I received a phone call from my classmate, Walter Cunningham, Musical Director for the Dartmouth College Gospel Choir & Chicago One Accord asking for my assistance in helping to find housing for about 20 members of his Chicago portion of the choir on January 18th & 19th. I can probably house about 6-8 of them, but am looking for a few more houses (preferably in the Baltimore, Columbia, Ellicott City side of town in order to keep them close to each other). They will have their own transportation. See the message below.

I am delighted to share with you the invitation that the Dartmouth College Gospel Choir received from the Presidential Inaugural Committee to perform at the Welcome Breakfast for the Inaugural Finance Committee. The brunch is scheduled for January 18, 2009 from 8:30 to 10:30. It has not been officially announced which makes it difficult to determine whether the public can attend. Upon availability of more info I will share it with you. 

I also want to reach out the West Point community to see if there might be the possibility to receive assistance around my group’s housing needs. I am looking for host families. We will need housing for the evenings of January 18 and 19. While my students will be staying with Dartmouth sponsors, members from my Chicagoland group, also performing, will need a place to stay as well. At this point I am talking about 10 to 15 members. I personally vouch for the integrity and respectful nature of all individuals that would be staying with in the various host families.

 

As always thank you Lisa for assisting me with this endeavor and please forgive the last minute nature of such a request in that I just received the formal invite 36 hours ago and was just given the permission to disseminate the information. Of course it is such a joy to share the news of this once in a lifetime opportunity with the West Point Community.

I previously wrote about the Benefit being held for my friends, Kevin & Liz Houston (click link to read all entries). Liz was suffering with Scleroderma – a chronic autoimmune illness involving the body’s connective tissue. We went to the benefit on March 1st of 2008 (click here for the details and pictures).

Liz went Home to God on January 3rd at 4:00pm. She is truly going to be missed.

To all my ‘87 friends & classmates —

I am deeply saddened to inform you that Liz Houston, wife of our classmate Kevin Houston, passed from this earth just after 4:00PM, today, January 3, 2009. Liz had been receiving treatment at St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital since Tuesday night; the result of complications stemming from a bout of pneumonia she bravely and heroically battled until she succumbed to it’s cumulative effect late this afternoon. Many of you are aware that she was stricken with the insidious scourge of the affliction, scleroderma; a debilitating connective tissue disease that attacks the organs of the body. She gamely fought its effects since being diagnosed in May of 2004, and managed to inspire all of us with a positive outlook, an infectious enthusiasm for the “battle” to beat the disease, and unconditional love for family and friends blessed enough to have been in her life.

Kevin, though dealing with the most difficult of circumstances, has rallied around their three children, and along with an ever burgeoning support network of family and friends, has begun the arduous process of pressing forward without his soulmate, his partner for some thirty years, and the beautiful girl who he began seeing while they were both sophomores at Pearl River High School in 1979. Their abundant love and respect for each other was truly inspirational to those of us lucky enough to catch some of its powerful reflection.

The family has been deeply appreciative of all the love, support, and assistance provided by not only the c/o of ‘87, but from many other members of the Long Gray Line, as well. Our collective efforts as an
extended “family” are another of the myriad of qualities that make West Pointers a unique brand of lifetime comrades; there for each other during conflict, as well as in times of peace and prosperity.

Please keep the Houston Family in your thoughts and prayers.

With heavy heart,
James Gagliano.

Steve Walsh and I attended the ceremony for LTG Scott on 5 January 2009.  (If someone else was there and we did not see you I apologize up front).  Enclosed you will find a copy of the program, a picture of the flowers the class sent, and a picture of LTG Scott on the Mule.  The ceremony was fabulous.  The church was extremely large and was almost filled to capacity.  Of course his class was the most represented (Class of 1948) and there was extremely large representation from every class that had him as a Supe.

I am indifferent about our apathy. Unlike some among our ranks I truly enjoy our forum. Even the most trivial topics keep me interested. I feel I can ask questions on any topic and rely on the expertise and diversity of our class to fulfill my curiosity. There is one query I have yet to get addressed. Why is our class the apathetic class? Do we really not care about our Alma Mater? Why is our participation in class gifts so low? Do we believe we are owed something from our experience? Are we still trying to fight the system and pave our own path along the Long Gray Line? Please hear me out. If I can change one person’s mind I will feel a lot better about my rant.

My experience at West Point certainly does not define me, but it is an integral part of who I am. Is it the great education that makes us apathetic? Is it the great leadership training we got? Why can’t we all look beyond that? Here is why I am done with our Apathy. While I wasn’t a Gray Hog by any stretch of the definition, I can not help but feel the tug of that Long Gray Line. There are so many things that changed my apathy; here is what makes me un-apathetic. I know on any given day, if I am in dire straights and need help I can pick up the phone, call some West Point friends and get help. I also know I would eagerly respond to getting a similar phone call. Every time I see the number Seven I think, ”What the hell rhymes with seven other than heaven and leaven?” Every time I see a bottle of Tabasco sauce, I think of Linc Haynes, plebe year standing on the chair during dinner yelling, “Sir, would anyone else care for the Tabasco Sauce?”.then drinking the entire bottle so we could “Fall out” and actually eat a complete meal on a B-1 table. Every time my daughter has to write an essay for her High School classes I think, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Every time I channel surf and see a Lumber Jack competition on ESPN 2 I think, “What the hell were they thinking in I- 4?” When I see Ghostbusters I think – Theta Goat. When I see pop up sprinklers, I think homecoming. When I take family and friends to West Point for a game I point to Washington’s statue and say that horse’s balls used to be shined with Brasso all the time. When I see MOTRIN I think of Airborne School. We all of put our standard issue MOTRIN into a pile so we could give it to Rudy Estevez who obviously broke his foot on the first jump and did not want to get recycled. He made all the runs, Ron Lewis and I sandwiched him between us and threw him out of the plane four additional times.Dynamite Parachute Landing Fall SGT Airborne! Every time I see Black Hawk Down I yell, “Jim Yacone was my roommate!” When I see Snoopy, I think of my Beloved Flying Circus. When I see cheerleaders I want to yell, “pass her up”. When I see pound cake I want to cut it into seven equal pieces using dental floss. I think of the controlled burn being the only time I “smoked” pot. I think of the dumb ass Air Force pilots who LITERALLY blew us off the runway on the way to Colorado for the football game by starting the engines of the C141 ahead of us while we were still loading up the planes in back. When I look in my sock drawer, I smile.they don’t. I think of being challenged to a pull up contest by a general. But most of all, I think of all of you reading my rant. Why are we the apathetic class? I’m sick of hearing that! Only 18% participation? Come On!

NOTHING COOL RHYMES WITH SEVEN! Our motto is Our Country We Strengthen! I have always felt I had a rendezvous with destiny. It’s not just me, we all do. Whether we continue to actively serve our nation (God Bless you all and your families) or have chosen to pursue other goals, our time to live up to that motto is now! From now on I am indifferent about our apathy. I will support our class and its gift to our Alma Mater. To all my C-2 friends – expect a call, because I am going to push you also. I hope you all do the same. There, I am off my soap box and ready to talk about the damned football team again, but first tell me what makes you un-pathetic?