A521.3.4.RB_LarsonKurt, Personal-Reflection

The Christmas Television

My family and I grew-up in the suburbs of Chicago. In the spring of 1967 my Father who worked for Illinois Bell in Chicago, went on strike for several months. He would do odd jobs like tend bar and paint houses with his striking colleagues, my Mother went back to work as a dental assistant. They both did this as a way to make ends meet and too see that we had food on the table and cloths on our backs.

Toward the coming of Christmas season that year our families only television, a black and white console had finally died. My Father who was extremely good with electronics and has passed that trait along to my brother and I, could no longer keep the old TV operating. We were given the option of going with-out or going to Sears and purchasing a scratch and dent TV which would be the family Christmas present that year. Of course we chose the latter of the two choices.

I remember to this day going to Sears and picking out another black and white TV with channel dials and a small crack on the back left hand corner of the set. My brother and I thought it was an adventure just going to Sears and look at all the stuff they had. We never contemplated that we were in any way poor or underprivileged… because we were not.

The moral of this is simple… my Brother and I have never forgot the lesson we learned from that point in our lives, which is to never take for granted what you have and do what is necessary to provide for your family in good times and when they get a bit rough. This is something we as parents have passed on to our children as well in one form or another.

The Family Vacation

Like the previous story stated, I grew-up in the suburbs of Chicago where my parents did what was necessary to make ends meet and provide for the family. We were not rich, yet we were not poor either.

It was the summer of 1972 and we were going to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula for a family vacation with my Aunt and Uncle and all my Cousins. I remembering traveling on our vacation in the family Pontiac tempest, a four door car that my brother and I would sleep in the back seat at times while we went to the drive-in movies near our home.

We also slept in the back seat as my parents slept in the front seat at night during out trek to Michigan’s U.P. I at the time thought it was real cool to sleep in the back seat of the family car in a Sinclair gas station complete with a life-size replica of the Sinclair Dinosaur nearby. I remember going in my Uncles speed boat on Lake Superior and exploring an old manufacturing plant that used to produce Ford cars and trucks.

Much like the previous story, my brother and I learned to never take anything for granted and to be appreciative of what you have. Also it is the little things in life that are the most important… like remembering the dinosaur at the gas station, or the look in the eyes of our daughter as my wife and I tell her stories like these of our childhood, and how much fun we had. It truly is a rite of passage, passing on these little lessons of life to her.

She in her own way appreciates the sacrifices we as parents make as a labor of love, and our decision making process when we weight-in needs vs. wants and what needs to be cut out of the family budget.

My wife and I indirectly make these decisions based upon our upbringing and do make these decisions with-out remorse, as we are grateful we have the capability to freely make these decisions… something that is also passed on to our little girl.

Kurt,        

A521.2.3.RB_LarsonKurt, Danger of Stories

Chimamanda Adichie: The danger of a single story. 

Chimamanda uses several episodes from her own life's story to deliver her powerful message.

From the start or “secondly” as described by Chimamanda, she told her story not from the perspective of impoverishment or destitute, but from a position of how it defined who she is as a person.

Telling the Right Story:

Sparking action – She discusses how her early reading were British and American children’s books. And that that was all she knew, so, her illustrations and stories were all about Caucasian, blue eyed children who played in the snow, ate apples and drank ginger beer. But later in life her travels proved otherwise and she even succumbed to her own stereotypes while traveling abroad in America and Mexico.

Communicating who you are – The above has demonstrated exactly how impressionable and vulnerable we may become as a result of only hearing one side of the story or a singular version.

Transmitting values – Much like Chimamanda describes the unintended consequences of believing that people of color like her could not be in books. Her discovery of African literature sparked the notion that the single story is inaccurate.

While in the Air Force flying in and out of Africa. I would have the occasion to work with Africans of various regions. When they found out I was from the Chicago area, the immediate question would be… did I know Al Capone? Again, the single story works both ways.

Communicating whom the firm is… branding - Chimamanda describes how she fell to the notion of the single story while in America and Mexico, looking at the volatile immigration issue as a single story. She succumbed to the idea that the immigration problems are strictly synonymous with Mexicans fleecing the U.S. health care system, sneaking across the border and getting arrested.

Of course she is accurate in her analysis… she left out terrorists, drug, arms and human traffickers using the Mexican border as a freeway. Her guilt in this case is unfounded.

     

Fostering collaboration - Chimamanda describes her time in Guadalajara simply watching people going about their daily business of working, cooking, smoking and laughing much like her militarily repressive government of Nigeria. The people of Guadalajara also show an impressive resilience that has thrived despite government and not because of it.

Taming the grapevine – Chimamanda is a very proud and noble individual who is not taking herself too seriously that she cannot enjoy a bit of laughter at her expense. Like showing her roommate her collection of “tribal music” that in reality was a Mariah Carey collection. Or about her flight on Virgin Air and Africa being referred to as a country, along with India and other countries.

Sharing knowledge – Her methodology of describing how a student believed all Nigerian men were physical abusers. And how she enlightened the student referring to a book she had recently completed called “American Psycho” depicting young Americans as serial killers. This apparently changed more than a few minds and outlook on differing countries in comparison to the US as example.

Leading people into the future - Chimamanda discusses her joint-venture with her Nigerian published called “Farafina Trust” a vision of building libraries and refurbishing existing libraries and providing state schools with books. She also discusses how books and stories can be utilized toward dispossess or maligning… they can also be utilized to empower, humanize and repair a broken dignity.

Telling the Story Right:

Style – Chimamanda does her self and her story justice through her direct yet sincere, plain and simple style. The audience could put themselves in her shoes and see their own mortality through her eyes. She used no props except her delivery, tone and inflection of her voice.  

 

Truth – everything Chimamanda presented could be verified or is common knowledge, which has been acknowledged through various avenues.   

Preparation – She was extremely well prepared to tell of her plight and learning experiences of her native land and her adopted one, including visitations of different countries that share the same or similar plights. She was somewhat spontaneous and chooses well the shape of her story and it was apparent she did not wander too far from the itinerary.

Delivery - Although she did remain behind the podium, Chimamanda was instrumental in her gestures, and her lively manner in-which she connected with her audience.  She was extremely comfortable and relaxed during her delivery, taking occasional moments of humor in her story telling.   

  

A521.1.4.RB_LarsonKurt

My agency the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA,) is based upon naval and marine tradition. Many members both Civilian and Corp. Officer are either retired military or former military, so tradition to military customs and courtesies are not a stranger to most of us. 

As a retired Air Force member, I am accustomed to working with service members from other organizations and countries. So it would be natural out of respect and curiosity to learn about the differing customs and courtesies of my brother and sister services, and those of countries we are aligned with. In some respects it is like high school rivalry and in others it is a time proven manner from which those of a differing nation or branch of service find commonality, alliance and compassion with each other.

It was an honor to have served in the military for almost a quarter of a century, and to have served with some of the most dedicated and patriotic individuals on the planet. It was also an honor, privilege and at the same time heart wrenching and solemn experience to have placed the caskets containing the remains of fallen service members on my aircraft, for their final ride home. Although I did not personally know these individuals, they are my brothers and sisters who have fallen during the call of duty. They are the true hero’s… I often bear the burden of survivor’s remorse having transported these service members back to the United States to their families.  

I say this as NOAA is a service based organization that is located at MacDill AFB, FL. When a fallen service member is transported to MacDill for their final ride home to their family. We as an organization will line-up with all other organizations and units on the base, along the route to pay our respects to a fallen comrade. 

There are those with-in who never having served in the military, do not understand the custom or courtesy as retiree’s like myself do. We simply nudge them and at times geode them to participate and stand as close to attention as they can when the motorcade passes by. In hopes that in some small way the sacrifices and ultimate price these Americans paid, will rub off on them and they will understand that freedom is never free.

Kurt E. Larson, MSgt USAF (Ret.)