The Teacher and the Dragon By Douglas A. Sharp, from his book NIGHT BREEZES It’s fair to say you taught me. There are some things I’ve learned A gift that is freely given often cannot be earned. I’ve seen you take the world on With nothing but a grin And whenever that was not enough You’d take it on again. I watched you face the dragon That filled me full of fear I saw you climb onto its back And whisper in his ear. I saw the dragon look at you Much as I have done It seemed to me he smiled a bit Before he ambled on. I don’t know what he heard from you Or what it meant to him But there’s never been a dragon I have feared since then I indicated in Post 8 - Ashley and Henry, at 18 months my daughter, Ashley, lost use of her hands, her face became pale, and she quit vocalizing. She sat on the floor rocking in her own world and would not make eye contact. She had one screaming episode where she grabbed her head. Rett Syndrome is a developmental …
Post 12 – Art for the Hagler Institute For Advanced Study
One of my favorite quotes about art is by Alberto Giocometti, a 20th century Swiss sculptor and painter. He said, "The object of art is not to reproduce reality, but to create a reality of the same intensity." One intense endeavor is the search for new knowledge. I never thought much about what kind of art would portray this search, but it "plopped in my lap", as the old saying goes. Three drawings now hang on a wall outside my office that capture the intensity of the quest for new knowledge. The art came from the A&M Foundation, that raises major donations and estate gifts for Texas A&M University. The drawings appeared in a feature story about the Hagler Institute for Advanced Study in the Foundation's magazine, Spirit. I have loved these pieces of art since I first saw them, and I want to share them with you in this post. They are best seen on a computer monitor. A little background is helpful. I am Associate Director of the Hagler Institute. The …
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Post 10 – Inflation
“By a continuing process of inflation, government can confiscate, secretly and unobserved, an important part of the wealth of their citizens.” ---John Maynard Keynes “It is a way to take people’s wealth from them without having to openly raise taxes. Inflation is the most universal tax of all.” ---Thomas Sowell Prices are the exchange rates between money and goods and services. If rates of money growth exceed growth rates in the production of goods and services, prices will rise. Inflation refers to a persistent increase in prices. Inflation is caused by too rapid growth in the money supply. Since the Federal Reserve controls the money supply, inflation is caused by the Federal Reserve. When I was in graduate school in economics, this connection between inflation and too rapid growth in the new money was so theoretically and empirically well-documented by Milton Friedman and others that any student forgetting this relationship would have failed. Astoundingly, the current …
Post 9 – Grief
Grief has to be the least sought after aspect of this worldly experience, yet it hits us all. In A Grief Observed, the Christian writer C.S. Lewis documents his emotions and thoughts after the loss of his wife. The book documents his journey through his initial anger and grief to thankfulness for the time with his wife. My cousin and his wife lost their daughter in a car wreck when she was a junior in high school. I saw then that losing a child is the worst. In my last post, I told you about Ashley Fry and Henry Engel, and their unique positions in the Rett Syndrome community. Due to Richard Engel's presence on television, the public shared in the Engel's Rett Syndrome journey. Mary paid honor to this public by communicating her experience at the loss of Henry in document that is as emotionally charged as it is well written. I am sharing Mary's text with you. Grief is powerful when love is powerful. If you have not done so already, please first read the post about …
Post 8 – Ashley and Henry
Post 8 - Ashley and Henry Two “famous” people in the Rett Syndrome community are my daughter, Ashley, and the late Henry Engel. On August 15, 2019, Judy, Ashley, and I joined Richard, Mary, and Henry for an afternoon visit in Houston. The Engels were in Houston for research involving Henry. There is a bond between parents of children with Rett Syndrome. This meeting, however, had another element to it. It was a special celebration of two individuals with the dubious honor of being among the most well-known people in the world with Rett Syndrome. Judy and Richard Engel with Ashley Clifford, with Mary, Richard, and Henry Engel Judy, Mary, and Richard with Henry and Ashley Ashley Ashley was the first person in Texas to be diagnosed with Rett Syndrome, and one of the first in the nation, after Rett Syndrome became known in the U.S. Ashley …
Post 7 – Aggie Jokes and Aggie’s Jokes
I arrived at Texas A&M in the fall of 1963. I was 17 years old and the only one in my high school class in Kingsville that year to attend Texas A&M. At the time, Aggie jokes were common in Texas, and none of them were flattering. A friend of mine told me that some Aggie jokes were the same as Polack jokes up north, which derided those from Poland. However, some were too specific to Texas A&M to be shared by those from Poland. Aggies at that time came primarily from small towns, farms, and ranches. Most of the Aggies in my class had little money, so we differed from "teasips" in the elite fraternities at the University of Texas, which we affectionately referred to as "TU". However, we expected nothing from others, and we were used to hard work, and I know for many of my college colleagues that paid off well in life. Ol’ Sarge, a depiction created by Pete Tumlinson from the Texas A&M class of 1942, was a common image around campus. Ol’ Sarge was a …
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