can extol you for this: that you have helped your CEO, notleast by your empathy, diplomacy, and the art of knowing just when to offer home truths, the betterto attend to them... and to listen. I appreciate your deftness... and your unflagging assistance.

Many people, 2 decades and more senior in age, would have found ways to roil the waters. Youchose with consummate loyalty, to smooth the road... without the slightest hint of servility or arrierepensee. You have been amidst so many loyal, the most loyal of all.

You have given me the benefit of wisdom, without condescension. You have listened... you havespoken candidly... you have reminded when necessary and "forgotten" when prudent. I amappreciative, in your debt, impressed and grateful.

"And these few precious days, I'll spend with you."

If we are known and greatly defined by the company we keep, then surely we are here atWorldprofit, all of us the beneficiaries of this: that from a multitude of other companies andopportunities, Wallace Johnson selected us.

Now my 86th birthday gift to you, Wallace, is this:




May the road rise to meet you, May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm uponyour face...

(ancient Irish prayer).

Wherever you go, whenever you go there, you take a particle from us with you, just as we carry a bitof you on our own unique journey through time and space.

Readers: for more information on Wallace Johnson and the Apollo Project, visit any search engine.




About Spc. David Hickman, the last of the U.S. troops killedin Iraq. He was just 23.by Dr. Jeffrey Lant

Author's program note. What you would have noticed first of all was that the pews were filled withyoung faces... the kinds of faces you don't usually see amongst the congregation at funeral servicesin Greensboro, North Carolina. And you knew right away that this was a service for someone whodied young, died whilst knowing hardly a thing about life... except that he knew and embodied themost important realization in life... that to give to others is the essence of our humanity... whilst todie for others is sublime.

As David Emanuel Hickman had done...

"Zeus".

What you would also have noticed about David Hickman was that he was as near physicalperfection as a human can be, so much so that he called himself "Zeus" after the king of the Olympicgods. He didn't just look good... he looked awesome... toned, sculpted, working as the physicalfitness fanatic he was to perfect perfection. He was avid in pursuit of the body to die for, organized,dedicated, committed.

Such people, of course, with eye-popping muscles and the kind of beefcake you see on the covers ofmagazines in the check-out lane at grocery stores, can easily irk and irritate the rest of thepopulation, too lazy to exercise and yet proud... but David Hickman knew the secret to making eventhe most jealous like him, for he was the class cut-up... a man whose smile was more killing than hissix pack. David loved to laugh... and he loved to make everyone around him laugh, too. We couldforgive this kid anything... because he made us laugh at everything... it was his real claim to fame,even when he was masterminding the complicated plays that brought sweet victory to NortheastGuilford High School. For he was, in time-honored American fashion, a grid iron hero...

Complicated plans.

David relished his time playing football... not least because it gave him the opportunity to create...the most complicated plays, plays which he would sit at home inventing, doodling, making notes ona page that would in due course become the moves that would bring the excited crowd to its feetshouting for David, anxious for more of the same, sure it would come... for David loved the gameand relished the fact that it gave him the opportunity to dazzle... even though his ultra complicatedgame plans had to be put aside after he graduated... mere teen-agers were unable to understand,much less execute them. How David must have smiled when he learned that, "Don't that just beatall... Don't that just beat all?"

What now?

But as all grid iron heroes learn, football and its perquisites stop.. but life goes on. Thus each suchhero must answer one insistent question: what now? For David Hickman this meant the service ofAmerica, this meant the army... and so he enlisted. And remember this: he did this of his ownchoice, his own volition. He was not compelled to do so, neither forced nor drafted. He selected theservice of his nation because he believed in this nation, its great mission, and its essential goodnessand purpose . David Hickman, American boy, volunteered and volunteered in time of war. Thissingle decision, this action was the determining factor in the remaining time of his short life.

Boy into man.




In the army Hickman learned what every service man learns... the crucial importance of the unit, theteam, his buddies. Being a team player for football gave him a head start; he already knew how toturn a commitment to his team mates into victory. These crucial skills, on which more livesdepended than just his, were honed in the army, in his unit, the 2nd Battalion, 325th AirborneInfantry. Hickman, more man than boy with every passing day, grew up in his regiment, as so manybefore him had grown up. It was all about the men and women he served with, men and women whoselected the army, the service of the Great Republic... and their fate as warriors in the current ofAmerica's lengthy and growing chain of wars. For be clear on this: in the year Hickman enlisted, in2009, the great fact of America was America's current wars, in Iraq, in Afghanistan. And DavidHickman knew that service to America would very likely, quite probably mean active duty in one ormore of these turbulent, always dangerous war zones.

Whether he enlisted because of this great fact, or in spite of it is not known... but this fact is: hesigned his name on the required paperwork... and so declared himself ready for whatever shouldcome. Thus, in due course, David Hickman took his godlike physique, his mega-watt smile, hisrollicking humor, and his complete commitment to his country to Iraq and to kismet.

Getting into war -- easy. Getting out -- hard.

Every nation or political entity always learns one certain, irrevocable fact: that it is easy, ridiculouslyeasy, to get a war, any war, started. The paraphernalia of war is readily at hand, the stirring rhetoric,the certainty that war, always war, must be the solution to any problem, the seemingly irrefutableargument that this war is just, honest, timely, necessary...

Oh, yes, each war, all the wars, have been easily convoked... and so Johnny goes marching fromhome, all the necessary assurances and certainties in his kit. And the rest of us wish him well andsay that this war, like all the previous wars, is necessary and proper; that our cause is always just,and our wars are all needed, each and every one.

Then we discover that war isn't always the best solution... that war is always muddled, confusing,inept... and expensive. And so painful to see and experience, that the very people we have gone tosave are not grateful... are in fact outraged by our presence and wish us to the devil... or at the leastto go home soonest. All this invariably surprises, baffles and confuses the likes of David Hickmanand all the buddies... for their certainties melt when confronted by the forge of politics, self-seeking,and its multiplicity of shades of gray, instead of the black and white they expected and which hadbeen so clear the day they departed.

And so the team, their buddies and colleagues grows in importance... as does the vital necessity tostay alive, to go home. And a kind of game develops... once the feeling is general that this oncecertain and necessary war will be over soon, politicians prating of the victory they didn't get... oncethis happens, the emphasis is on getting out alive; nothing, absolutely nothing is more importantthan that.

And so the war that no one now believes in must be kept going, while every thought and everyeffort is on staying alive... going home.

Killed at 23, November 14, 2011.

David Hickman, so expert at so many games, knew the drill... and took his chances. And died in theprocess.

He was killed by an improvised bomb, a device characteristic of the Iraq war, a cheap, nasty,made-up weapon that mangled and killed the military professionals of our nation. And on anordinary day in mid-November cut down David Hickman, too... the beauty of his youth, everypossibility of a life graced with goodness, empathy, and a willingness to work to make things




better... all this gone because of a random destructive device detonated on a day when all DavidHickman wanted was to stay alive and go home.

And he did go home, as nearly 4,500 of our countrymen and women came home... to flags flying,guns firing, salutes smartly given... in a box; the last casualty in a war hardly anyone understood... awar that brought us the obloquy of the world... and a church full of his buddies and comrades, everyone young, every one without a line, without a single wrinkle... all thinking of God, of David, ofthemselves, and most of all about America, our Great Republic... and why Taps is played for somany, so often, so much expected, so little achieved.

Go now to any search engine and play it for David Hickman, and for all the rest; for they all died,each and every one of them, for us.

*** What do you think? Let us know by posting your comments below.




The boy next door... the best of the Great Republic. Yousleep easy through the night because of him... and millionslike him. A Tribute! The boy next door... the best of the Great Republic. You sleep easy through the night because ofhim... and millions like him. A Tribute!

Author's program note. When was the last time you considered the state of our Great Republic anddid anything -- anything at all -- to sustain and improve it?

If you cannot immediately say and cannot recall what you did, if you have nothing but rancorousthoughts and feelings about our continuing great experiment in the governance and well being ofmankind, then stop and focus your full, undivided attention on this article and its subject: HowardHector Martell, Jr. For this day, like every other day over the past 20 years, Howard Martell hasserved us... you, me, the Great Republic, all of us able to live life as we wish because of him and hiscolleagues in every great service of our great nation.

To set the stage for this story, to provide the essential sound, I have selected music from one of thegreatest public affairs programs ever -- "Victory at Sea." It is a documentary television series aboutnaval warfare during World War II that was originally broadcast by NBC in 1952-1953. The stirringmusic was composed by Richard Rodgers and Robert Russell Bennett. Rodgers, well known for astring of iconic Broadway musicals, contributed 13 "themes"; short piano compositions a minute ortwo in length. Bennett did the scoring, transforming Rodger's themes into a variety of moods, alldesigned to touch your heart and fire your imagination. The result was pure magic.

Find out for yourself. Go now to any search engine. Listen to a few of the "themes" to get youstarted. I like "Hard Work and Horseplay", "Theme of the Fast Carriers" and, of course, "The Songof the High Seas." However, to honor Howard Martell, listen to "Guadalcanal March." It is theessence of what a grand march should be... the kind of march Howard has so well earned... I'mplaying it now as I write.

New London.

New London, Connecticut is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the UnitedStates. It is located at the mouth of the Thames River which locals demand you pronounce to rhymewith "James", unlike the great river of London, England which rhymes with 'hems". The folks inNew London insist upon their rendering; after all, they were part of the victorious Revolution thattossed the Brits out -- and their eccentric pronunciations. As you hear this said, you begin to graspthe fact that New London is not merely a place of picturesque aspects; just what meets the eye.Rather, it is a place where young boys glimpse the great sea at hand, so beckoning, and dreamdreams of faraway places and what life can be.

Howie Martell was such a boy.

He was born June 27,1973, attended local schools, graduating from Griswold High School. Peopleremember him, if they remember him at all, as shy, uncertain; a boy who would smile at you... butonly after you had smiled at him. Teachers with many students to instruct would remember himindistinctly and call him "average." But such an appraisal would have been incomplete, inaccurate,failing to capture his essence, for this boy was a dreamer of great dreams... and New London, forcenturies the home port of audacious mariners, offered him the means to live them, mere dreams nolonger.

On August 10, 1992, just 19, he left the comfort of family, friends, the only place he had ever




known, placing his future in the hands of strangers who would, in due course and short order,become comrades, a word civilians may know but so seldom understand. And so Howard Martellentered the service of the Great Republic, discovering a destination more important than any of the48 countries he came to visit. He found himself... and became a man.

From this point, his resume tells the story... it is all USN, the resume of a man who studied hard,knew his business -- the Great Republic's business -- and was esteemed by superiors who alwaysfound him ready to assist, eager to learn, and above all trustworthy and responsible.

In the process a man was shaped who was the complete Navy professional, respected by all, able tobe, as events required, a man who could lead, a man who would be loyal, a man you wanted on yourteam, because he (and this touches the heart of this man) always stood for the success of his team,never just his own. As people came to know him, they saw this... and admired the man who putcollective success above mere personal gain. Thus the Navy took Howard Martell, once a shy boy noone could quite remember, to its heart. He received one deserved honor after another... Navy GoodConduct Medal... six times... Navy & Marine Corps Achievement Medal... four times... Global Waron Terrorism Expeditionary Medal... Iraq Campaign Medal... two times. And most telling of all aplaque from his fellow First Class Petty Officers who thereby saluted one of their own. He wasindeed the complete Navy man... a man who twenty years before had made the right decision.

The need for service in the age of selfishness.

It is a truism that older citizens will engage in endless rodomontades which detail the innumerableoutrages perpetrated by the young against society. How they are ill-educated, lazy, unkempt,unclean of body and language. How they cannot be depended upon... how they flout all establishedbehavior, video game obsessed wastrels who cannot be trusted and will never amount to a hill ofbeans. Thus goes the jeremiad; you can catch a whiff of it whenever two adults of fifty or so gather.From the very start of the first civilization each man steps into this argument in his maturity, aseasily as he dons casual clothes. It is one of the perqs of aging, and no senior citizen will ever giveup this sacred right to pontificate. I shall not give it up either and so I give you some pungentthoughts on the matter of service, a concept that alternates between being an afterthought and thesalvation of the nation. What we require is calm reflection and sensible policies on the matter. Andso I choose to use my words not to grumble but to exhort... to touch a shy boy or girl reading thisarticle and help them both select the responsible path, the path trod by Howard Martell andgenerations of young people before... the path of service... and the abiding need of the GreatRepublic for... you!

Young friend, our way of governance, our core beliefs, the very future of our noble enterprise is notonly challenged, but at risk. You have a choice -- mindless dissipation and decay, or personaldevelopment and redemption through the bestowal of your time, mind and heart to the pressingaffairs of the Great Republic. In short, you can ignobly remain part of the problem, or becomeinfinitely more valuable as part of the solution.

There is nothing neutral about this decision. It is of the greatest possible consequence and can onlybe made by you. A great idea, the greatest notion of statecraft ever propounded, the Great Republicitself awaits your verdict, hopeful, expectant, confident. Howie Martell made the right choice. Willyou?

... And now it is time to end Howard's military career with all the pomp and circumstance he hasearned... and which a grateful Navy can provide.

Stand forward Petty Officer First Class Howard Hector Martell, Jr.. For your service, your nation,your friends, family and comrades mean to honor you before the world in due recognition for whatyou have so abundantly given... above all the gift of loyalty and fidelity to a great institution so




needed by this great nation.

And so through each of the hallowed retirement traditions all Naval personnel know so well... untilthis event, at once festive and solemn, reaches the Shadow Box. This is a symbol of a sailor's manycareer accomplishments and recognitions. Shadow boxes contain a U.S. flag folded into a triangle,ribbons and medals, insignia and revered devices. They act as a reminder of ranks earned by theretiree and the awards received. It is a mark of the highest honor and cherished accordingly. Yours,Howard, comes complete with the unqualified gratitude of the nation you have served so well... nonebetter... and the sincere thanks of us all. May God grant you sunshine and a fair wind to your manyports of call still to come.

Envoi.

End this article by returning to any search engine and playing the "Victory at Sea" theme. It remainsglorious.




It’s been a long, a long-time coming.’ A man, a heart strongerthan metal, his choice, our challenge, singing out to ensurethat change is gonna come. The LouisvilleInterdenominational Male Chorus in its 27th year.by Dr. Jeffrey Lant.

Author's program note. It has just gone 7 a.m. here in Cambridge. It is one of those precious summerSundays when the good people, the indispensable people of the land are engaging in time sanctifiedslowness... the universal desire to refresh, renew, recharge, recreation the order of the day, notrevolution, not even here in the citadel of revolution.

The day promises to be sultry, kissed by sunshine, so choice that even fervid movers and shakers,their every move calculated, deliberate, serious sit down for a moment and allow themselves to betouched by the simple majesty of a pink hedge rose, enriching every passer-by with the wantonliberality of its insinuating, insistent, evocative and always joyous scent. But here's the importantthing.

Two years ago these flowers were not to be found in my neighborhood park, the Common. They areonly there now because one person decided to make it a better and more soothing place by takingroots from another place alive with their radiance, planting them in dead of night, thereafter givingthem the water and the tending required. A man. His task. His secret... and a happiness that comesfrom making the world, even in such a small matter as this, a better place.

You may guess who this horticultural benefactor was; I will neither confirm nor deny. But I tell youthis: the good folks of Louisville, Kentucky applaud such initiative by emulating it... and this is thepoint of this article. That if there is to be change, you must designate yourself as the change agent,selecting the work you must do to change a world in constant need of revitalizing and thoughtfulrevisions.

That is why for this article, I selected one of the most moving songs about change ever written, notmerely on the need for change, but the need for you to get up and help make it happen. The songwhich you can find now in any search engine is "A Change Is Gonna Come". It was written andrecorded by Sam Cooke in 1964. It has been called one of the most inspiring anthems of the CivilRights Movement. And so it is... but we have need of it now for so many other purposes. What goodare anyone's civil rights when we as a species are daily assaulting, by means various and pernicious,what we must have to survive?

"Oh, there been times that I thought I couldn't last for long/ But now I think I'm able to carry on/ It'sbeen a long, a long time coming But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will."

Thus sayeth the folks of the Louisville Interdenominational Male Chorus, making a difference, noteby melodious note, for over 26 years now. Here is their story... and it's well worth the hearing.

What must be done to bring about beneficial change.

The world we inhabit today will not be the world we live in tomorrow. It is not just that the veritieswe knew so well yesterday are in the process of transformation; it is the verities of today which willnot be the verities of tomorrow, whether we like it or not.

The first task, therefore, of mankind in general and each of us in particular, is to move with change,keeping in step with the developing evolution of everything, for everything is evolving, embracing asmuch as we can with optimism and joy rather than bemoan and bewail the loss of the "good old




days", the passing hours we lived in just the other day, precious in our mind's eye but gone, goneforever, replaced and irrevocably so by the change that is gonna come, the change that is, after all,nothing more than a bridge to the change that grows out of the change, great and small, we maketoday.

It is easy in these circumstances to feel insignificant, a person of no consequence, no meaning, lesseven than a grain of sand in the midst of infinite time, space, and eternity. Such a realization caneasily lead to dismay, despair, and demoralization.

But this would be wrong... for the stupendous challenge of our life is to craft our planet and everyfeature that distinguishes it, the goal perfection, the objective crucial, the task glorious because itinvolves us all and calls upon us all to act, for without the act there cannot be the achievement. If thegoal was not monumental and demanding, we should be cheated. We, all of us, were created to riseabove, then rise above again, our every sinew and muscle required for the task at hand, a task thatcalls us from the pedestrian affairs of daily life to be and act like the children of God that we are andmust never forget, no matter the difficulty of the road we must each trod... for this is the only roadworth traveling.

How change comes.

On August 29, 1983 a small group of reverend fathers assembled at the First CongregationalMethodist Church, their numbers few, their work necessary, their steadfast determination notableand essential. They would make music, holy music, thereby uplifting the people, disseminating thegood news... and from monies raised through their musical and charitable endeavors, they wouldhelp as many meritorious students as possible attend institutions of higher learning, educationnecessary if these students were to rise above their circumstances and, in their turn, assist others notyet as fortunate as they now were.

Thus from the First Congregational Church, Greater Salem Baptist Church, Little Flock BaptistChurch, Mount Nebo Baptist Church, and Portland Memorial Baptist Church TheInterdenominational Male Chorus was founded and a new light lit for the churches, their pastors,their parishioners, the great city of Louisville, and mankind, for a good idea that makes life better isnever merely local and parochial but a good deed and high example for the world at large which canonly advance by such means, a fact we can never forget.

Two revered gentlemen, Brother Harry Brown and Brother Alfonso Vance, were honored by theirhonorable colleagues; assigned to protect and foster the happy idea and take particular responsibilityfor its success... and so they did. Thus they acted from the first day as all the truly great people onthis Earth have ever done; they started, one foot after another, minute by minute, one day at a time,so are the greatest goals achieved. Here was their unbeatable agenda:

They committed... for without commitment there can never be greatness.

They did more than their share... for change is always carried by the few... for the good of the many.

They urged the good people of Louisville to join them... for it is the undeniable fact that those doinggood have a responsibility to recruit those who might also do good... if only they were asked to help.And asked again... and again... for you cannot achieve maximum results if you ever take no for ananswer.

They listened to excuses. They didn't make them. When you work with people you hear people'sexcuses. The excuses which diminish progress, or even stop it all together: "I can't..."; "I'm sorrybut..."; "I forgot...", "I'll be your best worker -- next time" and all the rest. People become leadersbecause they disdain the making of excuses as unworthy of them and their important mission.




They covered for those who said they would do a certain thing, then failed to do it... forcing the truebelievers, the people who nurtured and cared for the idea, to do more... and to do it with the smilethat was often under the circumstances deeply difficult to summon, but always therenotwithstanding, for heart is always part of the kit of every one who works for change. For such aone there will always be heart... and at just the precious moment most necessary. That is what ismeant by the old adage, "God helps those who help themselves". No one epitomizes this more thatWilliam Buck, fighter, survivor, inspirer, man of the cloth , my friend.

Brief history of a man of courage, tenacity, faith and resolution.

Of the many things I could tell you about William Buck, this one reaches the core of the matter. Hewoke up this day in pain. He will go about his important business today in pain. And he will go tobed tonight in pain. Yet this pain will not define this or any other day; rather his determination tocontinue to effect the most positive of changes will. He has pain; pain does not have him.That is thecrucial difference and the reason his story is worth attending to far beyond the confines ofLouisville's Greater Shepherd Church, (which he founded) and the New Jerusalem Baptist Church,where he acts as Assistant Pastor, in his "retirement" years.

Some of you will have been born with debilitating back problems like Pastor Buck. Have theydefeated... or empowered you?

Some of you will have worked the most demanding and laborious jobs, the kind of job thatprogressively destroys even the strongest of bodies. Pastor Buck did. Has it defeated... orempowered you?

Some of you will have become so enfeebled and weak that one day you missed your step and fellhelpless to the floor, all alone, no one to call, no means of calling them... and so spent hour afterexcruciating hour alone with only your fears and the name of the Lord to comfort and sustain you.Did the experience defeat...or empower you? William Buck was cobbled together with titanium inhis back... and unequalled resolution in his mind. The Lord was his shepherd and he rose to the task.

Pastor William Buck was tested by such experiences... was challenged by such experiences... wasborn again because of such experiences... and so because of such infirmities, their constant pain, andthe faith they tested and thereby helped secure, he moved to God, a grateful child of the Lord, a manwho learned to lean on Jesus where he found everything he needed to rise above, rise above, riseabove and bring the good news to the people, particularly in the songs sung by the LouisvilleInterdenominational Male Chorus, his special cause, his particular joy. Hallelujah!

Envoi.

This is more than a story about one particular man in one particular place. It is instead a story aboutthe individual commitment, responsibility and constant work that have built thousands andthousands of worthy organizations across the Great Republic. Select one of them as your specialcause and learn the joy of giving like the good people of the Louisville Interdenominational MaleChorus, currently in 15 churches, have done, for they in general and William Buck in particular areworthy models of what we can do when we put our minds to the task and work together to achieve it.

Dedication.

The author, with great pleasure, dedicates this article to all the people who have used song as themeans to advance the favored young people of Louisville and especially to Mrs. William Buck,Bulah Mae, and their two children, Lakesha (37) and Contrallo (32). These are his rod and his staff,nothing likely without them, but with them the great change that gonna come, that he works forevery day of his blessed life.







ResourceAbout the Author Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a widerange of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Lant is also the author of 18best-selling business books.

Republished with author's permission by Howard Martell http://HomeProfitCoach.com.



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