I was bored to tears surfing the channels and I stumbled upon the wake and memorial service for Sargent Shriver, who died this past Tuesday at the age of 95.

Sargent Shriver was the first director of the Peace Corps, running mate to George McGovern in 1972, husband to Eunice Kennedy Shriver, and so forth.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver was the sister to John F. Kennedy, of course, and founder of the Special Olympics. In addition the Shrivers had 5 accomplished children, and 19 grandchildren, so it looks like the legacy of public service will go on for a few more generations.

The service was really amazing and can be seen on C-Span here:

Service for Sargent Shriver Jan 21, 2011

In addition to the eulogies given by George McGovern, Christopher Dodd and Bill Moyers, one of the things that really struck me was the end when Maria Shriver and her 4 brothers got up. They referred to their parents as Mummy and Daddy. It was pretty cool. (I used to cal my dad ‘Sir’)  Anyway, at the end Timothy Shriver recited some of his father’s thoughts that he dictated to his son one day over lunch later in his life. The full text that appeared in the eulogy program is below.

In part, he said:

‘I believe in faith, hope and love.
I believe that they have the greatest power.’

The legacy of Sargent Shriver is his great faith, his love of a woman, and the fruit of a marriage that produced these 5 amazing children, and throw in the Peace Corp and Special Olympics.  That’s what I’d call a power couple.

To find out more about the children of Sargent and Eunice Kennedy Shriver:

The Most Likable Kennedys

I AM A MAN

I am a man who was born and has tried to live committed to being open to all people, no matter their differences in nationality, race, religion, or geography.
I am a man who is full of energy and health.
I am a man who takes his responsibilities seriously. I am committed to doing everything I can to succeed.
I am a man who is original and creative.
I am a man who is unencumbered by the past and by existing hierarchies. I feel free to invent.
I believe the world was and is created by God. I believe the world is good beyond description.
I believe that we human being who seek life, liberty and pursuit of happiness do so because God has given us these things. They are a gift.
I believe that we have a responsibility to God to do whatever we can to do good things for people, especially the poor.
I believe in ideals. I believe that world can be better if only we focus on achieving our ideals.
I believe that any failure to achieve our ideals should only result in rededication to them.
I believe in faith, hope, and love. I believe that they have power.
Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr.
Washington, D.C. 2002

And lastly, as I was poking around, I found some really cool photos that I’d like to share:

I woke up on this beautiful summer day and decided to read the full text of the declaration. It is truly an amazing statement and always leaves me with the question: ” What were they thinking?”

I mean to go up against the 900 pound gorilla of the day, and actually pull it off, is truly one of the great stories in human history.

I’ve posted it on my site, HERE, and below is my short summary using the document’s actual prose. …”we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”  WOW! When’s the last time you heard something like that?

In Congress, July 4, 1776

The unanimous declaration of the thirteen United States of America

WHEN in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another…

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

…we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

I have a friend who once advised me that one should make all of one’s major life decisions in a cemetery.  I’m not sure if I entirely buy that, but I must admit that I have always been drawn to them.

Over the school April vacation, Sam and I made a trip down to the DC area via Gettysburg. I also got a chance to visit my parents gravesite at Arlington, so actually most of the time that I was not visiting with family, I was at the cemetery, It did generate some thoughts.

Sacrifice:

You can’t help but be struck by the sacrifice that past generations have made for this country. It is truly amazing and humbling. There is an amazing story of sacrifice here on one of our last trips to DC for Mom’s funeral service. A young man, just out of college killed in Vietnam just weeks about his wife’s first pregnancy.

Humility:

The Gettysburg Address is generally considered one of the jewels of American prose. The keynote speaker of the day, Edward Everet, was an amazing orator and was a Secretary of State, Congressman, Senator, President of Harvard, and Governor of Massachustts. Lincoln only spoke for two minutes at the end (Everett spoke for over 2 hours!) and most people were not even aware that he was there much less delivered a speech.

Everett wrote Lincoln a note after the speech and immediately knew what had happened. In part, he wrote:  “I should be glad, if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes.”

Now that’s amazing humility and recognition of that is now considered a given, but at the time, not so much.

Bronze statue of Lincoln at Gettysburg National Park

Recently, I took a trip down to the end of Pope Street here in Hudson to visit the Agape Cafe. The Cafe is a weekly event held at the Methodist Church to provide food and fellowship to those in need in our community. I met a great group of committed volunteers who serve up this opportunity each and every week. To watch the video and find out more about the Agape Cafe, go to: Serve in Town.

Btw, the word agape means the love of God for mankind.

CLICK to go to 'Serve in Town' to see the video

Last night, I went up to the Town Hall to see an Irish music concert and to do a video profile a local organization for the community service website: Serve in Town. The concert featured Kate Chadbourne and the Irish Music Guy and was sponsored by the Arts Alliance. The Arts Alliance is a local organization that promotes activity in the arts in the surrounding area.

While there, I met Judy Faust, who as capturing the video for local access and she had some interesting stories of her own.

To find out more about Judy’s projects go to: What’s Your Story?