News- Paterno- Veterans Day

Well it has been some week , culmanating in the dismissall of Coach Joe Paterno . Penn State , sometimes known as happy valley , has been more like depressed and disallusioned . It is a sad state of affairs . Here is a man who gave 61 years to a university , was revered for his character , the shaping of boys to men . He is synonymous with the institution . He has raised coutless dollars , given much of his own money , and his name along with his wife is on the library . But the scandal will forever taint his legacy . It is said by the trustees of Penn State , that it was in the best interest of the university , that he be fired . They called him on the phone to deliver the news in curt fashion , after sending a courier to his house , telling him to call a number , like it was a episode of Mission Impossible . Within minutes 61 years down the drain, all the good forgotten . Coach Paterno by his own account said , in hindsight , he wished he would have done more .......Just a few thoughts , in 2002 , a graduate assistant comes to him along with his father , to tell Coach Paterno , that a man he has known for 35 years , was doing something with a young boy in the shower at the football facility . What actually , was Paterno told , was it horse play , or graphic details of molestation ? Did the coach , who holds loyality as one of his life tennents , think to himself , not Jerry , this is hard to believe . Should he have confronted his friend ? Should he have followed up , after reporting the conversation with the administaration ? Did he think this would all blow over ? When nothing happened , did he think it was a mis understanding ? Did he believe , that a man who was helping troubled youth , was doing something wrong ? Think about it , if someone came to you about a good friend  , with disturbing information , what would you do ? What we know for sure , is that Paterno reported it , but only learned of the graphic and serious nature , when he read the grand jury report . At that point he was horrified . But as they say , the horse was now out of the barn . A incident in 2002 , that comes to light in 2011 . The problem is that , it was not horse play , it was a man , who took advantage of children . His day in court [ Jerry Sandusky ] , will be December 7th , he claims innocense , as does the two officials that Paterno went too , with the complaint , the AD , and the V.P. of business affairs , the campus police was under his perview . Paterno , it is said did the legal right thing , but not the moral right thing . But different then the media reports to date , and the rush to judgement , I want the full story to come out before , we as a society , prosecute , a man Joe Paterno . Like the scandal with the catholic church , we have a hard time accepting , that men on the surface who appear good , do wrong . Like the church scandal , the cover-up was as bad as the acts themselves . My guess is that Paterno was not part of a cover up , but was maybe reluctant , or did not seem to think it was important to pursue matters further . Baby Boomers I will leave you with this thought on this subject , before covering a bit about Veterans Day . Do you remember , Franco Harris , Lydel Mitchell , John Cappaletti , Jack Ham , they all played for Joe Paterno . Thes are names Baby Boomers remember , from the time they were in high school . From that point to the present , Joe Paterno has been the role-model , of the way college sports was to operate . For 46 years as a head coach , ballplayers , played and did in fact graduate . They knew of the college experience , they found the library . Penn State was in fact , '" Success with honor " . As horrible as this set of circumatances are , let us not throw rocks , at a man who for 84 years , has done a lot of good for a lot of people . Could he have done more , in this situration , that is obvious , and Joe Paterno will have to live with that , but let us not completely diminish the man, until we either know all the facts , and let us also remember that the true villian here is Jerry Sandusky , a.k.a. , the predator [ allegedly ] .................. Finally today , tomorrow is Veterans Day . I am so happy to see that places like Applebee's and The Olive Garden and others , are going to once again feed veterans . The reason why this is worth mentioning , is because many who will take advantage of the offer , are Baby Boomers , who served in Vietnam , and which 20% , are said to be homeless . After World War II , we embraced the fighting man , who fought for are freedom . Today , we honor all that serve . When the soldiers came home from Vietnam , they were spit upon . They never got the respect they deserved . They were just the men who went and did the fighting , it wasn't there war . The anti-war sentiment was not there fault . These men are now old , who need help , and deserve our respect . So I applaud  all who raise a hand to help ............................