Geronimo - Apache Leader

The name "Geronimo" is actually a name given to this Apache leader by the Mexicans he spent most of his life fighting. It's a reference to the Mexican pleas for Saint Jerome in a battle where Geronimo repeatedly attacked the Mexicans with a knife, ignoring a constant hail of bullets. Geronimo's Chiricahua Apache name is "Goyathlay."

Geronimo was a ruthless warrior, perhaps with good reason, as his entire family (wife, three children and mother) were murdered by Mexicans during a raid in 1851. For the next 25 years, he led ragged bands of Apaches in the mountains in the Arizona Territory until finally surrendering to US Calvary in 1886. He went on living in captivity, even appearing in Theodore Roosevelt's inaugural parade, until he died in 1909 at the age of 79. After his capture, he was never allowed to return to his homelands. He was to eventually take on most of the white man's ways, including a conversion to Christianity.

One man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist. Geronimo (and most Apaches for that matter) weren't above the torture and killing of innocents themselves. If you have time, you should listen to Dan Carlin's excellent podcast "Apache Tears"- at http://www.dancarlin.com/hhpage1.asp Look for show number 19. Carlin calls the Apache the "tigers of the human species" with good reason.

The sketch above is from a widely available photo of Geronimo taken shortly after his surrender (1887). I don't know about the sketch, but the photo certainly shows Geronimo's ferociousness, madness... maybe even a hint of sadness or hopelessness. I hope I've captured at least a bit of that here.

Seagull

Some people consider them "flying rats", but I've always been a fan of seagulls. Maybe it's the result of reading "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" at a young age.

Vehicle Memories - 1975 AMC Pacer

In the 70s, my parents bought a brand new AMC Pacer. Shortly after, my grandfather bought the same car in a maroon “wagon” model. Back then, it was just about the coolest thing ever. I understand that now these cars are so retro they are cool again… icons of 1970s design.

The Pacer was shaped like a big goldfish bowl on wheels, or, as my cousin once said, “it looks like a goldfish bowl with farmer’s over-alls on.” The “over-all” straps were the support beams that ran down the hatch-back.

Bright sunshine yellow, with a tan vinyl interior, you couldn’t confuse this car in a parking lot with any other car. It had huge bucket seats for the driver and passenger. The back seat was kind of an after-thought, and folded down to maximize the storage space for the hatchback.

Vehicle Memories - 1966 Ford F-100

1966 Ford F100.

I’m kind of guessing on the year here. The body style of the 1966 seems right.

In the early to mid 1970s, my dad got an older Ford F-100 and fixed it up. I’m not sure of the original color of the truck... it might have been a dark army green, but my dad painted it minty green.

I remember riding around town in the back of this truck with my brothers, cousins, dogs, etc.

That’s another thing you never see these days… kids (or anyone for that matter) riding around in the back of a pickup truck. But in the 70s and 80s, it was a fairly common sight… trucks hurtling down the interstate freeway with the back of it full of kids… sitting on the edge of the pickup bed.

Vehicle Memories - 1970 Suzuki 100 cc

My first motorcycle was a Suzuki 100 cc. I bought it from my older brother for $125. He had beaten the crap out of it, including once running over a neighbor's dog. The dog accident launched him over the handlebars ala Evil Knievel. He tore all the skin off of his palms as he skidded across the pavement. The poor dog died.

After that, I was surprised that my parents let me buy the cycle from him.

As a result of the dog accident, the handlebars never really lined up perfectly, but I didn’t care.

I used to run the bike in the woods around the tiny airport north of our house, much to the chagrin of the airport people, who never caught me. I also used to ride this motorcycle around the Crex Meadows for hours on end, exploring all of the dirt paths and gravel roads in that massive nature area.

Vehicle Memories - 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88

My first car was a 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 hardtop coupe. I bought it from a great aunt for $500 when I was 15. My entire sophmore year, I took auto shop and spent dozens of hours grinding off rust and replacing large sections with fiberglass and Bondo.

For my 16th birthday, my dad painted it cherry red. It had bench seats, a massive trunk capable of smuggling about 6 teenagers into a drive-in, and an enormous 350 eight cylinder engine. I put in a smokin' eight track tape player and some kickin' speakers in the back.

One time, I got it up to 110 mph on a long country road. It was a very scary couple minutes.

When I joined the Army in 1983, I sold it to a local kid for $200. I'm sure he didn't love it as much as I did.

Bill Gates

OK... some people would seriously cringe at having Bill Gates on the same page as intellectual giants like Nikola Tesla and Albert Einstein, but here's why he's here. No one can doubt his influence on the birth and life (thus far) of the computer. But perhaps more important to humanity will be the impact of his charitable organization, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

As of last year, the foundation had an endowment of $34 billion dollars, making it the largest transparently operated charity in the world. To maintain it's classification as a charity, it must give away at least 5% of its assets every year. It focuses its efforts on the eradication of disease and reaction to disasters on a global scale.

Say what you want about Bill G. and Microsoft Windows, but history will probably recognize him as the most important philanthropist that ever lived.