Chi Sigma to Sigma Chi, 50 Years in the Making; Why Fraternities Still Matter

 By T. R. Shaw Jr., Central Michigan,‘82

            60’s on 6 was cranked up on my Explorer’s satellite radio.  Many thoughts were rushing through my mind while the flat, rural landscape of Mid-Michigan in late April went flying by.  A few flowering trees were starting to appear as Spring in Michigan was unfolding. It was a two hour journey I’d made so many times in my life, but this trip was special.

I was heading North to my alma mater, Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Michigan for our much anticipated 50^th Anniversary of my beloved Sigma Chi Fraternity.  Many of us had been working hard on this event the past three years.  I directed the communications campaign in an attempt to reach as many of our alumni as possible.  I was looking forward to meeting the founding legends of Chi Sigma Fraternity, the original local I’d heard about for so many years.  Unique to our chapter, all of us are initiated into Chi Sigma before going forward with the Sigma Chi initiation rites.  It's a very special bond unique to our chapter.

The satellite music made me think of the 1960’s decade and what it must have been like on a college campus.  Sixties music was the music of my childhood, the music of my college era was disco…enough said.

 Chi Sigma was first imagined in 1960 when Paul Parets, ’64, pledged another fraternity and later withdrew because he wanted something more…true brotherhood. After turning in his pledge pin and thanking the group which admitted him, he had discussions with many like-minded friends, primarily from the honors dorm at the time where he resided.  The early concept of Chi Sigma was hatched with the expressed intention of assimilating into and becoming a chapter of the renowned national fraternity, Sigma Chi, which didn’t exist yet at CMU.  There was really no other choice.  As Parets mentioned in his remarks, Chi Sigma was created to be destroyed, it was a bridge to something greater, he remarked.

Chi Sigma ultimately gained recognition as a student organization and local fraternity in the Spring of 1964 against the backdrop of the new Federally-enacted Civil Rights Act of 1964.  Parets graduated that year and became a student teacher at the local Catholic high school, so he stayed close to the group.  

Paul Parets, '64 shared the stage at the end of the
evening banquet with current Sigma Chi 
Chapter President Evan Vallis, '17

Fraternities at the time were viewed with disdain in academia, being seen as elitist and discriminatory.  The timing seemed improbable if not impossible to develop into a permanent organization on campus.  They had a lot to prove and overcome!

Some of the thoughts in my head as I drove North were what kind of discussions the founders at CMU must have had in that era as a fraternity started and developed against a background of social unrest.  When it formed the group of achievers in the mid-1960’s literally swam against the social current to create something special.  As Dave Wolds, ’70, who served as an early chapter president said of the era; “The campus went from Motown to Helter Skelter culturally as the group developed during the time of the greatest social unrest in the 20^th Century,” he said.   Wolds also served as the CMU Student Body President in 1968 and worked with the college president and administration to help quell anti-Vietnam War protests and tension which was a common denominator on all college campuses.  Wolds went on to become the chapter’s only International Balfour Award Winner in 1970, the fraternity’s highest individual honor.

Nevertheless the new organization endured the taunts, sneers and slander of other fraternities and faced doubts from campus leadership.  Without a house, alumni base or any other amenity to offer, the task of rushing and creating new members seemed daunting.  All Chi Sigma could offer was passion, brotherhood and a big dream, in contrast to a world seemingly going mad.  For many like-minded men however, that was all they needed and a challenge they were looking for and many came to join the quest.

Permanent smiles were seen throughout the weekend
as brothers dug out their old apparel for the greatest
reunion in the history of the chapter.

 Within two years, Chi Sigma was drawing the very best students, leaders, athletes and visionaries on campus as the derision from other fraternities grew more intense.  The group even became victims of political and social sabotage which only strengthened their bond and determination.

During their colonization and application period, Chi Sigma leaders were invited to attend the 1966 Sigma Chi Leadership Training Workshop, a clear indication they were on the right track and things were looking positive.  As some of the attendees noted, discussion took place on Sigma Chi’s then exclusionary policy on Blacks and Jews.  The progressively-minded Chi Sigma’s looked at each other in total disbelief and shock as they heard this discouraging policy coming from the fraternity they were pursing.

In historical perspective that attitude was common and prevalent in almost all national fraternities at the time.  A sad part of our collective history.  At our 50^th Anniversary initiation, I was proud to notice the active chapter and young alumni group had dozens of African-American brothers in our ranks, a testament to our idealism and strength.

When they returned to campus that summer to share their stories, enthusiasm was slightly dampened.  But, this band of brothers reasoned if that attitude of intolerance was to change, Sigma Chi needed them, and they could change things from the inside.   It further fueled their passion and conviction that Sigma Chi was the right path to take, the cause became even more important now.

Nearly 90 Alumni Brothers braved a 45 degree
"Pure Michigan" Day at the Pohlcat Championship
Golf Course in Mount Pleasant.

Every step and task in the application process had been excruciatingly met and exceeded by this group of passionate young men seeking the White Cross.  The day finally came when Headquarters called following a board meeting and informed the Chi Sigma’s their admission to Sigma Chi had been unanimously approved.  The victory had been won.                                                                                          

As Parets put it in his narrative history of Chi Sigma, it was the end of the beginning as the “Darkness was Gone and Now Cometh the Dawn.”   On May 25, 1967 the Zeta Rho Chapter of Sigma Chi was installed at Central Michigan University and the dream and goal had been accomplished.  Seventy-Six Chi Sigma’s and alumni were initiated into Sigma Chi and began a movement that now has more than 1,050 CMU brothers strong.  Most of the original initiates were the first post-World War II Baby Boomers and first generation college students in their families.  Nearly all of them became teachers and educators as CMU was the premier teachers college in Michigan. 

Today, Sigma Chi is the longest continuously standing fraternity on the CMU campus. 

Ironically, the summer following installation, our nation witnessed the massive urban riots of 1967 and the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X.  Sigma Chi’s infancy was overshadowed by the culture and unrest of the times.

 Parets signed the roll book that day in 1967 as an alumni and initiate #1 but says in all humility it was a team effort and a team achievement.  Now a retired music educator he spoke at the 50^th Anniversary, and gave the analogy of Sigma Chi being a huge wall.  He said “From a distance the wall looks sturdy and impenetrable.  As you get closer you notice the bricks don’t all match.  Some are worn, chipped, faded and cracked,” he said.  “The mortar around some of them is in bad shape,” he added.  “Yet, if we were to remove some of them, the wall would weaken and eventually collapse.  Sigma Chi was built on a strong foundation with imperfect bricks.  Our history and our bond is what keeps us all together,” he said.

Alumni from every era over the past 50 years made
their way to CMU for a weekend who's memories will
last a lifetime!

Over the weekend, more than 400 alumni brothers returned from all eras with the founding Chi Sigma’s representing the largest group.  Hugs, hardy handshakes, tears and back slaps were a common sight as many reunited a half-century after leaving college.  It was a powerful and emotional experience to behold. 

In the fifty years, Sigma Chi had not slandered, faltered or failed the visionaries who created it and pursued it.  To all of those early Chi Sigma’s who blazed the trail, we are eternally grateful. 

The Spirit of Sigma Chi is thriving at Central Michigan University.

T. R. Shaw Jr., is CEO of Shaw Communication in Battle Creek, Michigan.  He blogs at:  The Reluctant R(L)eader at www.read-mor.blogspot.com

Enbridge 5 Pipeline; No Easy Answers But Discussion Needed

By T. R. Shaw Jr.

            Like everyone else, I shudder to think what would happen should the Enbridge 5 pipeline rupture in the Straits of Mackinac.  It’s too horrific to even ponder.

I’m a staunch defender of Michigan’s water and especially the Great Lakes.  I live near the Kalamazoo River and experienced what a catastrophic oil spill can do to our environment.  As scary as a Line 5 disaster is, my opinion is the hype surrounding this pipeline is a solution looking for a problem.  Don’t get me wrong, we need to protect the Great Lakes with every ounce of our being.  Once damaged, it may never recover.

            Recently, Michigan Senator Rick Jones introduced Senate Bill 282 to shut down the Enbridge 5 pipeline just west of the Mackinac Bridge.  The effort is widely applauded and supported by environmentalists, business and political leaders, tribal governments and all who cherish the Great Lakes.  However, should the line be forced to shut down, what would be the alternative to our voracious energy appetite?  Oil will continue to be our lifeblood for the next century until alternative sources can prove their merit, sustainability, and reliability.  We simply aren’t there yet to be able to divorce ourselves from fossil fuels.

Realistically, this is no “alternative” energy source yet, with the exception of nuclear energy which few are really willing to embrace.  Solar is impractical in our latitude and climate.  As wind turbines begin to rise on our landscape, they add only a small amount of energy to the grid.  Although, the construction, delivery, installation and maintenance of these turbines has created a huge employment sector.

            Presently, there are thousands of pipelines traversing our land and nearly all of them have never had a problem.  Yes, the Kalamazoo River has paid an enormous price for a failure.  I hope we never see anything like that again.  My observation is that Enbridge went above and beyond with the cleanup efforts and did everything humanly possible to correct the situation.  I believe they never want to have to do anything like that ever again.

            Without that pipeline would we be willing to transport oil by rail, cargo ship, or trucks?  Far more dangerous and risky, not to mention the enormous expense.  Would removing the pipe from the lake create more problems than it solves?  Do we reroute the pipeline and tear up tens of thousands of acres of land through the U.P., Wisconsin or Ontario?  Even if they took it East to Ontario, it would eventually have to cross the St. Mary’s River.  Think about the litigation what would ensue to obtain land rights and eminent domain.

            Another idea might be laying another, stronger, better pipeline next to it and leave the old one in place.  That idea isn’t palatable with those who cherish the Great Lakes and want it gone, so the discussion will continue, a discussion we need to have.

Recently, I was at a conference where a representative of the DNR spoke.  When asked about the Straits pipeline he told the audience there is not a document, study, or technical report which says there is a serious problem with Enbridge 5 line.  In short there is no supporting empirical evidence there is a problem to be acted upon except the fact the pipe is aging.  Everything surrounding this issue is subjective, not objective he noted.

            Herein lies the problem.  In January, a bi-partisan U.S. House Bill 458 was introduced that directs the EPA to determine the state of the pipeline.  The efforts will likely validate the enormous volume of research and work done by Enbridge who have put everything they’ve done on their website in an effort at transparency.  Do we want to believe Enbridge?  Skeptics still abound and prudent legislators will always stand up for more protection of the Great Lakes, as they should.  So where do we go with this issue?

            I’m not a scientist, geologist, or engineer, but a solution to this dilemma can and will be worked out eventually.  About the only thing we can do presently is demand that Enbridge put safety measures in place to detect and shut down quickly should the worst happen.  According to their website they have, and state they’ve gone above and beyond existing regulations.  Hopefully they learned from the Kalamazoo River episode and can avert such a catastrophe in the future with stronger and quicker safeguards.

            There is no doubt we need to do all we can to safeguard the Great Lakes.  It’s the world’s largest fresh water aquifer and needs strong, vigilant protection.   But forcing Enbridge to shut down and reroute would only increase our dependence on foreign oil and weaken our own energy independence and greatly escalate the cost of energy.  In short, creating more problems than it solves.

There are no easy or quick solutions to the problem, but we cannot ignore the fact that the Great Lakes may be at risk in the future.  We need to do all we can to prevent the unthinkable.  Forcing Enbridge to shut it down may not be the best solution to this problem.  I don’t know what the right answer is, but then does anybody?  This is the discussion we need to have, before the unthinkable happens.

            T. R. Shaw Jr. is CEO of Shaw Communication in Battle Creek, Michigan.  He blogs at:  The Reluctant R(L)eader at www.read-mor.blogspot.com

           

            

STEM to STEAM; The Time Has Come to Embrace the Arts in Education

By T. R. Shaw Jr.

            In what was called the “American Century” we built railroads, created the automobile and the highway system.  We built aircraft and went from early flight to landing a man on the moon all within a one hundred year period. 

We cured diseases, won two World Wars and advanced civilization more than we did in the previous thousand years.  Historically, the world has turned to us for a glimpse of the future; not so much anymore.

Late in the 20^th Century that began to slip away as other industrialized nations caught up with us.  We ceded our high ground of science, technology, and innovation to Asia and Europe and we saw our educational base in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM Education) fall behind.

            The Obama administration embraced STEM Education as a targeted goal of the Department of Education.  It was to be “Education to Innovate and Inspire.”  In 2009 only 16 percent of K-12 students were involved in any form of STEM Education and nearly 57 percent of those students were projected to lose interest before they graduated.

            In 2014 the Department of Education invested $3.1 billion of federal money in the areas of K-12 computing, traditional engineering, physical science, and mathematics.  It’s not clear if that investment has paid off, but hopefully it’s shoring up our global education deficit.  Let’s hope the Trump administration sees the merit in STEM education as a global competitive issue.

            In the U.S. there are 2.5 STEM-related jobs for every non-STEM bachelor’s degree earned.  Obviously there’s a great need for STEM education.  Michigan is rated as “average” in STEM education.  Massachusetts leads the nation as “best” in STEM, followed closely by New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, and surprisingly, Minnesota.  Michigan can do much better in this arena.

            One way Michigan and our area can improve STEM education is to embrace a new movement of “STEM to STEAM.”   Simply put its STEM + Art and Design = STEAM.  Art is missing in the larger picture of STEM education.

            STEM to STEAM is a movement championed by the Rhode Island School of Design and the concept is catching on and being adopted by many schools, institutions, and corporations; all of whom see the value of Art in a comprehensive educational system and a factor in global competitiveness.

            Their website www.stemtosteam.org highlights many studies that show how involving students in the arts, especially at a young age, greatly increased their aptitude for science and technology and helps keep kids interested in education.  In short, the Arts create better people.  Isn’t this what education is striving for?

            The main tenants of STEM to STEAM are to transform Research Policy to include Art and Design, encourage Art and Design in K-20 education and encourage industry to hire more Artists and Designers to drive economic innovation.  It’s a concept that is starting to pick up “steam” and rightfully so.  Think about the “art” that went into designing the Mackinac Bridge and other great engineering structures today.

            Locally, we know the struggle public schools are facing.  Arts and Music are easy targets as “frivolous” when dealing with tight and non-existent budgets.  Often these programs are the first to go when times get tough. 

            Battle Creek is fortunate when it comes to arts and especially music.  For the past four years, the Brass Band of Battle Creek has created a Youth Brass Band and reached out to area schools.  This Youth Brass Band brings together the top high school bandsmen to learn from the professional mentors in the BBBC.  The results of this movement have been overwhelming and positive.  Already alumni of the YBBBC are now playing in the University of Michigan and Michigan State Marching Bands.  One alumni credited the YBBBC as the factor that landed him a spot in the Michigan band as a freshman.  Several former youth band members are now enrolled in top-level music programs at major colleges and universities.

Scott Vanden Heuvel, a graduate of Dexter High School,
 and mechanical engineering student at Michigan
landed a spot in the Michigan Marching
Band as a freshman with the help of his involvement with
the Youth Brass Band of Battle Creek 

            Battle Creek also has the Music Center of South Central Michigan and the vibrant Community Music School, teaching music skills to every age and experience level.  The Center also oversees the Battle Creek Symphony, the oldest symphony orchestra and arguably the best in Michigan.  Both the BBBC and the Symphony put on Young People’s Concerts free of charge each year.  For many kids this is their first exposure to the power of music.

            While the politics of public funding for the arts plays out nationally, the need to maintain vibrant arts in our schools is paramount for creating leaders and “Making America Great Again.”  As Federal dollars likely evaporate, the need for personal and private investment will grow exponentially. 

What can we do?  We can advocate for STEAM Programs as an educational priority and demand that arts of all kinds, stay in the schools.  We can attend and support art and cultural events here in our community, buy tickets and take advantage of world-class music right here; there’s lots of it.  We can take responsibility and invest by picking up the slack as public money disappears, and we can encourage kids to take up music and expose them to the arts. 

If we want government out of our lives, we need to ante up and support what’s important, before it’s too late.  We need to keep building the “STEAM

Useful Art, Music and Cultural Websites in Calhoun County:

Brass Band of Battle Creek:           www.bbbc.net

Music Center of SC Michigan:       www.musiccenterscmi.com

Cereal City Concert Band:             www.cerealcityconcertband.org

           Art Center of Battle Creek:             www.artcenterofbattlecreek.org

           Barn Theatre:                                 www.barntheatreschool.org

           What a Do Theatre:                       www.whatado.org

           Cornwell Dinner Theatre:               www.turkeyville.com

            T. R. Shaw Jr. is CEO of Shaw Communication in Battle Creek, Michigan.  He is a graduate of Central Michigan University, a former funeral director and Navy public affairs officer, Writer, Columnist, Speaker, and Aspiring Author.  He is also serves on the Board of Directors of the Brass Band of Battle Creek.  He blogs at:  The Reluctant R(L)eader at www.read-mor.blogspot.com

Live Life...Today; Tomorrow is Promised to No One

By T. R. Shaw Jr.

            Middle Age is a challenge in more ways than one.  The past few weeks have been especially challenging for me as I’ve lost two fraternity brothers who are both my age.

            Tom Hardie was my college roommate and Sigma Chi pledge brother at Central Michigan University.  After college I rarely stayed in touch with him as we went our separate ways.  Quite honestly I lost track of him altogether.  Ironically, I inquired about him at a fraternity gathering about a month ago, and nobody had seen or heard from him in years.  About ten days later, word spread through our networks that he had died.  Apparently, he had a long struggle with muscular dystrophy none of us knew about.  His death was as mysterious as what he did after college, all of us regret not keeping up with him.

Then one morning recently, I received a call from pledge brother Kurt Feight informing me brother Tim Brockman died suddenly this morning.  My heart sank.  Tim Brockman was the type of person who would never slow down, a hard-charger in everything, driven and motivated to be successful, and constantly coping with a great deal of stress like many of us are today trying to stay on top of everything.

Tim was a “Townie” in Mount Pleasant, Michigan and Sigma Chi legacy.  His father was a CMU professor and a Sigma Chi at DePauw University.  Tim, who grew up in the college town was a local entrepreneur and business leader.  He owned a popular college eatery, Max and Emily’s which he modeled after the famous Zingerman’s Deli in Ann Arbor.  As a local alumni he was also the Sigma Chi financial advisor and worked closely with the active chapter and fellow "Townie" Kurt Feight, a childhood friend.  Feight chairs the fraternity's House Corporation. 

We all had lunch a week earlier at his restaurant as we discussed fraternity business.  We were all working on the upcoming 50^th Anniversary of our beloved Sigma Chi chapter.

The walls of Max & Emily’s are adorned with NFL and NBA jerseys from former CMU football and basketball players.  The day we met, a big, burly guy came in and sat down near us and Tim said, “That’s a great place to sit!”  The guy looked up and said, “You bet it is!”  I didn’t recognize him, but it was former Chippewa star and Cincinnati Bengal and San Francisco 49er lineman, Brock Gutierrez who is now retired from the NFL and a regular figure in the Mount Pleasant community.  He sat at the table under his framed jersey.  I eventually made the connection.  Something you don’t see every day…unless you are in a college town! 

Brockman at Max & Emily’s Eatery in Mount Pleasant.  Some of the jerseys

Can be seen in the background. (Courtesy of Mount Pleasant Morning Sun)

I’m the communications chairman and newsletter editor for the fraternity alumni chapter.  Kurt Feight, in a very somber voice called me with the shocking news. I was devastated. He asked me to “put the word out” about his death.  Needless to say, I was shocked and saddened but felt obligated to write up something quick and eloquent for social media before word got out.  I was humbled and honored to do so.

  About a year earlier I wrote an alumni feature story on Tim for our fraternity newsletter.  I really got to know him well and was impressed with what he was doing in the Mount Pleasant community. The story wrote itself.

Tim had started a summer street concert series in front of his restaurant that featured regional artists and raised money for great causes.  Sundays he opened his restaurant for free meals for struggling seniors and the area’s homeless in an organization called “People Helping People.”  He worked hard to earn catering contracts from the university and was a familiar face at nearly every event at the school.

Tim was a great mentor and example for students and fraternity brothers.  He hired a lot of them at his restaurant.  He was inspired to “go big” with his business, but instead followed the mantra of staying small…but great!  He turned down offers to expand his business, preferring instead to “stay local.” 

Unbeknownst to him, he was to be recipient of the Mount Pleasant Chamber’s “Citizen of the Year” award.  The presentation was being kept a secret and would have presented two days after his death.  He will receive it posthumously. 

He was one of those rare leaders everyone wants to see and be like today, but like many of us the price of success is often sacrificing much of your personal well-being.  The food business is tough, really tough.  It requires you to be there all the time and make sure everything is perfect.  It takes a special breed to succeed in any culinary field today.

I spent nearly 30 years in the funeral business before selling my funeral home to pursue new passions.  Many think funeral directors become immune to death and tragedy, we don’t.  We struggle with “having a life” like many in high-level service intensive occupations.

I left the funeral business for many reasons, but among the biggest was the fact that longevity under the stress was not in my DNA.  My great grandfather died at 52, my grandfather at 56, and my dad at 65.  Point is, life is short.  Sometimes you have to look at the big picture and put everything in perspective.  As Steve Harvey said in his most recent book, sometimes we have to JUMP!

I’m in the process of writing a book entitled “DEFY THE IMMEDIATE” which deals with life’s struggles and challenges, based on many of my own.  In the funeral business I grew weary of seeing fellow fifty-somethings on the embalming table.  I came to realize that life is “just too damn short” to not be living your destiny, developing your God-given talents and pursuing your dreams. 

Life is far too short to worry about your finances; to be stuck at a job your heart’s not into just for the paycheck; to be in toxic relationships and generally be miserable.  You have a choice, there is more to life!  It takes courage to see that and do something about it, courage many of us struggle to find.

The recent deaths of brothers Tom and Tim reinforce the fact that every day is a gift from God.  If we are not living every day to fulfill our destiny, then we aren’t living!  We all have talents and if money wasn’t an object what would we be doing?  That’s the question we all have to ask ourselves. 

They say winners never quit, but quitting something you hate for something you love isn’t quitting, it’s living!

What are you waiting for?  Life was meant to be lived, Today!  Tomorrow is promised to no one!

T. R. Shaw Jr. is CEO of Shaw Communication in Battle Creek, Michigan.  He is a former funeral director and Navy public affairs officer, Writer, Columnist, Speaker and Aspiring Author. He blogs at:  The Reluctant R(L)eader at www.read-mor.blogspot.com

Space and the Sea; We still have a long way to go!

By T. R. Shaw Jr.

Space X 9 Falcon Rocket lifts off from Launch Pad 39A at
Kennedy Space Center, Saturday, February 18 carrying a resupply
mission to the International Space Station.  This is the same pad which
launched Apollo 11 to the Moon and most of the Space Shuttle Flights.
This is also where our Voyage to Mars will begin.

            

            Being a former Navy Officer, I have to return to the sea occasionally for a re-baptism of salt water and to think deeply about life with warm sand between my toes. Apparently it’s something in my DNA.  

When you are on a beach it seems easier to entertain deep cerebral thoughts you don’t otherwise have.

            I recently visited the Atlantic coast of Florida.  On this trip we stayed a few miles South of Cape Canaveral, an area known as the “Space Coast.”  The Kennedy Space Center is ground zero for space exploration and Launch Pad 39A is where Apollo 11 began man’s first trip to another celestial body.  This is where our Mission to “Occupy Mars” will begin.

That same pad just launched the Space X Falcon 9 mission to resupply the International Space Station and became the first time a reusable rocket booster “relanded” near the pad.  We are now recycling our space hardware which is a good thing!

I had hoped to see the launch, along with thousands of other people on the beach that day, all of us looking North at 10:01 A.M., on a crystal clear Florida day, but it was a “no-go” at the last second.  Unfortunately, we were airborne on our way home, the next day when it finally lifted off.  I missed seeing history by twenty-four hours.  I can’t get a check-off from my bucket list of seeing a live launch.

            Getting back to pondering, I’ve found it fascinating that our Space Port is so close to the ocean.  It’s there for a number of reasons, primarily safety and latitude.  But the comparisons to space and the sea dominated my thoughts that day.

            Both the sea and space are, and have been frontiers of great exploration.  While we attempt to master space, have we mastered the sea?  The answer is absolutely no!

            Throughout our human existence, mankind has attempted to master the sea.  We’ve always wondered what’s over the horizon and have been eager to get there.  For most of our human existence we have been sea-faring people.  The great age of exploration involved great risks on the high seas; long voyages with unknown dangers, dangers we couldn’t possibly imagine.  The sea is a powerful force to be reckoned with.

As we now move into a new age of space-faring, we face the same unknowns and dangers as our ancestors who first crossed the oceans.

            The closest anyone has come to “mastering” the sea is likely Great Britain.  For years the tiny island nation stretched out across the globe, colonizing on, and near every continent.  For years, it was said that the Sun never set on the British Empire and it was true.  They became master sea-farers, but could never truly master the sea.

            Water is a powerful force.  Tidal waves destroy miles of coastlines in seconds.  We are presently witnessing what a deluge of water is doing to California and the threat of rising ocean levels may see much of our Earthly coastal habitat disappear in the distant future. 

Humans foolishly believe we are masters of our domain, but water is something we will never master.  We can control it and redirect it temporarily, but eventually water always wins. 

In our quest for life in space, our benchmark has always been water.  Where there is water, there is life we hypothesize.         

As I walked down the beach and looked back at my footprints behind me, I watched them disappear with about two wave sweeps.  To me that was a metaphor of just how insignificant we are next to the power of water.

I was excited to learn that NASA wants to return to the Moon soon to begin an outpost in preparation for the Mars mission, it’s becoming more science than science fiction.  In fact NASA wants to send a manned mission into lunar orbit in 2018 on the 50^th Anniversary of the Apollo 8 mission which first circled the Moon.  It’s a bold first step to getting back to manned space flight and may happen if we can muster the will to do it.  I hope we can.

While we look to the heavens to break free from the “surly bonds of Earth” we cannot forget that the ocean still holds the greatest mysteries of our planet.  While we attempt to master space, we must continue attempting to master the sea.  The salvation of this planet will likely come from the sea, not necessarily from space. 

We have to keep exploring both.  We will never fully understand the Cosmos until we fully understand the “Inner Space” of our Oceans.  Our future is ironically tied to the understanding of both frontiers.  It’s time we got back in the game of exploration.

T. R. Shaw Jr. is CEO and co-founder of Shaw Communication in Battle Creek, Michigan.  You can read his blog, The Reluctant R(L)eader at www.read-mor.blogspot.com

Jump; Take the Leap of Faith to Achieve Your Life of Abundance

Jump;

Take the Leap of Faith to Achieve Your Life of Abundance

By Steve Harvey

Harper Collins

196 Pages

"That moment of crisis isn't happening to you---it's happening for you."

           Steve Harvey is a household figure and a television icon, but he’s one of those “celebrities” who snuck up on you.  He’s been around a long time, you know about him, but you may not have known his entire story which he lays out in his new motivational memoir, Jump.

            Before I get too far into this review, I have to say I’m a little jealous.  Harvey’s book is a model for the book I’m writing, entitled Defy the Immediate.  In some way’s he’s “stolen my thunder” but I also have many unique stories which hopefully you’ll be reading soon.  I'm not as high profile, but my stories are just as compelling.  I’m in search of an agent and publisher and I can use this book to help get mine out there.  In many ways his book is perfectly timed to parallel mine and something I can use as a model and great example!  Harvey doesn’t know it, but he’s given me something to shoot for.

            I’ve come to know Harvey through television and his public persona.  I really didn’t know much about his background until reading this book.  I discovered we are both Mid-American Conference brethren, he went to Kent State and I went to Central Michigan.  He tells the story of his less-than-stellar performance at KSU where he eventually “flunked out” but that experience opened other avenues and galvanized his faith to pursue his real dreams of someday being on television. 

Faith in God, confidence and self-motivation toward his destiny “jumps” out of this book.  He unashamedly lays out his witness to the power of God which took him from flunking out, losing a good job with Ford Motor Company, working several others dead end jobs, then “jumping” to pursue entertainment and comedy.  He lived from gig to gig in his car until things started to fall into place and God led him to his destiny and he realized his “gift” that everyone is born with.  It wasn’t easy and he didn’t become a celebrity overnight. 

Harvey waffled in and out of jobs and was selling insurance when the dream of entertainment and comedy forced him to jump.  He went from an unfulfilling existence to pursuing his dreams with an unbridled passion.  As he quoted Einstein, “Imagination is Everything,” it’s a preview of the future.

He shares stories of pursuing comedy and taking any gig, anywhere.  Often, he would drive hundreds of miles and sleep in his car.  He was often tired and hungry, but his drive was overpowering.  He’d make enough in a show to get some food and gas for the car and move on to the next gig.  He set up a phone line in his parents’ home connecting it to an answering machine which he checked often.  That was his “home” office. 

One day he was in the South he got a call to do a show at the Apollo Theater in Harlem which would be televised with other major stars performing.  This was to be his big break and what he’d been shooting for.  Unfortunately, he didn’t have enough money to get a plane ticket to New York and not enough time to drive.  Fortunately, he got a gig in a club in Florida that night which paid him enough to get a plane ticket to New York the next day and he made it to the theater where he got his big television break.  Things greatly improved after that.

Along with success came responsibility and hard life lessons.  Newly married and after a series of great jobs and successes when things were going well in all aspects of his life, financially, professionally and beyond, he learned his accountant died suddenly.  He was deeply grieved at first to learn of the death of one his closest advisors.  However, the death revealed a terrible secret he never saw coming or knew about.  His accountant had failed to file and pay Harvey's taxes in more than seven years.  

Harvey was devastated.  He owed more than eight-figures in back taxes and penalties when they figured it all out.  His new financial advisor deduced it would take at least twelve years get out of that hole.  As a person of great faith, Harvey went to work immediately, working harder than he ever had, living under the fear of losing everything and possibly going to jail.  He took every contract that came along, even if it was less than what he was worth.  Everyone around him feared he would burnout, but he was driven.  He humbly regressed to his days of living from paycheck to paycheck out of his car, but his faith in God carried him through and he made it back.

Throughout his career, he had been an entrepreneur.  He invested and built comedy clubs for aspiring comedians and wisely made other good investments.  The opportunity came to sell some of those assets and that put him within reach, not entirely getting out of debt.  The remainder of the debt was manageable.  God lead him though this dark time again and he never doubted God’s plan in all this.

   

            He goes into a great deal of detail on his experiences and humiliation with the Miss Universe pageant where a team mistake messed up the crowning of Miss Columbia when she was actually first runner up.  It created a social media firestorm and Harvey became the butt of late night jokes and even faced death threats.  But, he took full responsibility for that mishap, even though others would have “handled” it later.  He summoned the courage to do the right thing and take responsibility for mistake on the spot.  He couldn't have lived with himself if he hadn't.   The furor that ensued for weeks would have destroyed a lesser man.  He alienated the entire Latin world by setting it straight after Miss Columbia “won” but his tenacity got him through it and everyone is better off for what happened.  It is a great life lesson in courage, humility and honesty.

The title of his book Jump, is his personal philosophy.  In order to reach our destiny and use our gift, we have to jump and take chances even when it doesn’t feel right.  We cannot stand on the cliff of life and watch it go by.  If we don’t jump, our parachutes will never open.  Everything that happened to him was a jump of faith.  He lays out the case that you cannot move forward in life by standing still, whether it’s leaving a job you hate, getting out of a bad relationship or dealing with a life event out of your control.  You have to jump if you want to truly live and not just exist. 

Jump is full of motivation and life stories that will make the reader truly Jump after reading it.  It gives you a whole new perspective of someone who now appears to “have it all.”  His story and message is riveting.  He is not where he is today by luck or chance.  He worked hard and stayed faithful to his passion and idealism.  Something that runs counter to today’s “I want it now” mentality.

I first learned of his Jump message in a viral video he did with his Family Feud audience following a show taping in early 2016.  I’m really not sure if it’s a carefully planned and crafted promotion for his book or a spontaneous talk which led to this book, but it really doesn’t matter, his message does.  I encourage you to watch this video and read this book.  If you don’t Jump at some point in your life you are not living, but merely existing.

Every Successful Person Has Jumped, Family Feud, January, 2016

Take the Jump and read this book.  It’s the motivation you need for the difficulties you are presently facing.  Few books have inspired me more than this one has.

Maple Syrup Time; Michigan's Sweetest Time of the Year!

By T. R. Shaw

Maple Syrup is Michigan's oldest agricultural enterprise,
and the first crop "harvested" each year.

            My affection for all things Maple, began in my youth when I spent time at my grandparent’s orchard and farm market in Athens, Michigan.

 

Wayne and Lillie Smith operated the Smith Orchards in Athens. They spent their lives growing and selling apples and cider, mostly from their barn market in the fall and sold apples commercially to larger buyers such as Gerber Baby Foods and area supermarket chains.

            In the very early spring, just as winter was breaking a mysterious thing would happen.  Townspeople came around, drilled holes in the maple trees, which line every street in the village, and attached bags which filled up with water on warm days.  Not sure what that was all about, my grandmother would take some of that tree water, bring it into the kitchen and boil it down showing us how it becomes maple syrup.  My sister and I were amazed by the process and learned to love and appreciate pure maple syrup.

            On the other side of the village, several volunteers were busy collecting the sap, and boiling it down to syrup to sell in an annual community fund-raising project dating back to 1950.

 

Since then, volunteers of the Athens Youth Council, who maintain the annual tradition, have generated more than $275,000 for the community.  Their annual labor of love has benefited the village immensely, including helping the Boy Scouts, supporting athletic teams, buying equipment and providing local scholarships.  The funds have also purchased a Jaws of Life for the Athens Fire Department.  Some of the funds have been set aside to replace aging maple trees and upgrade the processing equipment.

 

The syrup is sold at various locations around the village, but usually doesn’t last long.  For many years, the founder of the project, Les Snyder, sold it from his front porch.

In the beginning, sap was boiled down in a wood-fired still which took a lot of time and attention.  There is a fine line between, sap, syrup and sugar.  You had to be careful not to over boil it.  Today, the operation has a state-of-the art computerized gas-fired evaporator built in Vermont, which makes the process fairly simple and efficient.

  

Sap collection is still labor intensive and determined by the flow.  Sometimes it’s a daily pick-up, other times it may take a few days.  Through a robo-call volunteers are notified when they need to help collect.  There is seldom a shortage of volunteers.  It takes about ninety minutes to get around the village and fill the mobile tanker.

Athens has had friendly competition with neighboring Union City whose Rotary Club has done the same project in their community for decades.

 

The Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi also partakes in the annual rite of spring on their reservation.  In fact it was Native American’s who introduced Europeans to the art of maple syrup production.  The craft and lore dates back hundreds of years in Native American culture.

            Maple syrup is big business in Michigan according to the Michigan Maple Syrup Association.  It is the oldest agricultural enterprise in the United States and the first crop “harvested” each year.  Michigan has about 500 commercial producers and approximately 2,000 groups like Athens, Union City and the NHBPI Tribe, along with many hobbyists.  Michigan ranks 5^th in the nation in Maple Syrup production at about 90,000 gallons which, seasonally brings in $2.5 million according to the Association website, 
www.mi-maplesyrup.com.

  

            Maple syrup activities have also become part of Michigan’s burgeoning “agri-tourism” sector with two major Maple Syrup Festivals each year one in Shepard and another in Vermontville.  This year, the Association will host a Maple Syrup Weekend in the North, Middle and Southern parts of Michigan.  March 18-19 is slated for Southern Michigan.  Information on events and educational activities can be found at www.michiganmapleweekend.com.

            According to the Athens Youth Council their best year, which typically begins in late February, was 695 gallons in 1984; their smallest was 129 gallons in 2000.  Mother Nature determines the length of the season and amount of production.  Last year they only collected sap for 10 days as the weather warmed quickly and the trees budded, changing the sugar content of the sap.  A good sap run requires a period of cold nights below freezing, with significant warming in the day.  It also has a lot to do with barometric pressure.  In a good year, the sap run goes for 3-4 weeks.  Much of maple syrup production and quality is based on luck, timing and weather rather than pure science.

            So, if you want to shake off winter and witness an annual rite of spring in Michigan, visit a Maple Syrup operation and bring your kids.

 

The Athens Maple House is located at 310 W. South Street in Athens and welcomes visitors when they are operating, mostly during the month of March.  For their operating hours or to help collect, contact Syrup Chairman J. R. Brunner at (269) 317-7593 or visit www.athensyouthcouncil.org.

           

Don’t miss out on one of the greatest and sweetest times in Michigan, but you’d better hurry, it doesn’t last long!

Collecting sap in front of my grandparents home and
former Farm Market in Athens in March 2016

John Glenn; A Hero for the Ages

By T. R. Shaw, Jr.

            New Year’s Eve has always been bittersweet.  It represents the end of another year; another trip around the sun, that we humans measure in our lives by.  It’s sad because we may not have accomplished all we wanted to.  A New Year offers hope, new challenges and excitement that the next year will be even greater.

            Annually, media outlets look back on the famous and infamous people we’ve lost in the past year.  We honor and recognize high profile public life.  Some we profoundly mourn, others not so much.

            Many of those departed celebrities touched us in various ways.  Some through music, the movies and pop culture; others through bold leadership and courageous acts.  Some deaths were expected, some were tragic, but they’ve all left their mark on us.

            On December 8, 2016 we lost John Glenn, my first true American hero growing up.   I was astounded to realize he was 95 years old.  It seemed he was immortal.

            Glenn was one of the original “Mercury 7” Astronauts, all of whom deserve hero status.  While he was the third American in space, he became the first to orbit the earth on February 20, 1962 in Friendship 7, taking the first bold step into space exploration.

            If you’ve never seen the movie The Right Stuff, based on the book by Tom Wolfe which chronicles our first steps in space I urge you do so.  The film takes a little literary and comedic license and won four Academy Awards.  I watched it again the night Glenn died, it was my way of mourning.  Glenn definitely had The Right Stuff!

            While Alan Shepard became the first American into space and Gordon Cooper was the last to fly solo completing 22 orbits in the Mercury program, it was Glenn who captured the world’s attention and became the best known representative of America’s space program. He was the hero we needed at the time.

            In the post-World War II Cold War era with the Soviet Union, America was in a heated “space race” with the goal of gaining the high ground of outer space and the moon.  President John F. Kennedy didn’t mince words when he declared we are going to the moon before the decade was over and we did.  His admonition created and inspired a generation of achievers, thinkers, and doers like no other generation before them.  Going to the moon became a “Team America” effort which touched hundreds of industries and disciplines.  The Mercury 7 astronauts were the “new pioneers” in a dangerous and complex effort to explore the unknown.

 

Glenn, a decorated Marine, “All-American” combat and test pilot from WWII and Korea, became the charismatic face of America’s greatest venture.  Glenn was an inspiration to a new generation of Americans, including the present NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden who followed in his footsteps.  Bolden graduated from the Naval Academy in 1968, became a Marine aviator and test pilot like Glenn and eventually made his way into the Astronaut corps flying four Space Shuttle Missions, one of which launched the Hubble Telescope.  In 2009 Bolden became the first Astronaut and African-American, to head NASA and is presently laying the ground work to “Occupy Mars.”

            Following his space career, Glenn entered politics and represented his home state of Ohio as a U. S. Senator.  His political career included a great deal of political sparring and an unsuccessful bid for President, but it would have likely tarnished his image as an American Hero.

            In his final act of courage, Glenn became the oldest human to fly in space in October 1998 aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery at the age of 77.  While some ridiculed it as a publicity stunt and political favor, it was a fitting tribute to America’s Astronaut and the pinnacle of an amazing career and life, solidifying his place in history.

            One commentator recently, said there will never be an American hero greater than John Glenn.  I’ve got to agree.  While others have made great contributions to our society and mankind, Glenn will always be known as America’s Astronaut and true pioneer.  He set the standard of what an astronaut and hero should be and lived his life accordingly.

The world needs more John Glenn’s in the future.  Those with the courage and vision to face danger and explore the cosmos.  Space is not the Final Frontier!

            Godspeed John Glenn, your Mission is complete!

T. R. Shaw Jr. is CEO of Shaw Communication in Battle Creek, Michigan.

            

I'm taking a little time to opine.  Although, I've not posted a book review recently, I have done a great deal of reading and serious study.  I will get back to reviews soon. I'm also in the process of writing a book.

I'm posting a column I recently wrote on the upcoming presidential election.  

I've been avoiding political discourse, but the historian in me is getting anxious and I felt I needed to remind people we are living in historical times.  So here it is.

An Election for the Ages

By T. R. Shaw Jr.

The upcoming presidential election is certain to be a watershed in American history.  It will likely go down as the most dirty, divisive and ugliest campaigns of our time.  It’s a difficult time where neither choice of candidates is truly palatable to the average American.  As one commentator said over the weekend, we have a choice between a buffoon and a criminal.  It’s hard to disagree with that assessment.

Although I’m not a parent, the thought occurred to me, “What should we be telling our children about this today?” 

If I was a history professor, “What would I be telling my students today?”

After thinking about that, I decided we should be telling our youth to become great observers. 

As an historian, I’d urge our youth to take in everything they can over the next several months because you are walking through and living in real-time history today.  This era, no matter the outcome, will be studied, analyzed and rewritten far into the future.  We should be telling our youth to soak it all in as future generations will look back in amazement of what we are going through and dealing with.  We are truly living in an episode of “You are There!”

This election also offers true teachable moments where we can discuss ethics, integrity and morality with living examples of good and bad characters and institutions.

 So, instead of sticking our collective heads in the sand and refusing to deal with the harsh realities, we should be relishing this time as a pivotal moment in our lifetimes.  If you are of a certain age with a great deal of perspective, educate youth on idealisms that are important to you.  Use this time as a positive time and stop avoiding the inevitable.  The sun will rise in November and the world will go on, although it might be a very different world than it is today.  Nobody can predict the future.

I have no idea what the next four or possibly eight years will bring to this nation, but whatever happens we will have to live with the consequences of our actions today.

We need to think, act and do those things our sense of morality dictates.  We need to educate and empower ourselves and our youth because the world is changing before our very eyes.

T. R. Shaw Jr. is CEO of Shaw Communication in Battle Creek, Michigan