Many of you don't know that my Grandfather is a Gator. After WWII where he served as a radioman/navigator on C47s on loan to the USCG from Pan Am Airways (very cool stories about flying planes full of gold out of Miami to Brazil and Cuba bringing back planes full of rubber among other raw materials, but rubber being the primary good...I'll share those someday) he returned and enrolled at UF in engineering school.

On the first day of classes he was faced with an immediate test that perplexed him. None of the test material was relayed in advance, and in a class populated with many returning soldiers/airmen, the test angered the elder of the students. My Grandfather approached the instructor and questioned the timing and content of the test. After a fairly terse discussion the instructor advised my Grandfather that he had been instructed to find a way to "cull the herd" ASAP....that the president had instructed the school of engineering to fail as many students as possible because it was believed that at all universities nationwide there was going to be a "glut" of engineers; too many for the workforce to accomodate.

 My Grandfather took that to mean the directive was that of the president of the United States. And his opinion was echoed in reports all over the nation. This really stuck in his craw and still bothers him today. He persevered and continued, but was always bothered by this because, as you know, leading into WWII there was a severe lack of qualified if not gifted engineers in the US. Lo and behold, the same situation occured not far in the future as engineers were desperately needed as the Korean Conflict heated up and the Cold War set in.

I found this fascinating conversation as I had dinner with my Grandparents last week when I passed through Athens.

I post this not so much for the reason of raising the question of whether or not he was correct in his assessment of the possible direction of President Truman, but to remind us to take advantage of the historical perspective we can get from The Greatest Generation. At 37 I am so incredibly fortunate to have my maternal grandparents still living. Living well, in fact as I am looking foward to fishing with Grandad soon, and God willing another year of bowhunting with him (yes, he's 87 and still draws 65# on his bow).

I wanted to post this yesterday but didn't have a chance. Love 'em and listen to 'em folks. His stories of growing up in Athens during the depression are unbelievable. The homemade .22 that fed his family for years is in my gunsafe and is my most prized posession in many ways.