An Overarching Force

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An Overarching Force topic started 6/24/2005; 11:57:52 PM last post 6/24/2005; 11:57:52 PM

markmolander@m... - An Overarching Force   6/24/2005; 10:57:52 PM (reads: 2166, responses: 0) I just got back from a trip, and I was saddened to hear of John’s passing. John was one of the good guys. I first met him at Superintendent’s Cabinet thirty-seven years ago. I was in awe of him from the very beginning because he forcefully confronted our Superintendent, Cal Flint, on more than one occasion concerning faculty rights. Big deal! Right? But you can’t imagine the patriarchal environment of our campuses in the 1960s, and what courage and willful resolve those brazen confrontations must have elicited for him to survive the outrage that followed. John was an original union leader and activist, but he had a guiding vision that the best way of changing the system was by way of the system. John was both a gifted leader and a master politician. He survived both assaults and sieges and was one of the most respected members on the Foothill staff. Over the next few years I found myself involved in some of the same struggles as John, and he was always an overarching, stabilizing force. What I remember most about him, though, are the intimate moments talking about our families, about poetry — about baseball. John loved sports, but he loved baseball almost as much as life itself. He had worked out an elaborate metaphor for baseball as a perfect metaphor for American life. It took about an hour for him to introduce the particulars — how each applied — but if you had the time, it really was worth the mental gymnastics. John was a most generous man. A few years back, my wife and I attended a conference on Lowell and Bishop that was to be held in Cleveland. Knowing that John grew up in Cleveland, I asked him where to stay and what to see, since we had some extra time. Not only did we schedule lunch to plan (he had the perfect spot in Palo Alto — no interruptions for the whole afternoon), but also on two other occasions before we left, John and I met to talk about the trip. He gave me a useful history of recent Cleveland politics so that the renovations of the downtown area along with the “don’t miss” culture centers, made our trip one of those times I will always remember and treasure. John had that kind of influence on people because he was a generous mentor and friend. I will miss him greatly. But having said that trivializes all that he was. He was large. I said above that he was generous, and that’s true, but he was no pussycat. His convictions were held with severe and absolute conclusions reached as a result of many years of wrestling with many issues. And he would argue with you for hours about premises he held and why he held them and why you should as well. And it wasn’t college debating. It was serious stuff that he lived by. But he was not one to hold grudges. He was open and generous of spirit. He was a genuine and good human being. I will miss him. I will miss reading his daily Blog. Discuss