Thanks Lee. I did learn in life that there are a lot more important ways to be smart than just academics--the kinds of smarts that help us get along in the world are the more important kind. Some of those I learned the hard way.
Mary I couldn't agree more about the importance of what we psychologists with some expertise in Mental Assessment think about the importance of practical intelligence. I didn't know Luther well at all and don't know how much of that he had, but my guess is that he did quite all right.
We should all be so fortunate since in most cases we really don't have a lot of choices - and that is not a dark thought - just a reflection on reality.
"I did learn in life that there are a lot more important ways to be smart than just academics--the kinds of smarts that help us get along in the world are the more important kind."
I also long ago learned, since they did not teach it in high school nor college, that there are two non-inclusive but at times very measurable metrics called intelligence and wisdom.
One does not necessarily associate with the other, which explains many, many obsrvations throughout the world.
David; I agree that academic intelligence is not the most important thing and yet its helpful. Having compassion, love and wisdom as the primary view through which a person sees their world is the most important. Years ago I was teaching a goal setting class and wondered how long we all lived in hours. The average age was 76 at the time. 657,000 hours and I sleep a lot of it... and half of it was already gone! And now I've turned 80 and it's good to see some of the folks from the class of 63 are still sucking air and doing hopefully, well. I goggled Luther and could find nothing to share. How have each of your lives unfolded?
Lee. Very well said. As for my life (like most here I suspect), I've had my ups and downs (more of the former than the latter) and overall I'm pleased with theways things turned out. There are a number of things I'd prefer to do over, but most of us feel that way I'd guess. After all, we are all far from perfect.
Lee, et al, Eric Sundberg here - you were curious about our lives - here is a short summary of how some 60 years went for one old guy. I'll start with highschool graduation after which spent my senior summer at Wright Patterson AFB in Ohio as an intern to Dr. Hans von Ohain - wild experience - my first experience with pure brilliance. Then two years at Cabrillo afterwhich I moved on to the University of California at Santa Barbara. Fell in love - but a little thing called Vietnam changed a lot of plans and upon graduation had a chioice between being drafted into the Army or joining the Air Force. I chose the later and was off to Texas for Officer Training School. Upon being commissioned I returned to Santa Cruz, got married, and then reported to San Jose State for my first posting. There I studied and got a degree in meteorlogy followed by a short tour in Arkansas and then a year in Vietnam. On completing that tour I planned to resign my commission and return to civilian life - when my commander asked me why I wanted to separate. My response was that I wanted to work on space stuff - to which he said that if I would pull my separation papers, he would get me into some really wild space stuff - but that he couldn't tell me anything about it because it was classified. I took a swing at that offer and ended up at the Satellite Test Center in Sunnyvale for a "black" organization that went by the name: Secretary of the Air Force, Special Projects. It was "black" because of the work they did and how they did it - they "stole secrets from anversaires by secret mean." Anyway that was the start of something cool - flying and then designing and then building spy satellites. Along the way I was fortunate enough to add a daughter and a son to my entourage and to spend a lot of time doing CIA stuff. In the early eighties I was selected to become a Space Shuttle Payload Specialist and take one of our satellites to orbit on the Space Shuttle. That ment I got to play astronaut for five years and that was one cool ride - lots of space suit training time. Unfortunately it ended up with the National Security Establishment getting off the Shuttle before I could fly and my having to return to normal human status. I moved on to Space Command, got divorced (thank heavens), then got a below the zone promotion to Colonel. My next posting was at AIr University where I spent two years as the Space Chair. On completeling that tour I returned to the Intelligence Community and spent the next seven years again doing "secret" things in the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). During that tour I hooked up with an Air Force Academy cadet, Jack Fischer, and after he commissioned, got married, and kids were on the way I was asked to take on the roll of grandpa (the blood grandpas had passed) in his and Elizabeth's family. To accept that r=offer was a really wise decison on my part. On retiring, I joined the Georgia Institue to Technology and was sent back to the Intelligence Community for six years. When that posting ran its course, I was picked up by the Aerospace Corporation to continue my work in the Community and then retired for the third and last time. While at Aerospace, I was fortunately enough to meet Miss Morgan - a Turkish Lady who had immigated to Canada some thirty years before. After two dates and one good night peck, we got engaged. That shocked everyone - especially my professional handlers since marrying a foreigner was one way to immediately loose all your clearances. The Agency stepped in and prevented that form happening and Morgan and I have now been married eighteen years. That was one of the best and smartest thing I have ever done. We now have nine grandkids - the oldest almost thirty and the two youngest still in high school. Jack ended up flying on a Russian rocket to the Space Station (wild) and Leif, my blood son, ended up a senior in the Loudoun Fire Marshall's Office doing bomb stuff (scary). And that is how 62 years flowed thorough my fingers - it has been a wild ride. And now on to the next adventure.
Eric that is a very interesting life. I appreciate being able to read about what you experienced. I come to this site occasionally to see if anyone is still alive and saying anything. Now i'm thinking it would be very neat if more of the folks would write a few paragraphs about their experiences: good and bad. I've personally learned more from mistakes and 'bad' experiences. Maybe the site managers could set up a share my life center. I'd love to hear more from you all. Maybe Luther can stimulate some stories. Do good things for yourself and others.
At one of our reunions, I remember noting that Luther was on the faculty of CSU Hayward (now CSU East Bay) because that is where I graduated from. I chatted with him about that, but I don't remember what he was teaching. And, yes, he was definitely bright and his own person.
Mary Swenson (Thurston)
Thanks Lee. I did learn in life that there are a lot more important ways to be smart than just academics--the kinds of smarts that help us get along in the world are the more important kind. Some of those I learned the hard way.
David Shaffer
Mary I couldn't agree more about the importance of what we psychologists with some expertise in Mental Assessment think about the importance of practical intelligence. I didn't know Luther well at all and don't know how much of that he had, but my guess is that he did quite all right.
Mary Swenson (Thurston)
I suspect you are right. Luther somehow seemed quite comfortable with who he was.
Eric Sundberg
We should all be so fortunate since in most cases we really don't have a lot of choices - and that is not a dark thought - just a reflection on reality.
James Armstrong
Mary Swenson says:
"I did learn in life that there are a lot more important ways to be smart than just academics--the kinds of smarts that help us get along in the world are the more important kind."
I also long ago learned, since they did not teach it in high school nor college, that there are two non-inclusive but at times very measurable metrics called intelligence and wisdom.
One does not necessarily associate with the other, which explains many, many obsrvations throughout the world.
Jim Armstrong
Lee Leikam
David; I agree that academic intelligence is not the most important thing and yet its helpful. Having compassion, love and wisdom as the primary view through which a person sees their world is the most important. Years ago I was teaching a goal setting class and wondered how long we all lived in hours. The average age was 76 at the time. 657,000 hours and I sleep a lot of it... and half of it was already gone! And now I've turned 80 and it's good to see some of the folks from the class of 63 are still sucking air and doing hopefully, well. I goggled Luther and could find nothing to share. How have each of your lives unfolded?
David Shaffer
Lee. Very well said. As for my life (like most here I suspect), I've had my ups and downs (more of the former than the latter) and overall I'm pleased with theways things turned out. There are a number of things I'd prefer to do over, but most of us feel that way I'd guess. After all, we are all far from perfect.
Eric Sundberg
Lee, et al, Eric Sundberg here - you were curious about our lives - here is a short summary of how some 60 years went for one old guy. I'll start with highschool graduation after which spent my senior summer at Wright Patterson AFB in Ohio as an intern to Dr. Hans von Ohain - wild experience - my first experience with pure brilliance. Then two years at Cabrillo afterwhich I moved on to the University of California at Santa Barbara. Fell in love - but a little thing called Vietnam changed a lot of plans and upon graduation had a chioice between being drafted into the Army or joining the Air Force. I chose the later and was off to Texas for Officer Training School. Upon being commissioned I returned to Santa Cruz, got married, and then reported to San Jose State for my first posting. There I studied and got a degree in meteorlogy followed by a short tour in Arkansas and then a year in Vietnam. On completing that tour I planned to resign my commission and return to civilian life - when my commander asked me why I wanted to separate. My response was that I wanted to work on space stuff - to which he said that if I would pull my separation papers, he would get me into some really wild space stuff - but that he couldn't tell me anything about it because it was classified. I took a swing at that offer and ended up at the Satellite Test Center in Sunnyvale for a "black" organization that went by the name: Secretary of the Air Force, Special Projects. It was "black" because of the work they did and how they did it - they "stole secrets from anversaires by secret mean." Anyway that was the start of something cool - flying and then designing and then building spy satellites. Along the way I was fortunate enough to add a daughter and a son to my entourage and to spend a lot of time doing CIA stuff. In the early eighties I was selected to become a Space Shuttle Payload Specialist and take one of our satellites to orbit on the Space Shuttle. That ment I got to play astronaut for five years and that was one cool ride - lots of space suit training time. Unfortunately it ended up with the National Security Establishment getting off the Shuttle before I could fly and my having to return to normal human status. I moved on to Space Command, got divorced (thank heavens), then got a below the zone promotion to Colonel. My next posting was at AIr University where I spent two years as the Space Chair. On completeling that tour I returned to the Intelligence Community and spent the next seven years again doing "secret" things in the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). During that tour I hooked up with an Air Force Academy cadet, Jack Fischer, and after he commissioned, got married, and kids were on the way I was asked to take on the roll of grandpa (the blood grandpas had passed) in his and Elizabeth's family. To accept that r=offer was a really wise decison on my part. On retiring, I joined the Georgia Institue to Technology and was sent back to the Intelligence Community for six years. When that posting ran its course, I was picked up by the Aerospace Corporation to continue my work in the Community and then retired for the third and last time. While at Aerospace, I was fortunately enough to meet Miss Morgan - a Turkish Lady who had immigated to Canada some thirty years before. After two dates and one good night peck, we got engaged. That shocked everyone - especially my professional handlers since marrying a foreigner was one way to immediately loose all your clearances. The Agency stepped in and prevented that form happening and Morgan and I have now been married eighteen years. That was one of the best and smartest thing I have ever done. We now have nine grandkids - the oldest almost thirty and the two youngest still in high school. Jack ended up flying on a Russian rocket to the Space Station (wild) and Leif, my blood son, ended up a senior in the Loudoun Fire Marshall's Office doing bomb stuff (scary). And that is how 62 years flowed thorough my fingers - it has been a wild ride. And now on to the next adventure.
Lee Leikam
Eric that is a very interesting life. I appreciate being able to read about what you experienced. I come to this site occasionally to see if anyone is still alive and saying anything. Now i'm thinking it would be very neat if more of the folks would write a few paragraphs about their experiences: good and bad. I've personally learned more from mistakes and 'bad' experiences. Maybe the site managers could set up a share my life center. I'd love to hear more from you all. Maybe Luther can stimulate some stories. Do good things for yourself and others.
Carol Evans (Herbert)
At one of our reunions, I remember noting that Luther was on the faculty of CSU Hayward (now CSU East Bay) because that is where I graduated from. I chatted with him about that, but I don't remember what he was teaching. And, yes, he was definitely bright and his own person.