Some thoughts about the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King. He was born in 1929, making him four years my elder.  That places me at an age that recalls the magnificent crusade led by King to end government sponsored racial segregation and its evils, and a tiny bit of personal experience.

In 1951 when I was a one-stripe eighteen-year-old airman stationed at Williams AFB in Arizona (I played in the base band), my two best buddies were a Filipino trumpet player and a black guy who played French horn (“peck horn”). We tried to enter a café together in uniform in nearby Chandler. “Get out,” shouted the proprietor, “We don’t serve niggers and don’t serve nigger lovers.” So much for lunch. And Arizona was a so-called “non-segregated” state.

When King led the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955, I had advanced to age 22, and was two years out of Air Force flying school flying the F94C. Martin Luther King’s actions in Montgomery inspired me to join the NAACP (not radical like today) when I was stationed at Langley AFB in the southern city of Hampton, Virginia.

In 1962, I was a captain attending radar controller school at Keesler AFB in Biloxi, Mississippi, and living off base. The course was tough, so some of us organized an evening study group that included a fellow student who happened to be a negro captain (“negro” was the respectful term then – not “black” or “Afro-American”). The only way we could get the captain to and from our home with safely, and without getting arrested, was to keep him out of sight in the back seat of our car. Amazing.

I myself almost got arrested one Sunday morning after church in Gulfport. Mississippi when I sat on a bus bench labeled “colored” (I didn’t see the sign). When the bus came, the bus driver told me I would have to move to the “white” bench before he would pick me up. I told him snarkily that I was ON the white bench (it being painted white).  At this point, he threatened to call the cops. I left. He left. And I found another way back to Biloxi. 

In1963, the year of Kings iconic “I have a Dream” oratory from the Lincoln Memorial in DC I was 30. I listened to him live on the radio. It’s the most magnificent speech I’ve ever heard. Period.  

When King was assassinated In 1968 in Memphis, I was thirty-five years old and attending the Air University Education with Industry Program at the Boeing Company in Seattle. We were devastated.

Martin Luther King was an imperfect man (as are we all) who did marvelous things for the soul of our nation. We’ve come a long, long ways. But where are the great leaders for equality and fairness today? With some of the stuff that’s going on, Martin Luther King must be turning over in his grave. 

Some thoughts about the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King. He was born in 1929, making him four years my elder.  That places me at an age that recalls the magnificent crusade led by King to end government sponsored racial segregation and its evils, and a tiny bit of personal experience.

In 1951 when I was a one-stripe eighteen-year-old airman stationed at Williams AFB in Arizona (I played in the base band), my two best buddies were a Filipino trumpet player and a black guy who played French horn (“peck horn”). We tried to enter a café together in uniform in nearby Chandler. “Get out,” shouted the proprietor, “We don’t serve niggers and don’t serve nigger lovers.” So much for lunch. And Arizona was a so-called “non-segregated” state.

When King led the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955, I had advanced to age 22, and was two years out of Air Force flying school flying the F94C. Martin Luther King’s actions in Montgomery inspired me to join the NAACP (not radical like today) when I was stationed at Langley AFB in the southern city of Hampton, Virginia.

In 1962, I was a captain attending radar controller school at Keesler AFB in Biloxi, Mississippi, and living off base. The course was tough, so some of us organized an evening study group that included a fellow student who happened to be a negro captain (“negro” was the respectful term then – not “black” or “Afro-American”). The only way we could get the captain to and from our home with safely, and without getting arrested, was to keep him out of sight in the back seat of our car. Amazing.

I myself almost got arrested one Sunday morning after church in Gulfport. Mississippi when I sat on a bus bench labeled “colored” (I didn’t see the sign). When the bus came, the bus driver told me I would have to move to the “white” bench before he would pick me up. I told him snarkily that I was ON the white bench (it being painted white).  At this point, he threatened to call the cops. I left. He left. And I found another way back to Biloxi. 

In1963, the year of Kings iconic “I have a Dream” oratory from the Lincoln Memorial in DC I was 30. I listened to him live on the radio. It’s the most magnificent speech I’ve ever heard. Period.  

When King was assassinated In 1968 in Memphis, I was thirty-five years old and attending the Air University Education with Industry Program at the Boeing Company in Seattle. We were devastated.

Martin Luther King was an imperfect man (as are we all) who did marvelous things for the soul of our nation. We’ve come a long, long ways. But where are the great leaders for equality and fairness today? With some of the stuff that’s going on, Martin Luther King must be turning over in his grave. 

LEGISLATIVE SKITS

Had a fun time at the Legislative Skits last night at theCentennial Hall in Juneau. This is a yearly production by our legislative staffs (after some of the skits, they may be FORMER staff – just kidding). No legislator is safe, nor is anyone in the administration safe. Over 500 folks attended.

Tempting as it tis, I won’t repeat any of the jokes or material. If you want to know what happens during these skits, buy a ticket for the show next year. All proceeds go to charity.

DRILL OR GET OFF THE PLOT

“Drill or get off the plot.” So says, in a manner of speaking, the agreement that finally resolves the Point Thompson issues. That agreement set the stage for Friday’s historic “alignment” – a meeting of the minds on a legal document - between the major oil and gas producers in cooperation with the TransCanada pipeline people about moving forward on a gas pipeline project from the North Slope to tidewater, under the existing AGIA framework.

The alignment could result in a large diameter gas pipeline to deliver large volumes of gas at a cheaper rate than a smaller diameter “bullet” line. Alaska needs in-state affordable gas for homes and businesses, and as well as revenue from gas sales in Asia, At some point in the distant future, when it might make economic sense, nothing would prevent a takeoff line to the Lower 48,

Hats off and congratulations to Governor Parnell, the Commissioner of Natural Resources and his staff, the producers, and everyone else involved. They followed the adage “Come let us reason together.” Breaking ground for the long awaited gas pipeline is “no done deal” – however pivotal progress has nonetheless been achieved. I think we have good reason to be optimistic. No one should be in our legislature unless they are optimistic about being able to help make things better.

Features in HB9, “Bullet Line” legislation the House passed a few nights ago (but which is being delayed by the Senate, late in the session, with multiple committee assignments), will help with many issues in the large pipeline to tidewater.

Hopefully, we’re “on a roll.” Hopefully the self-imposed logjam in the Senate on oil tax reduction can be resolved before the end of session. Hope springs eternal! Whatever, something needs to be done and done quickly to stop declining oil production. That’s why I voted “YES” on HB110 last year.

CHOOSE RESPECT

t was an honor to join with Lt. Governor Mead Treadwell and fellow legislators on the capitol steps in Juneau today for the “Choose Respect” Rally. I wish everyone could have heard the heartfelt and inspiring speeches by Lt. Governor Treadwell, Rep. Anna Fairclough of Anchorage, and Rep. Reggie Joule of Kotzebue. Congratulations to everyone who attended the Choose Respect rallies in communities all across Alaska.

CALLSIGNS

Radio callsigns bring back lots of Memories to military folks. Sometimes I think of my Air force career as a series of callsigns. In Vietnam I wrote a little poem titled “CALLSIGNS,” that sums up “callsigns” for me.

“My job is very pleasant

I serve my tour

And ask no questions.

For me it’s nothing personal,

Just blips of light

And distant voices on the radio.

Men don’t die in y war

(though I lose a lot of callsigns). “

When I flew the old F94C with the 48^th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, I was COLLINS 23.

My first radar site was JITNEY Control at Cape Charles Air Force Station, Virginia. My first computerized radar (SAGE: Semi-automatic Ground Environment) control site was BETWEEN Control at Norton AFB, California. During 1964-65 I served as Operations Officer and Second-in-Command at the Kotzebue, Alaska Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron – and became GRIDIRON 2. Then came SIDEWALK Control at Malmstrom AFB, Montana (1965-1967).

In 1972, someone at Military Personnel found out I knew how to control airplanes, and sent me to the Monkey Mountain radar site, near DaNang, Vietnam: callsign PANAMA Control. Later in Vietnam I was sent as commander to the radar detachment at Pleiku in the central highlands: as PEACOCK 1 (1 meaning commander).

After Vietnam, came a transfer to the Udorn Royal Thai Air Base Thailand, at MOTEL ALPHA Control as Battle Commander. Finally at Sembach Air Base, Germany, I was Operations Officer the MAROON Control mobile (rubber ducky) radar site.

The following are some excepts from my Vietnam Journal (“My Only War”) that illustrate how personal “callsigns” can be.

15 SEP 72: BEN 5 and BEN 12 have a near mid-air collision while POPEYE. The “Bens” were B-52 bombers on a bombing mission to Hanoi. POPEYE means zero visibility in the clouds. Another word for a B-52s was “BUF” (which I shan’t translate on Facebook).

17 Sept 72: CACTUS 03 gets smoke and fire in his cockpit and crashes. I phone BLUE CHIP (7^th Air Force in Saigon) and JACK Control the Rescue Coordinator. JACK sends KING 25 to the crash site in North Vietnam. DISCO, a C121 (a “CONNIE” airborne radar “Bird”) sees CACTUS. Pilots are rescued.

17 Sept 72 (Same day): NAIL 60 (a forward air control light plane) enroute from Thailand to DaNang loses an engine and goes down. NAIL 34, in trail of NAIL 60, radios us at PANAMA Control. KING 25 rushes to rescue, and JACK tells us all is A-OK.

24 Oct. 72: An aircraft landed on SCHOOLBOY (the USS Midway aircraft carrier) and its wheel came off. The resulting crash killed 4, with 8 missing, and injured 31. We sent JOLLY GREEN 65 and 71 to help.

7 Nov72: COACHMAN 121, a helicopter, is shot down in the jungle 40 miles south of us at PANAMA Control. VANGUARD 159, a U21 search plane, takes off on a search mission. KING 27 is scrambled from Thailand. JOLLY GREEN from DaNang helps. Crew is rescued at 10:30AM

22 Nov. 72 WAGONTRAINS B-52 BUFs fly up to North Vietnam on a bombing mission. FANG 72 becomes the first B52 of the war to be shot down by the NOVEMBER ZIPS (North Vietnamese). Aircraft was controlled by INVERT, a neighboring radar site. PANAMA control was an observer.

Some fighter escort planes (“birds”) had callsigns named after cars, i.e. BUICK, CHEVY, etc.

I thought it’d be nice for people to have some understanding of how personal callsigns can be. I suppose that nowadays my work callsign is REPRESENTATIVE. Whatever, the callsign I like best is when my wife Marlene calls me “HONEY,” except when it's “HONEY, did you take out the trash”?

THE ROSE PARADE AND SHERIFF’S BOYS BAND

The 123^rd annual Rose Parade today in Pasadena, California brings multiple memories. I marched in that five and a half mile parade six times with the then-well-known Sheriff’s Boy’s Band. Played the Buesher 400 alto saxophone – the same sax I play (though not often) today. One Rose Parade, however, I lugged and beat a big bass drum. That likely explains what’s wrong with my back today. In addition, I’ve several times attended the Rose Parade. I love a parade! I think my daughter Debra may have attended the parade today.

It’s sad that some four hundred rag-tag “Occupy” protesters thought it appropriate to follow behind the parade on Colorado Blvd. I can’t imagine how they think such stuff can benefit their “cause,” if they even know what their cause is. Whatever, this is America, and freedom of speech and freedom of assembly is a good thing.

I’m amazed the 2012 parade is today Monday, the 2^nd of January – because New Year’s Day fell on Sunday. Doesn’t seem quite right (I’m a traditionalist). Whatever, I hope one day our State of Alaska can join with other states with a rose covered float in the parade.

Photos show me in Sheriff’s Boy’s Band with Katherine Hepburn during filming of “State of the Union,” the whole band with badges and patch, and little young me when I first joined the band. The insert shows some band members with famed Los Angeles County Sheriff Eugene Biscailuz, who was my Grandfather (Deputy Sheriff) John Lynn’s boss.

Sheriff’s Boy’s Band Director Colonel Vesey Walker, and my sax instructor, later became the first bandmaster of Disneyland in California. Last time I saw Col. Walker was when I was a teacher and I worked a summer job at the photo shop at Disneyland. His son Tommy Walker was my baton-twilling instructor. Also known as “Tommy the Toe,” he was the USC Drum Major who – when necessary – changed from band to football uniform to become a placekicking celebrity. He also composed the well-known USC trumpet charge "Da da da DUT da DUH"! Tommy later directed the opening and closing ceremonies for three World Olympic Games. Colonel Walker and Tommy Walker, like the Sheriff Boy’s band, were a big influence during my teens.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012

My Resolution this year is to make NO resolutions, and to keep the one’s I didn’t make. Best wishes for a Happy and Blessed New Year 2012!

ATHIESTIC ZEALOTRY

In days of yore (like when I was a young man) we often engaged in friendly debates about religion in general, and Christianity in particular. There was the Catholic versus Protestant debate, debates about one Protestant denomination versus another, and yes, debates about atheism versus Christianity in general. In those ethnocentric American days, I don’t remember anyone at all discussing Islam, Buddhism, or other “exotic” religion. Yes, we talked about Jews - not so much about Judaism as a faith, but Judaism as it related to Christianity.

These debates were good learning experiences and memorable. Usually no one got too upset, believer or not. Especially not the agnostics who simply confessed, “I don’t know.” Typically they were “reverent agnostics,” but who “didn’t know but respected those who had faith and believed they did “know.” Most everyone in these bygone ad hoc debates had their opinions, but active anti-Christianity didn’t happen.

Not so today.

Nowadays, religious live-and-let-live is out the window. It’s not good enough to be an atheist. One has to attack and ridicule Christianity. Yes, thank God (apologies to atheists), Americans have our First Amendment Right to freedom of speech – OK if the free speech doesn’t go beyond the other’s fellow’s nose/ear. But a right, constitutional or not, doesn’t make that right proper, civil, or just plain “nice.”

In other words, if you don’t like Christianity, think it’s goofy, or the “opium of the masses” - whatever – why not just plain shut up? Anti-Christian atheists typically insist everyone be tolerant of behavior with which most Christians disagree. So how about atheist zealots practicing what they preach, and exercise a modicum of tolerance for the beliefs and opinions of people of faith. That includes “Merry Christmas” and Christmas trees.

Someone’s belief, or non-belief, about Christianity is no business but their own. There’s no excuse for vicious (and I might add “ignorant”) attacks on Christians of any variety. It seems many atheists think they are the most intelligent people in the room or on Facebook. Methinks that for every atheist with a high IQ, there’s likewise a Christian with an equal IQ. Learning, genius, and common sense aren’t limited to atheists.

It appears as if many atheists have entered a jihad against Christianity – similar in words at least – to radical Islamists against Jews. Extremism isn’t limited to religious zealots of whatever faith. There’s a new atheistic zealotry which itself is a “faith.”

Why do aggressive (could I say proselytizing) atheists spew their venom at Christians but are meek, mild, or silent when it comes to Jews and Muslims? Could it be Christians are wont to follow the admonition of “turning the other cheek” - thereby becoming self-actualizing doormats stepped on by every atheist aggressor in town?

In the words of the infamous Rodney King (religion unknown), “Can’t we all just get along?”