Featured Author: Dave Richardson

I am excited and honored to host Dave Richardson author of Vietnam Air Rescues His book recounts his experiences as an air force helicopter rescue pilot in Vietnam. In the following guest post he shares a glimpse of his very personal story and how his book evolved. If you are curious about some of the details and want to hear more from the man himself visit Dave Richardson's one hour interview hosted by Nikki Leigh on BlogTalkRadio.

How the Book Came to Be

I am, and always have been, an avid reader. In addition to spending a great amount of my time in reading, I constantly carry an 'emergency book' to fill in spare moments, so it probably was inevitable I should set down my experiences in writing. Reading was certainly a great diversion while I was in Vietnam.

This book has a somewhat convoluted history. I was a ‘Jolly Green’ combat rescue helicopter pilot in Vietnam in 1967-1968. When I finished my tour in Vietnam, I was assigned to Germany as a helicopter pilot flying VIP’s and light cargo.

While in Germany, our family participated in the Volksmarch program, which consisted of walks of varying length through the German countryside. Each participant who finished the route earned a souvenir medal. To pass the time while on these hikes I began relating my Vietnam experiences to my two older sons.

Thirty years after my last rescue, my second son, Craig, who was by then an Army helicopter pilot stationed in Korea, found an internet listing searching for me. With the connivance of my wife, he furnished my contact information to the requestors.

So it was that, on a Sunday afternoon, I received a call inquiring if I was ‘Jolly 09’. I was flabbergasted and asked who wanted to know. Turns out it was one of the ‘Sandy’ pilots (call sign of the fighters who provided armed escort for the helicopters), who said the Air Force had requested that the surviving participants of that rescue travel to Nellis AFB in Nevada to brief them on that mission.

I jumped at the chance and my wife and I traveled to Nellis. It was there that I met (under much more desirable circumstances!) many of the folks who had flown on my final mission. One of them was the survivor I had picked up. We began an on again/off again correspondence via email.

Having gotten the ball rolling, so to speak, Craig began pestering me to write down all those stories he and his brother had heard so many years earlier. I was reluctant to do this, however. It sounded like a lot of work. So, the project just faded away.

Shortly after this, I retired from my teaching job and my wife and I moved to Kansas where Craig and his family (with, at the time, our only grandchildren) resided. Craig began pestering me anew about writing a book, but I wasn’t interested.

Then, I received an email from the survivor of that last rescue. In it he jotted down the essentials of what had occurred; at least from his point of view. Intrigued, I wrote a counterpoint and found the task to be enjoyable.

I decided to attempt a written record of those events from so long ago. A key ingredient was my locating my old flak map and discovering that I had written down the dates and location of each rescue on the back. Then began a lengthy period wherein I would write down the particulars of each rescue, while Craig researched and produced maps from the grid coordinates I supplied. We were also able to scan and use the old pictures I had taken while over there.

We decided to produce our efforts on standard typing paper, bound with a ‘comb’ format. Since this would be a ‘legacy’ of sorts to my children, I was faced with the problem of what sort of format it would take. After much soul-searching, I decided to write my own (very unauthorized) history of the Vietnam War for their benefit.

My final format was as follows:

· An introductory letter to my (now 4) sons

· A Table of Contents

· The Unauthorized History

· A section, titled, ‘In the Beginning’, detailing day to day events in the life of a Jolly Green pilot not related to any specific rescue

· The Rescues, themselves

· A Section, titled, ‘Bits & Pieces’, relating non-rescue experiences I had

· A section, titled, ‘This Way to the Egress’, which closed out the narrative section

· A section, titled, ‘Jargon’, defining the military terms used

In January of 2003, we printed 10 copies under the title, ‘An Old Helicopter Pilot Remembers Vietnam’ on a laser printer and distributed them between the boys and myself. It had been fun, but I was glad it was over. This was the first edition.

Then, friends and other family members found out about this project and began requesting copies for themselves. Initially, I copied everything onto a CD and sent them to those who asked for one. I also added a few anecdotes which I had failed to include in the original version. This became the second edition.

The third edition came about when I discovered a method of producing your own paperback books. Determined to try it, I produced six copies, which included minor typographical changes. My experience was that, although producing your own paperback books is fun, it is also extremely time-consuming, so I once again resigned from the book writing business.

But that was not to be. After awhile, my eldest son, David, suggested that I produce the whole thing as an e-book. At first, I resisted this effort, but finally decided it was the way to get me out of the CD production business.

David insisted I change my ‘stogy’ title, so, after much thought, I renamed the book, ‘Vietnam Air Rescues’.

Producing the material in e-book form was a lot of work, but we finally got it ready. This became the fourth edition.

Once again, I ‘retired’ from the book business. Or, at least I thought I had. It wasn’t long before David came up with the idea of having an actual book printed and began bugging me to do just that.

As always, I was reluctant. I had heard horror stories about rejection notices and the general inability to get a private venture published. David countered these objections by locating several POD (Publish on Demand) companies.

So I embarked on yet another revision (#5) of my book. After looking at several POD publishers, I concluded that Amazon offered the best package through their CreateSpace program.

They offered exactly what I wanted, a no cost upfront, quality product with no minimum number of books required. They also provided a free, sales website.

I already had my own website (www.vietnam-air-rescues.com ) which I had developed after relying heavily on both David and son #4, Mark.

I decided that, if I was going to have a commercially published book, I needed to ‘shape it up’, so to speak. The first thing to change was the cover. I had produced my own cover for the earlier editions. It was OK, but I felt a new, commercially produced cover, was called for.

Therefore, I initiated a search for a cover designer that in the end turned international. Out of 18 submissions, I eventually picked a fellow in England who worked well with me and produced what I consider to be an outstanding cover.

Oddly enough, it was not what I originally envisioned. I had stipulated quite stringent guidelines for what I wanted. He sent me some great renditions following my instructions, but also included some of his own, ‘just for comparisons sake’. I was literally ‘blown away’. His concept was so much better than mine!

While all this was going on, I did some reformatting to fit a 6x9 inch book and added yet a few more anecdotes that I wished I had remembered for the earlier editions. I also decided to hire an editor. It wasn’t that I was unhappy with my writing; I just felt that ‘pride of authorship’ should be set aside and a set of ‘fresh eyes’ turned on it. The woman I eventually hired, through the assistance of my 3^rd son, Eric, was just what I wanted.

She managed to offer several ideas regarding formatting of paragraphs, etc. that have made the book what it is today. Best of all, she was careful to allow me to preserve my own style while making the changes. Perhaps her biggest contribution was to convince me that, if this was now to be a book for the general public, I just had to eliminate the references to ‘Mom’, ‘your brother’, the boy’s personal names, etc.

Since the book has appeared commercially, I have developed a 30-minute, multimedia program, which includes two snips of actual combat film of my rescues I had forgotten I had. I have presented this program to churches, civic groups and historical societies and remain available to do at request.

All in all, I have been the lucky recipient of advice from my wife and all 4 sons as I waded through the murky waters of authorship. People constantly ask me if remembering and committing to writing my combat experiences has been emotionally distasteful.

The answer is, “No”. I was fortunate in that my actions saved the lives of men who otherwise would have died or spent years in a prison camp as a POW. Thus, I feel I was spared the negative experiences of others who have had, perhaps, a much harder time coping with their memories.

In the book, I record an experience that occurred in 2004 when I was a speaker for the Vietnam Moving Wall display in Kansas. This type of emotional healing of others, including some who have told me they now can begin to understand what their husband, father, or brother went though is perhaps the true reason for this book. I don’t know. I didn’t plan it this way. It just happened.

Another plus for me while in Vietnam, and one I candidly feature in the book, is the fact that I am a Christian and I felt that God was assuring me that He would see me through. He certainly did.

Nikki Leigh Talks with Dave Richardson (Listen to the one hour interview on BlogTalkRadio)

Announcement: 8/25/08

Professor Cueto
teaching ENC 1101
MF 12:00-1:15 pm
Reference # 504176

2008-1

Class is new and no overrides needed.


See Syllabus and Course Outline
(click on ENC 1101 2008-1)

Your Linguistic Wardrobe by Prof. Stephanie Packer

Originally published February 2007, Reflections Magazine

“Proper English is the slang of prigs.”
--George Eliot

“What’s “proper English?’ For that matter, what’s a “prig?” The second question is easier to answer than the first – a prig was our great-grandparents’ slang for a nerd, more or less. And maybe the first question, though more complex, is not so hard to answer after all. “Proper English” – or proper French, Spanish, or Hindi – begins simply as the agreed-upon code of the upper classes in any given society. It’s the secret password to enter the clubhouse. It's how a given power group recognizes its members. That’s how such language patterns begin, anyway, and gradually filter down to other members of a society who, for whatever reasons, wish to gain entry to that clubhouse and get at the goodies.

You’ve probably heard the saying, “History is written by the winners.” What’s right and wrong, what’s correct and incorrect, is decided by those in power. Language is not much different. Language has little to do with morality and everything to do with power.

We can look at the notion of “proper” English in two broad categories – grammar and vocabulary. Grammar relates more to the overall pattern of sentence, vocabulary to choice of individual words or phrases. For example, the sentence “She don’t have no money” would not be deemed “proper” – standard – English, while “She doesn’t have any money” would. Both communicate the same meaning clearly, the non-standard form perhaps more clearly. But the first sentence would be deemed “wrong” and the second one “right.” Why? Just because. At some point in the past, that’s the way the people on top spoke, and though grammar does change over time, it doesn’t change quickly.

Vocabulary does. A non-standard word -- sometimes called slang – can come in and out of fashion in the space of one semester or can sometimes be longer-lived. For example, a “shorty,” slang for a child or woman, has been around for some time and is widely understood. On the other hand, a “ross,” a term one of my students and his friends used last semester to describe a girl who is easy or cheap, probably is not being used anymore and would be understood by few people if it were. In both cases, though, the slang works as a secret or not-so-secret password much as “proper” English functions in the wider world.

Grammar, dealing as it does with deeper language structures, is generally less the result of conscious choice, while vocabulary deals with more superficial language elements and is more easily changed. But both can be put on and off like clothing. It is not unusual to hear celebrities switch intentionally from “ghetto” to “bourgeois” and back again over the course of an interview. They’ve been around, and they have a varied linguistic wardrobe rather than one set of clothes for all occasions.

What’s in your linguistic wardrobe? Should you always speak “proper” English? A person interviewing for a job at MTV would probably speak and dress differently from that same person interviewing at American Express.

What are your goals? Can you reach them more easily by having different “looks” in your linguistic wardrobe?

No one can tell you the answers to these questions. Thinking about them can help you make choices that work for you.

Copyright Stephanie Packer

For the Love of the Games by Othniel Watson

Originally published in the October 2006 issue, Reflections Magazine

There are all types of sports, hockey, football, soccer, baseball, basketball, but if I keep on going I would probably be here all day. Everybody has some sort of gift from God which most of the time leads to sports. These are the Michael Jordans, the Tiger Woods, the Barry Sanders of the world. Those that don’t have God’s gift are the ones who love to watch, read and talk about sports: you know the fans, the press, the business people of the world. Sports is also a good type of exercise, for you can burn calories and stay in shape with the sport of your choice. Even if you are not good you can still go out and play the sport of your liking and get a good work out. Furthermore, sports are a big piece of our life especially mine. I love sports. My number one sport is football and my second is basketball.

I love sports especially football. This is the greatest game ever invented. I really like to play football. I am one of the best players in my neighborhood. My friends call me to come play with them. I am pretty excited when I touch the ball. I get my skills from people like Barry Sanders, Peter Warrik and Chad Johnson. Some even call me the next Terrell Owens. The biggest thing I bring to the game is my competitiveness. When I am not playing, I love to watch my favorite players play. Every once in a while I might bring out my Barry Sanders tapes just for fun. I make sure I catch all the Bengals’ games when ever they are on television. I have to see what Chad is going to do next. Also, I like to teach little kids about football. I like to watch the kids play and whenever they do something wrong, I show them the right way to do it. I just give them tips on little things to make them better players. They love to learn how I do my shakes; it’s funny when they try it. There are a lot of sports I like, but football is just number one to me.

Last but not least, basketball is my second favorite sport. Basketball games are very exciting. I really like the highlights of the games, the dunks, the crossovers and the blocks. The close games are the best ones to watch, especially the ones where anyone could win. I rather play basketball than watch it. I like to emulate the best player in the game, which is Allen Iverson. After every move or shot I take I always scream A.I. The last time I played organized basketball my team won the championship. My coach wanted me to play on his traveling team because he said I was really good and I had potential. I couldn’t play because I was too old, but he told me to keep working hard and playing basketball. I love to watch Iverson. I make sure I watch all his games that come on television. Everyone calls him a ball hog, but I just tell them when you are as good as he is you do what you have to do to win. My favorite moment in sports is when Iverson shook Jordan. That’s right. Iverson shook the best player ever to play the game. This is one of the biggest reasons I like to play basketball.

In conclusion, what ever sport you like is up to you. There is always going to be a sport for you, no matter what your skill is. You might just want to watch the sport you like. That’s ok too. God’s gifts towards sports are getting even better. For example, take a look at Reggie Bush and Lebron James. These guys are bigger, stronger and even faster than every one else. Even the little kids are rising above their age group. Remember whenever you need a little work out, you can look towards sports. Most people don’t like to exercise, but who doesn’t like a good game of baseball or basketball. Furthermore, sports are a big piece of our life especially mine. I love sports especially football and basketball.

The Habits of Masters

Originally published in August/September 2006 issue, Reflections Magazine

Students can master anything they propose but they need a plan or strategy. Early in the semester I talk with my students about the key to success. The key looks the same no matter your goal. Success comes from a set of habits and all masters adhere to them. I tell my students if they make four simple habits their own I guarantee their success in my course or any course they take even at the graduate level. Below I present the four habits of master students.

1. Attitude

Attitude affects success and failure. A negative attitude poisons and destroys possibilities. A positive attitude expands and opens the mind to learning. Your attitude causes a chemical reaction in your brain and negativity closes you to learning. You tell yourself, “I don’t want to be in this class” or “I don’t need to know this” and it happens. You don’t come to class and you don’t learn the material. Masters have positive conversations with themselves. It might sound like this. “Someone with more experience and expertise thinks I need to know this and wants to teach me-what a great opportunity. Few people on the planet will ever have this chance.” Positive thinkers say to themselves, “What I learn in this course will take me closer to my academic and professional goals.” Master students talk positively to themselves and it affects their attitude. They give thanks strangers built classrooms and designed courses for the betterment of students and all humanity. Decide to control your attitude and soon your life will change.

2. Focus

The less students do the more they accomplish. I know this sounds like a paradox. Humans work best when they focus on one thing at a time. When you start a course immediately focus on the goal or purpose of said course. Masters don’t allow distractions. They think about their goal constantly. They think about their course outside of class. They think about what their professors say and they relate what happens in class to the rest of their life. Unfocused students leave class and forget everything that happened because they have so many things to think about and academics equals just one of their many interests. They don’t focus on one thing so they can’t concentrate and thus can’t learn. I can detect the focused students in my course. Their cell phones never ring. They never have to leave or miss class and they ask difficult questions. Decide to focus on less stuff and soon you’ll learn more.

3. Effort

Many students tell me they want to learn but their actions prove otherwise. They miss class, arrive late, don’t do their homework or read anything and they seem to live by the motto: If at first I don’t succeed I’ll never try again. Master students prove themselves through their effort. They always try their best. They feel frustration when I give them difficult exercises in class but they focus and say, “If others learned to do this so can I.” They never sigh when I ask them to rewrite a composition or do research for homework. They want to rewrite their compositions a second or third time. They have a contagiously positive attitude that makes me want to teach. They help me focus on what’s important and not waste effort. Don’t tell your teachers you want to learn. Decide to show them through effort instead.

4. Intelligent Choices

These habits work together. It takes effort to develop a positive attitude. A positive attitude helps students focus and focus makes effort effortless. When you make the three habits above your own you’ve made intelligent choices. I sometimes ask my students for an example of an intelligent choice. Many intuit, “Good attendance.” The more focused answer, “Good attitude” or “Effort”. Students face many choices every day. Some students make unwise, unhealthy or even tragic choices. Some of my students had to abandon their studies because of bad choices. To make intelligent choices students must develop what Ernest Hemingway suggested to his student Arnold Samuelson, “A fail-proof crap detector.” Through the study of language, logic and history you can develop a detector to help you sniff out all the intelligent choices to live life the way you want. When you accumulate debt do you then live the way you want or the way the credit card owner wants? Decide intelligently and take control of your life. Learn to say no to a negative attitude, distractions, indolence and poor choices. These four habits will help you do well in any course. It’s that simple so don’t worry, be happy and learn.

Copyright Bert Lorenzo, 2006

Sleep More and Learn More

Originally published in July 2006 issue, Reflections Magazine

Many people excel at their chosen profession with very little sleep. Some of them claim they don’t have time to sleep. Others claim they don’t need much sleep. Biographers have written that Thomas Edison slept 45 minutes a day. He kept a cot in his lab and slept in 10-15 minute spurts throughout the day and awakened to a new invention. His neighbor Henry Ford slept four hours a day and changed the world. Dr. Eduardo Padron, president of Miami-Dade College, told Miami Herald reporter David Ovalle he can attend six commencement ceremonies in one day because, “I sleep very little.” The rest of us need a lot more sleep yet we don’t sleep enough.

You may need to sleep more if to awaken every morning you need an alarm clock. The right amount of sleep depends on the individual but experts recommend between six and nine hours daily.Many of the students I talk to want to do it all and with only 24 hours in a day few of them sleep enough. Some doctors say many college students suffer from chronic sleep deprivation.
Doctors at the Mayo Clinic define good sleep as enough sleep so that on the following day you feel alert and happy. Plus as I mention above you shouldn’t need an alarm clock to awaken you if you’ve slept enough.

According to Consumer Reports on Health only a third of college students in the United States sleep eight hours every night. Fifty percent sleep less than six hours. Ever since Edison gave us 24- hour illumination Americans have slept less and less.Darkness commands the brain to sleep but now it’s hardly ever dark. At night, in the darkness, the pineal gland in the brain discharges melatonin a hormone that tells our brain it’s time to sleep.

People who sleep less than six hours have a 1.5 greater chance of death than those who sleep the recommended amount. However, keep in mind that those who sleep more than nine hours have a 2.5 greater probability of death. Thus you need to find the right amount for you. Good sleep (together with exercise and proper diet) constitutes the third essential component in a long, healthy life. Students who don’t get enough sleep deteriorate and age quickly. In other words they run out of fuel fast because sleep refuels the body.

How can you tell if you need more sleep? College students with symptoms of sleep deprivation have poor concentration, reflexes, memory and dry skin. These college students also find it difficult to learn, solve intellectual problems and write. They often feel tired and irritable. They have a bad temper and lack a sense of humor but worse they endanger themselves and the rest of us. More than 500,000 people every year fall asleep at the wheel and crash. Many college students work nights so they sleep even less and are even more dangerous on the road. Medical researchers see a correlation between sleep deprivation and illnesses like diabetes. Plus, you compound any illness when you weaken your immune system through a lack of sleep. If you awaken more tired than when you went to bed, if you yawn often, if you feel tired all day, if you always need the alarm clock and if you sleep away half the weekend you may need to change your sleep habits.

Increase the amount you sleep and you increase your ability to succeed in college. It’s that simple so don’t worry, be happy and learn

Copyright Bert Lorenzo

8 Tips to Increase Your Vocabulary

Originally posted June 2006, Reflections Magazine

You must increase your vocabulary if you want to increase your powers of reason and communication and if you want to reach the top levels in your future profession. Company presidents, vice-presidents, executives, inventors and successful entrepreneurs tend to have broader vocabularies than those below them. My students often ask me how best they can increase/expand their vocabulary. Below I present eight tips that might help you become a wordsmith and succeed at anything you propose.

1. Read-Read-Read
My students often say reading when I ask them to mention ways to increase vocabulary. I agree with them but I disagree when they say we should read whatever as long as we read. Vocabulary increases when we read challenging material-material above our heads- not when we read the familiar. We must discriminate when we decide to read to better ourselves. Seek reading lists compiled by literary critics. These lists usually include titles of very difficult books. Some critics call these books classics because of their timeless themes. The critic Harold Bloom compiled what I consider one of the best lists ever and so did Mortimer Adler. Look into those.

2. Intelligent Conversation
People of superior intelligence generally possess superior vocabularies so seek them and learn from them. Longfellow once wrote, “A single conversation across the table with a wise man is better than ten years’ study of books.” Go out of your way to meet and talk with as many gifted and informed people as possible. When they use unfamiliar words interrupt them and ask what those words mean. This tip has an ancillary benefit. In intelligent conversation you can use the new words you learn and intelligent people will understand and appreciate your wealth of words.

3. Broaden Your Experiences
Often we find comfort in the familiar. To increase your vocabulary, however, I suggest you get out and develop an interest in everything. Learn a new hobby. Every endeavor has its own vocabulary. Scuba diving has its own vocabulary as do tennis, gardening, model building. I consider word games like crossword puzzles the most beneficial hobby to increase your vocabulary. Don’t just practice a hobby, however. Read about it as well or join a club. Then you can practice your hobby and talk to knowledgeable people about it. Travel even if just around South Florida and visit the tourist attractions. You will increase your appreciation of this beautiful area and increase your vocabulary. How many of you have toured the lighthouse at Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park for example?

4. A History of Words
You can’t learn something if you don’t develop an interest in it. Develop an interest in word origins. Use this as motivation to increase your vocabulary. Etymology means the study of word/linguistic history. When you learn where words come from you start to understand how words function and you develop an appreciation for their beauty and power.

5. Never Fear Words
Words become part of you through repetition. When you discover a new word force yourself to use it in conversation and in your compositions. You will remember words more easily if you don’t fear them and immediately use them after you hear or read them. This tip has an ancillary benefit. It forces you to think critically because you must find ways to fit new words into your conversations and compositions.

6. Read the Dictionary
Good dictionaries give more than multiple word definitions. They give alternate spellings, synonyms, antonyms, parts of speech, word origins and much more. Invest in a good dictionary and learn to get the maximum benefits form it. Once you recognize the importance of dictionaries you’ll enjoy reading them. If you take the time to read the introductory material in a good desk dictionary you’ll discover much useful information. For example, The American Heritage Dictionary has articles on language, culture and American heritage and debates on language between William F. Buckley, Jr. and Geoffrey Nunberg.

7. Be on the Lookout
To learn new words you must first find new words. Stay alert in conversation so you can hear unfamiliar words. This tip has an ancillary benefit. It helps you become a better listener- the most important of all communication skills. Always try to read with your dictionary at hand. If you ignore the foreign words when you read why read?

8. Stay Motivated

None of the above works unless you do it. If you don’t have a natural interest in words you must create an artificial interest. Remember no one learns without motivation.

These tips or habits will help you increase your vocabulary. It’s that simple so don’t worry, be happy and learn.

Copyright Bert Lorenzo