Gordon Graham here and thanks again for visiting this little corner of the Fire Nuggets site, my monthly opportunity to give you something to think about – perhaps a nugget of information that might be of some value to you. My guess is that when Paul and Ted were putting this site together, they thought of the whole “nugget” thing, hence the name of the site – but I am digressing already.

I am preparing this “Risky Rambling” the day after the death of an American icon. I know it caught many of you by surprise, but nonetheless this hero is now gone. My guess is you know whom I am talking about – a man who truly made a difference in the lives of so many people. A man who was almost fifty years old, and to be fair, he had some health problems that we knew about. But to lose such a hero at the age of fifty is indeed such a tragedy.

I never met the man personally, but I am aware of his work, as I am sure you are also. He had an affinity for kids and dedicated a lot of his efforts to kids and taking care of them in his special way. He had a really odd residence that sometimes was just filled with kids. In fact, kids of all races and ages loved him. He just had that way about him, that special ability to connect with people, particularly with some of the different costumes he wore regularly.

Also, he was a tireless worker, constantly on the road around the world trying to make a difference. I am aware of some of his efforts overseas to make the world a better place. And I think his efforts to improve things – albeit in a different way – really have had an impact; and I will tell you that his tragic (and unexpected death) yesterday has caused me to write this piece ... and you all know whom I am talking about.

And I would be remiss if I did not mention the impact he had on people of all faiths – Jews, Catholics, Protestants, Baptists, Lutherans and even Muslims. His ability to interact with all through his universal “language” of peace and love endeared him to everyone he met.

And if you are not reading the papers these days (and I don’t blame you), perhaps you have not heard about his passing. In fact it was covered by the press, not on page one, but on page three of USA Today in a little quip that many of you might have missed.

“A funeral for Tim Vakoc, 49, an Army chaplain gravely wounded in Iraq years ago, will be held today in St. Paul. A roadside bomb blast on May 29, 2004, cost the Roman Catholic priest an eye and left him severely brain damaged. He died yesterday.”

OK, that was a low blow, setting you up for the whole “King of Pop” thing, a character who also had an affinity for kids but in a different way. I hope I made my point here.

Perhaps this is my negative side coming out again, but your and my kids will be going back to school in a month or so, and they will have to do “reports” on famous people. Perhaps they might be asked to write about an “American Hero.”

The sad news is that a number of our youths will write about Michael Jackson. I have no personal beef with MJ, and my guess is that his childhood was not anywhere close to being normal. So I will not condemn him for his alleged criminal and otherwise odd behavior. But I am very disappointed in so many of our youths – and some that I know well – who idolize this fellow who really made no serious  contribution to making America a better place.

In an earlier “RR,” I spoke about Richard Rescorla, and I encourage all of you to know who this hero was. You can do a “Wiki” search on his name and read about his military history, his education and his job at Morgan Stanley.  Mr. Rescorla was in the World Trade Center in 1993 when the “Blind Sheik” and his ammunition carriers tried to bring down the WTC with the truck bomb. For those of you old enough to remember this failed attempt, we collectively laughed at the terrorists after that event.

Mr. Rescorla was not laughing. He knew a whole lot more about terrorism than anyone else did at that time, and he used his position as “emergency management coordinator” to prepare the employees of Morgan Stanley for the next attack that he knew was coming. 

His “prediction” was all too accurate, but his preparation efforts allowed all of the MS people to safely evacuate the Towers on September 11. After he got out, he went back in (like so many cops and firefighters that fateful day) and died in the collapse of the buildings.

Now maybe I am just old school, but it does not get any more “American” than this. I could also provide all of the names of the 343 firefighters who gave their lives that day and the hundred or so cops who also died. I will mention someone very close to this website – Firefighter Andy Fredericks, a dear friend of Ted and Paul.

My dad (a WWII veteran who never talked about it) told me that you could tell a lot about a country by the way they treat their veterans.  We as a nation do not do as well as we should in this regard. I will modify Dad’s thoughts just a bit. You can tell a lot about a country by taking a look at whom the “youth” identify as heroes.

When this word is thrown around referring to “pop” stars and “dopers” and “wannabegangbangers” and basketball players and entertainers, there is a serious disconnect present.

Anyhow, I have said my piece here and hope that all the “hero” talk about MJ is short lived, but I fear this will be “Anna Nicole Smith” revisited and that I will have to listen to this nonsense for weeks while we have cops and firefighters dying in the line of duty (many of which will not even get an “inch” of coverage in the paper) and we have brave soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan protecting us from the Islamic Terrorists.

If I am ever in charge, this will change. And right now, for you who have the kids who need to write about real “heroes,” get them headed in the right direction; and maybe this trend will start around America so we can start to regain our moral compass.

Hey, that is it for today. Take care and stay safe and I look forward to visiting with you again soon.

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