Written by Kitch Loftus-Mussari
Photographs by Kitch Loftus-Mussari
Copyright Mussari-Loftus Associates, LTD 2013
All Rights Reserved

It was a glorious September afternoon when the buses pulled up to the luncheon tent at the historic Eisenhower Farm in Gettysburg. This is the place Ike and Mamie called home. It was their refuge from the pressures of public life, and it was the place where President Eisenhower hosted several important meetings including his much publicized September 1959 visit with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev.

The Medal of Honor recipients and their families stepped off smartly and headed into the pavilion where tables were beautifully decorated to fit the occasion. On their way, the recipients stopped to return the salutes they received from a voluntary honor guard of six Navy Junior ROTC cadets from North Plainfield High School in New Jersey.

Waiting to welcome the recipients was a group of Wounded Warriors from Virginia. Wearing bright red shirts, they huddled together in back of the tent. They gave testimony to the scars of war and their determination to rebuild their lives. There was a quiet dignity about these young veterans. For me, watching them interact with heroes from World War II, Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan was one of the most compelling moments of day.  

In many ways, the atmosphere of the luncheon was just like a family reunion. People chatted with one another. There were lots of handshakes and warm hugs. The sound of laughter rippled through the crowd. Wherever you looked, people were engaged in conversation.

In the background, everyone could hear the uplifting music provided by the Army Jazz Quartet. Dressed in attractive blue uniforms, the quartet was strategically located on the stage just to the right of a huge background of five stars symbolic of one of General Dwight David Eisenhower’s many accomplishments.

After the reception, everyone made their way to an assigned table. The wounded warriors from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts sat at various table so they could share the experience with the recipients.

The bucolic setting was a fitting place for this luncheon. It reflected a peacefulness and serenity on this late summer day. Nevertheless, everyone was aware that this was a commemoration not a celebration.

During the event, I wondered what was going on in the heart and mind of Frank Curry. He earned the Medal of Honor in 1945 when General Eisenhower was his commander. My father fought in that war and a part of him never came home.

I asked myself the same question when I saw Rodolfo Hernandez. He received the Medal of Honor 1952 for his bravery in Korea. At that time, candidate Eisenhower was running for President of the United States.

When my eyes caught the magical scene of Medal of Honor recipient Sal Jiunta talking with the six cadets from North Plainfield, I thought to myself what an irony. This young man is the first living recipient of the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War. When I was their age, the furthest thing from my mind was meeting or having a conversation with a Medal of Honor recipient!  What an opportunity. What a moment.

While the students were listening to Sal Jiunta and answering his questions, Tony and one of his most accomplished former students, Patrick Romano, worked in sync to capture this priceless, unscripted moment on video.  It was a perfect illustration of teamwork. Two men who have known one another for 30 years were doing what needed to be done without regard for inconvenience or self to guarantee the success of the documentary.

As this scene played out, I was watching the closing of the circle. The demanding teacher and one of his most successful students were together again. This time all of the challenges and lofty expectations of the teacher had been fulfilled and surpassed by the loyal student who is now the consummate professional.    

The luncheon meal followed the rustic theme and soon afterward, the guests settled in for an informal discussion featuring Susan Eisenhower who vividly recalled her childhood visits to her grandfather’s farm. In a compelling and dignified way she shared poignant and humorous stories filled with interesting tidbits about the man affectionately known as “Ike.”

As the guests made their way to the buses to return to the Wyndham hotel for an autograph session, smiles of gratitude filled their faces. By every measure it was an informative, relaxing and successful event for the honored guests, their families and friends.

For the students from North Plainfield it was an extraordinary learning opportunity that they will never forget.

Please provide feedback to:

kathleen.mussari@Gmail.com

America at Its Best: The Medal of Honor

Written by Tony Mussari, Sr.
Edited by Kitch Loftus-Mussari
Copyright 2013
All rights reserved
Mussari-Loftus Associates
The Face of America Project
faceofamericawps.com

The destiny of our great country lies in the hands of our youth, the future leaders of America.  Barney Barnum, Medal of Honor recipient.

This week, our Face of America journey took me to the North Plainfield Senior High School in New Jersey on a beautiful September afternoon.
My destination was the Junior ROTC classroom.  I was invited to do an in-service with six students who had been chosen to participate in an extraordinary experiential learning opportunity about the Medal of Honor.

Unlike most classrooms at the end of the day on Friday, this one was a center of anticipation and carefully controlled excitement about the what, the why and the how of the project. Some of the students were dressed in their uniforms, others were wearing casual clothing.  No matter what the attire, everyone was interested and engaged in the work at hand.

For almost two hours, we talked about the Medal of Honor, its origins, its design, its meaning, its recipients, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, and the significance of the convention that will celebrate this symbol of excellence.

The students were surprised to learn that only 3,462 medals have been awarded in 150 years. When I told them there were 1,522 recipients in the Civil War including 20 boys under 18, one student began to calculate the exclusiveness of the award.

They were amazed that 63 of these medals were earned during the battle of Gettysburg.

The diverse nature of the recipients produced smiles of approval when they heard these statistics:

87 African-American recipients;
41 Hispanic-American recipients;
33 Asian-American recipients;
32 Native-American recipients.

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain’s Gettysburg story resonated with the students, and so did the stories of Barney Barnum and Jay Vargus, two Vietnam veterans who gave truth to the words used to describe the Medal of Honor:

The Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor in action against an enemy force which can be bestowed upon an individual serving in the Armed Services of the United States. It is presented to its recipient by the President of the United States of America in the name of Congress.

They liked the goals of the Medal of Honor Society:

1. Brotherhood & Comradeship for recipients;
2. Memory and Respect for the deeds and the medal;
3. Protect the dignity and honor of the Medal;
4. Provide assistance to recipients;
5. Promote Patriotism;
6. Promote service to US in peace and war;
7. Character education for young people.

The most memorable moment happened when I told the students the story of Medal of Honor recipient James Anderson, Jr. This excerpt from his Medal of Honor citation got the attention of everyone in the room:

Unhesitatingly and with complete disregard for his own personal safety, he reached out, grasped the grenade, pulled it to his chest and curled around it as it went off.

James Anderson, Jr., was 20-years-young when he died. His story helped the students better understand the meaning of the words frequently used to describe Medal of Honor recipients: Courage, Duty, Excellence, Honor, Integrity, Leadership, Loyalty, Responsibility, Respect, Resilience, Selfless Service and Valor.

The most poignant moment happened when I introduced the students to 2d Lt Emily Perez and her story of courage, heroism and service. Emily was the highest ranking female Black/Hispanic honors graduate from West Point. She volunteered to go to Iraq. On the day she lost her life in a roadside bomb attack, her replacement arrived. She did not think the replacement was ready to lead the convoy so she volunteered do it one more time.

Emily Perez did not receive a Medal of Honor, but she is a shining example of everything America is on its best day. Her story had great meaning for everyone in the room.

To help the students better understand another dimension of values, I shared an overview of Not Your Average Joe, Profiles of Militay Core Values and Why They Matter in The Private Sector. This book was written by Dennis T. Davis in an attempt to document the many values veterans bring to the workplace.

Davis is a military man himself, and he is on a mission to convince employers to adopt a program of values-based employment in addition to skills-based employment criteria for hiring new employees.
Not Your Average Joe helps young people to understand the practical consequences of living a life rooted in loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage.

On September 18, six students from North Plainfield, New Jersey, will arrive in Gettysburg for what will be one of the most memorable experiences of their lifetime. By their own admission, they are excited about this opportunity. They want to make the most of their journey.  They hope to learn things that will empower them to honor the legacy of the heroes they meet with deeds not words.

Three recipients set the tone for this adventure when they wrote these words:

Believe in yourself, set reasonable goals, and love God and your parents. If you fail, get up and never give up. Jay Vargas

The power of noble deeds is to be preserved and passed on to the future.
Joshua Chamberlain

I believe in public service…so I recommend it to youngsters…It’s not about you… it’s about us. There’s no I in the word team. Barney Barnum

One of the students, Kyle Pacla used these words to explain the goal he set for himself and everyone on our team:

What I hope to learn from this experience is how to become a better person…how to figure out what it is in my character that
I need to change in order to help not only myself but also others for the betterment of them and myself.

For an old teacher in a new classroom, it doesn’t get any better than that.

Kitch and I are grateful to the members of the North Plainfield Board of Education, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Marilyn Birnbaum, LtCol Eric Hansen, Senior Naval Science Instructor for the North Plainfield High School Navy Junior ROTC program and Director of Arts, Tom Mazur for their belief in our work and their support of this project. We will do everything we can to make this a memorable and productive experience for the students.

Please provide feedback to:
tony.mussari@gmail.com

From Gettysburg with Gratitude

Written by Tony Mussari
Edited by Kitch Loftus-Mussari
Photographs by Kitch and Tony Mussari
Copyright 2013
Mussari-Loftus Associates
The Face of America Project

Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings. William Arthur Ward

Words On A Page

When it comes to words of inspiration, gratitude and wisdom, William Arthur Ward is in a class all by himself. His book, Fountains of Faith, is a roadmap for anyone who wants to live a life of peace, happiness and contentment.

On the good days, I remember his maxim, “We must be silent before we can listen. We must listen before we can learn. We must learn before we can prepare. We must prepare before we can serve. We must serve before we can lead.”

On the bad days, his advice is even more important, “Today is a most unusual day, because we have never lived it before; we will never live it again; it is the only day we have.”

Gratitude Personified

During a recent visit to Gettysburg both of Ward’s maxims enhanced the experience.

I was flying solo. It was a beautiful day. Traffic was unusually light. The weather was perfect for recording video and snapping digital pictures. Everywhere I went I met people who were welcoming and helpful. A visit with Mandy Moore and meetings with Mayor Bill Troxell, Frank and Bonnie Orlando, AKA General and Mrs. Robert E. Lee, Stacey Fox and Bob Monahan were joyful and productive.

Late in the afternoon, I had some down time, so I decided to visit the battlefield. It was one of the best decisions of the day.

When I arrived at the Pennsylvania State Monument, the sun was beginning to disappear behind the mountains that surround this sacred place where the blood of 51,000 combatants paved the entrance to America’s new birth of freedom. The cornucopia of nature’s pallet was simply breathtaking, and I did my best to capture some of these priceless scenes.

Looking through the viewfinder of my camera, my eyes saw the obvious, while my heart connected with the sights and sounds that filled this place during its moment of honor and valor.

Then it happened, I remembered the words Kitch used to describe her first visit to Gettysburg. “I can sense their presence, and I am overwhelmed with gratitude for what they did here.”

The Gratitude of Place

Gettysburg is more than a place where 1,300 monuments celebrate the greatest battle ever fought in the Western Hemisphere. It is more than a story about unprecedented heroics.

Gettysburg is a place that personifies gratitude. Wherever you go on the battlefield, you feel a persistent urge to say thank you for their courage, their selfless service, their love of comrades and country, their belief in tomorrow.

In the silence of this place of honor, you learn that gratitude is the parent of honor.

That message was reinforced during the Medal of Honor Convention in September. Every recipient we met spoke words of gratitude for what others did to empower them to make the right choice and get the job done.

In the stillness of the evening hours at Gettysburg, I felt the transformational power of the most important words in the English language, Thank You. The emotion was just as powerful as it was all those years ago when I first came to Gettysburg with my older brother.

On this Thanksgiving Day, Kitch and I will give thanks for family, friends and the blessings we inherited by birth and citizenship: opportunity, equality and justice for all.

We will give thanks for the support we received in North Plainfield to introduce the next generation to the Gettysburg story and the values personified in the Medal of Honor.

We will express that gratitude in deeds, prayers, words and work. We will accept the inspirational challenge of William Arthur Ward:

God gave you a gift of 84,600 seconds today. Have you used one of them to say thank you?

We will remember his sage advice as we continue our work to tell the story of the Face of America at its best:

To laugh is to risk appearing a fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach out to another is to risk involvement.
To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self.
To place your ideas and dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To hope is to risk pain.
To try is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.

From our hearts to your heart we thank you for your kindness and your friendship, and we pray that Providence will bless you with good health, happiness and peace of heart and mind on this day of gratitude and every day of your life.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Tony & Kitch

Please provide feedback to:

tony.mussari@gmail.com

Joe Habersky: Heroes Without Headlines, Part 8

Written by Tony Mussari
Edited by Kitch Loftus-Mussari
Digital Photographs Tony Mussari
Copyright 2013
The Face of America Project
Mussari-Loftus Associates, LTD

Joe did not live for yesterday. He was not afraid of tomorrow. He lived for today.

I met Joe Habersky in 1968. I was a young college teacher, he was an enthusiastic student. It was a perfect combination. He helped me become a better teacher. I helped him refine his research and writing skills. After he graduated, he stayed in touch and for 45 years we have been learning and growing together.

We did not see one another every day, but as LM Montgomery wrote, “We were always together in spirit.”

The Joe Habersky I knew was a joyful person, a thoughtful person, an interesting person, a giving person and a spiritual person. He attended our documentary screenings, he supported the production of Windsor Park Stories, and he volunteered to work in our garden. He was the first person to call Kitch after my open heart surgery, and he was an enthusiastic supporter of our Face of America project.

When Mario Puzo wrote these words he was describing our friendship:

Friendship is everything. Friendship is more than talent. It is more than the government. It is almost the equal of family.

In my heart and mind, Joe was family and a lot more.

He was a lifetime learner who honored the advice of Henry Ford:

Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.

He was loyal and he respected loyalty in others. For him, Grace Murray Hopper said it all in 11 words:

Leadership is a two-way street, Loyalty up and loyalty down.

Joe liked to laugh and he enjoyed making people in his company laugh. An adaptation of the words of Mary H. Waltdrip apply, Joe’s laugh was a smile that burst!

Joe was a spiritually grounded person. His faith, his service to his church and the connections he made with members of various spiritually-centered organizations gave his life meaning and purpose.

In 2008, he gave me Richard Rohr’s Things Hidden Scripture as Spirituality. The note he wrote to describe the book spoke volumes about his search for spirituality:

This book was a heart expanding as well as mind blowing experience for me.
I hope it will prove interesting to you in your journey of the heart and perhaps take you to the “heights’ of your future.

Why did this book have such a powerful impact on Joe?

There are many reasons.

He was searching for a true, inner spiritual experience.

He understood that life is not a straight line to God.

He knew we are a little strand in a much larger tapestry.

He believed that goodness is not about becoming spiritual beings. It is about becoming human beings.

Rohr’s assertion that we must go down before we can know what is up was a “mind blowing thought” for Joe. Pain and suffering destabilizes our arrogance and ignorance. If we do not find a way to make our wounds into sacred wounds, humanity is in major trouble.

He was convinced that we are our relationships. His relationship with the God he loved was central to his life, and the substantial relationships he cultivated with friends and family were an offspring of his spirituality.

Joe was a humble person who enjoyed sharing his gifts with others. He was literally a big man with a very big heart.

He was a family man who loved his wife Karen and his daughter Elena.

The words of Morrie Schwartz were almost biblical for Joe:

The fact is, there is no foundation, no secure ground, upon which people may stand today if it isn’t the family. If you don’t have the support and love and caring and concern that you get from a family, you don’t have much at all.

He agreed with John Wooden’s assessment of the importance of family;

It is most difficult, in my mind, to separate any success, whether it be in your profession, your family, or as in my case, in basketball, from religion.

The Joe Habersky I knew was not looking for attention. He did not want to be a celebrity. He cultivated meaningful connections with people. On the day his obituary was published, Kitch and I received this note from a young man who has been a part of my life since the day he was born.

Dear Tony and Kitch:

I was saddened to hear of the news of Joe.  He was such a good man.  I know how important he was to both of you.  I always enjoyed spending time with him at your various functions.  We are hurting today but have yet another guardian angel to watch over us.  I hope you both feel a little bit of comfort in knowing how much you meant to him and how happy he was to be part of Windsor Park and the Face of America – but most to the lives of Tony and Kitch Mussari.

You are both in my prayers.

Love,
Sean

Joe Habersky is no longer with us. Those of us who knew him are saddened by his passing. We feel the emptiness of loss, but we know that his spirit lives on in the hearts of those he touched with encouragement, friendship, gratitude and kindness.

The emptiness I feel is deeply rooted in my belief that the teacher should never outlive the student. We teach because we want the student to equal and surpass the teacher in all the ways that matter in life.

Thomas Merton was right, “Death is something we see very clearly with eyes in the center of our heart: eyes that see not by reacting to light, but by reacting to a kind of chill from within the marrow of your own life.” It is the ultimate teacher.

In life and in death, Joe Habersky showed us the way to inner peace and happiness. His legacy will remain in our hearts forever.

Please provide feedback to:

tony.mussari@gmail.com

Walking With Justice, Servant Leadership

Written by: Tony Mussari
Edited By: Kitch Loftus-Mussari
Photographs: Kitch & Tony Mussari
Copyright 2013, Mussari-Loftus Associates, LTD

God, help me make a contribution to a just world. Judge Max Rosenn

Some readers have called Mollie Marti’s book, Walking with Justice, thoughtful, inspiring, transformational and profound. One reviewer celebrated it as a timeless handbook for being human. For Kitch and me, it is all that and more.

Last week our Face of America journey took us to Wilkes University. We wanted to be in the audience at the Gardner Lecture Series when Dr. Mollie Marti told the compelling story about her mentor, Judge Max Rosenn.

It was a wonderful moment of celebration and respect for a jurist who deserves nothing less. It was a beautiful moment for Mollie who is doing everything she can to share what she calls a love story similar to Mitch Albom’s Tuesdays with Morrie. It was an incredible learning opportunity for the people who attended.

Mollie began her presentation with a heartfelt tribute to Judge Rosenn: “ He was the greatest servant leader I’ve known.”

Then this mother, lawyer, teacher and psychologist provided context with a definition of a servant mentor:

It is someone who inspires you to be more passionate about serving others and believing there is no other way to live. “From inside out, a servant mentor leaves an indelible thumbprint on the soul of another.”

You could hear a pin drop in the room when Mollie transitioned into her description of Judge Rosenn as a servant leader.

These are some of the things Kitch and I learned about Servant Leadership as practiced by Judge Max Rosenn and experienced by his law clerk, Mollie Marti.

1. Servant leaders are driven by the passion to serve others.

2. Servant leaders heal wounds and restore relationships.

3. Servant leaders are masters of empathic listening and affirming others.

4. Servant leaders inspire others to keep moving forward when hope is in short supply.

5. Servant leaders are masters of rejuvenation.

6. Servant leaders are stewards who are committed to help others grow.

7. Servant leaders create an environment that encourages resilience.

8. Servant leaders value relationships.

9. Servant leaders are solution-oriented.

10. Servant leaders celebrate what is right, and they work together to remedy what is wrong.

According to Mollie, “Our choices ultimately determine what we achieve and who we become.” Servant leaders provide models for productive choices.

One of the most important lessons Mollie learned from Judge Rosenn is recorded in this quotation:

If we didn’t feel that an individual can shape one’s life, we wouldn’t be concerned with developments of character and fundamental precepts like justice, the value of truth, the redeeming power of compassion, and the transformational power of love.

One of the most valuable lessons Mollie taught Kitch and me happened when she shared these words of wisdom: “No circumstance is so dark or hopeless that a change of heart and smart action cannot change the course.”

Samuel Butler believed that every man’s work, whether it be literature or music or pictures or anything else, is always a portrait of himself. Kitch and I went to Wilkes University on a beautiful autumn afternoon to listen to a friend talk about her hero. In the course of the discussion we recognized that the portrait she drew of Judge Rosenn produced a vivid image of her caring, giving, sharing and serving heart of gold and soul of platinum.

Thank you, Judy and Bob Gardner for this marvelous experience.

Thank you, Judge Rosenn for a lifetime of service to our country and our community.

Thank you, Mollie for preserving this legacy and sharing this message of hope and healing. You and your mentor are an essential part of the mosaic of the Face of America on its best day, and we are in your debt.

Please provide feedback to:
tony.mussari@gmail.com

A Never Ending Journey

Written by Tony Mussari, Sr.
Edited by Kitch Loftus-Mussari
Photographs by Kitch Loftus-Mussari
Copyright Mussari-Loftus Associates, LTD 2013
All Rights Reserved

The farther backward you look, the farther forward you can see. Winston Churchill.

Two things happened this week that caught my attention. One was a letter I received from a student at Misericordia University about our book, Step Into My Heart. The other was a three hour visit to N.E.P.A. Cardiology Associates for a Nuclear Exercise Stress Test. The former was a very pleasant experience, the latter brought back memories I try to forget.

For those who may not know, heart disease is the number one cause of death for both men and women in the United States.

Every year, about 715,000 Americans have a heart attack.

Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting is the most common type of open-heart surgery in the United States, with more than 500,000 surgeries performed each year

About 600,000 people die from heart disease in the United States each year—that’s 1 out of every 4 deaths.

Cardiovascular disease, including heart disease and stroke, costs the United States $312.6 billion each year.

Approximately every 34 seconds, 1 American has a coronary event and approximately every 1 minute, an American will die of one.

Kaylin’s Note

Kaylin Miley is a student at Misericordia University. For one of her class assignments, she read Step Into My Heart.

This is the letter she wrote after she finished reading the book.

Dear Dr. Mussari,

I have just finished reading your book Step Into My Heart.  I chose the book for a paper I was assigned for my Impairments and Disabilities class here at Misericordia University. 

I cannot express how amazing this book is.  The book, although there is no mention of occupational therapy, gave me much insight into how important being a competent and caring therapist is to the recovery and advancement of a patient.  The words you wrote have touched me deeply and I can say for sure that I will strive to be as good as the caregivers you had, both medical and nonmedical, after your surgery.  The book will forever be a part of me. 

Also, the book gave me insight into what my dad went through this summer.  Although he did not have a heart attack (the doctors caught the blockages before it came to that) he did have triple bypass surgery.  I was like the people you mentioned in your book who said it was a common procedure and that my dad had nothing to worry about. 

After reading the book, I realize there is much more to what went on than I realized.  I am so much more grateful to the team of professionals that have helped and are still helping my dad.  Thank you so much for the inspiring story and the new knowledge of what goes into being a well-rounded and successful caregiver.  I will strive to meet these standards throughout my school and professional careers.

Thank you so much!

Kaylin Miley, OTS

Kaylin’s beautiful, encouraging and thoughtful note could not have come at a more opportune time.  We have been struggling with three health issues, and Kaylin’s caring words helped us to put some things in perspective.

I’m a man with heart disease.

Yes, I had life-saving open heart surgery in 2007, and I’m fortunate to be alive.

This is a summary of the things I learned about heart disease and open heart surgery before and after my operation:

1. It’s a life-altering experience;
2. It’s a challenging experience;
3. It’s a widely misunderstood experience;
4. It’s a soul-searching/spiritual experience;
5. It’s a family experience;
6. It’s a highly personal experience;
7. It’s a humbling experience;
8. It’s a liberating experience;
9. It’s an opportunity for growth;
10. It’s a journey that is never ending.

A Harsh Reality

That being said, a report published by the U.S. Library of Medicine serves as a chilling reminder to those of us who have the scars of open heart surgery “…this surgery does NOT prevent the coronary artery blockage from coming back. You can do many things to slow it down. Not smoking, eating a heart-healthy diet, getting regular exercise, and treating high blood pressure, high blood sugar (if you have diabetes), and high cholesterol will all help and are very important,” but there is no guarantee that the blockages will not return.

Three weeks ago, I had a stress-induced cardiac event. Like my first cardiac event, it happened on location, and aspirin therapy saved the day.

The Test

On this day, Kitch and I made our way to N.E.P.A. Cardiology Associates for a nuclear stress test with exercise. The test measures how well the heart is pumping blood. It can detect muscle damage and the existence of narrow or blocked arteries.

An appointment to have a stress test is something few people look forward to. The people we met at NEPA Cardiology Associates did a number of things to reduce the apprehension and anxiety that comes with this experience. The technicians and nurses were competent and understanding.

In the waiting, room we met people who were welcoming and kind. There were five of us, and all of us were a little bit on edge, because we were facing the unknown.  We formed a community. We shared our stories, experiences and information.  We were strangers, but each of us knew something about defeat, loss, suffering and pain. We were connected by the power of compassion, and that made all the difference.

After a very competent technician inserted an intravenous line in a vein in my right hand, she took me to a room where a gamma camera recorded pictures for about nine minutes in what is known as a “rest scan.”

About 30 minutes later, two nurses took me to another room where sticky patches, were placed on my chest. These patches are essential for the electrocardiogram and the heart monitor.

Then I was taken to the treadmill for the actual test. Before the test ended, a radioactive dye was injected into an intravenous line. This substance travels to the heart.  A special scanner similar to an X-ray machine detects the radioactive material in your heart. It creates images of the heart muscle. Inadequate blood flow to any part of the heart will show up as a light spot on the images because not as much of the radioactive dye is getting there.

The final part of the test involves another session with the gamma camera.

For seven minutes the camera records images of the heart after the stress test. During this procedure any motion on the part of the patient will distort the image. It is a very quiet time of thought and reflection.

The Power of Kindness

Our three hour visit to NEPA Cardiology Associates was pleasant and productive. The atmosphere was welcoming and the personnel were helpful.

The nurses and the cardiologist who worked with us were wonderful. They treated both Kitch and me like members of their family. They were sensitive to our fears. They were not rushed or patronizing. They made us feel secure. They explained every step in the procedure. There were no unpleasant surprises.  They were cooperative and helpful enabling Kitch to record this episode in our heart scene journey.

As we left the building I had a conflicting sense of gratitude and sadness. I was thankful for the positive experience, but saddened that I would probably never see my waiting room friends again.

Recalling the 37 magical words of Leo Buscaglia put everything in perspective,

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”

Thank you, Kaylin.

Thank you, Dr. Das and the professionals at N.E.P.A. Cardiology.

Thank you, Arlene, Florence, Lee, Leslie, and George.

You are examples of America at its best.

Please provide feedback to:

tony.mussari@gmail.com

Teaching History with Heart at Luzerne County Community College

Written by Tony Mussari, Sr.
Edited by Kitch Loftus-Mussari
Photographs by Kitch Loftus-Mussari
Copyright Mussari-Loftus Associates, LTD 2013
All Rights Reserved

History cannot give us a program for the future, but it can give us a fuller understanding of ourselves, and of our common humanity, so that we can better face the future. Robert Penn Warren

My journey to the 22nd Annual History of Northeastern Pennsylvania Conference at Luzerne County Community College began in 1967 in a classroom at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. I was listening to a lecture, and I thought to myself some pictures, film or sound would greatly enhance what the teacher was trying to convey.

A few weeks later I was overwhelmed by the powerful message of gratitude in Lulu’s classic song and Sidney Portier’s magnificent performance of Mark Thackeray in To Sir With Love. That movie and its title song forever changed the way I looked at teachers and teaching. It gave me a model, it provided a method, and it reminded me that at the core of every effective teacher is the ability to awaken in the student a love of learning by treating students like adults.

As with everything in life, the film was not without its critics. Some dismissed it as sentimental non-realism.

I embraced the film. For me, Mark Thackeray gave me a roadmap to follow. He was idealistic, demanding, honest and always prepared. He cared about his students. The most important lesson he taught by his example. Respect must be earned with discipline, hard work and gratitude. He refused to accept marginal work and boorish behavior. No one was entitled to anything. Everyone was challenged and encouraged to be the best that they could be.

To enrich the learning experience, Thackeray took his students outside the classroom. Those scenes gave this 25-year old teacher an example of experiential learning at its best.

Over the years I embraced and refined the principles of experiential learning. Whenever I could, I took my students outside the classroom to experience things in real time. The night before I left Iowa to accept a teaching position in my home town, several students who had participated in those trips, pasted a huge crepe paper heart on my apartment door. The inscription read: “To Sir with Love.”

Fast forward 46 years. Kitch and I are making our way to the conference center auditorium at the school affectionately known as “LCC.” The first person I met after we entered the building was a distinguished looking man in a dark suit. When our eyes met, a smile filled his face, and then, as I recall the moment, he spoke these words. “Hello Dr. Mussari, I am Tom Leary. You taught me history in 1972. I loved that class. It made me want to become a teacher.”

Tom Leary is the President of Luzerne County Community College.

During his welcoming remarks, Dr. Leary made reference to his days in my classroom.

For an old teacher, it doesn’t get any better than that.

During the events that followed, Kitch and I were treated to a cornucopia of historical treasures.

Dr. Randall Miller, a Civil War and Lincoln scholar, got the attention of everyone in the room with a keynote address that was practically perfect in every way. His remarks were rooted in hours of productive research. His comments were perfectly written, and he emphasized the importance of the human dimension in our national story. His portrayal of President Lincoln was thoughtful, realistic and compelling. He neither deified nor demonized this man who literally saved our union. He revealed his artful political astuteness and his caring, compassionate leadership.

Dr. Bill Kashatus, the person who organized the conference, provided the audience with many insights into Luzerne County and the northern coalfield during the Civil war. He highlighted the importance of coal and iron in the Northern war effort, and he did not shy away from a discussion of the many disturbances that took place when a mandatory draft was established to bolster the Union Army and suppress the Southern rebellion.

Mark Kahn a Civil War re-enactor, dressed in his Northern uniform and surrounded with artifacts of the war, painted a picture of what it was like to be a member of the 143rd Pennsylvania Regiment. Kahn enthusiastically described conditions on the battlefield. He also described the long hours of preparation and the many ways both positive and negative soldiers passed time while they were in camp.

Martha Pezzino walked to the podium at 1:30 p.m. to tell the story of women in the Civil War. Martha teaches history at Luzerne County Community College. Several of her students were in the audience during her presentation. Her PowerPoint presentation provided a collage of images of women in the Civil War, and her narrative contained rich stories of pathfinders who paved the way for full citizenship and equality for women.

Later in the afternoon Jeff Schultz and Clark Switzer shared valuable insights about making history come alive for students.

Schultz teaches history at LCC. His presentation could have been titled “How to Reach Students between the Ages of 18 and 80.” To do this effectively he uses newspapers, photos, graphic novels, animated battle websites, slang, music, reenactments and maps.

Clark Switzer teaches history at Wyoming Seminary. He tries to reach the hearts and souls of his middle school students in similar ways. He believes that history is never black or white. For him it’s all about one question, “What actually happened?” To answer this question, he uses resources like artifacts, cemeteries, living historians and movies. He incorporates stories about the role Luzerne County citizens played in the Civil War, and he asks his students to answer questions about that time and place. For example, what would they do if they were faced with what their ancestors faced during the Civil War?

Our contribution to the conference was a screening of Walking into the Light at Gettysburg. The film is a story about the transformational power of an experiential learning trip to Gettysburg. It was our small contribution to Bill Kashatus’s big event.

October 11, 2013, was a day of community, a day of understanding, a day of hope and a day of good storytelling.

Thank you, Luzerne County Community College for hosting the event.

Thank you, Luzerne County Historical Society for co-sponsoring the conference.

Thank you, Bill Kashatus for making it happen.

The conference did not give us a program for the future, but it did give us a fuller understanding of ourselves, and of our common humanity, so that we can better face the future.

Please provide feedback to:
tony.mussari@gmail.com

Scranton Reads: Serendipity and a Priceless Moment of Affirmation and Gratitude

Written by Tony Mussari, Sr.
Edited by Kitch Loftus-Mussari
Photographs by Kitch Loftus-Mussari
Copyright Mussari-Loftus Associates, LTD 2013
All Rights Reserved

In reality, serendipity accounts for one percent of the blessings we receive in life, work and love. The other 99 percent is due to our efforts.  Peter McWilliams

Every now and then, something happens that takes your breath away and makes you feel good all over.  It creates a memory that lasts a lifetime.

Kitch and I had one of those moments three days after our Scranton Reads screening of Walking Into the Light at Gettysburg. It came in the form of a letter from two people who sat in the front row during the screening.

Rather than try to explain what happened, I would like to share the letter and the moment with you.

Dear Dr. Mussari,

My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed your presentation of "Walking Into the Light" in Scranton on Wednesday evening.  It was truly an emotional experience for both of us.  Having lived in North Plainfield for 32 years, raised three children who went through the school system, and having taught there for 22 years, your film was truly exciting and thought provoking for both of us.

For the past three days I have been reflecting on your film.  I am happy and proud to realize that North Plainfield is a town that truly portrays America on its best day almost 365 days per year.  It is a town where people of many nationalities work and play together every day. I honestly never thought about it before.  Maybe it should be a "role model" for the world.

This is not new to the town.  In the year 2000, our youngest son, Kevin, was a senior in high school.  He shared the role of co-captain of the varsity soccer team with a Hispanic boy, who was a good friend of his. Our son excelled at languages, and after taking Spanish for five years, and having many Spanish speaking friends, he became quite proficient in the language.  

At the Fall Pep Rally, the two co-captains came up with a plan to address the student body speaking their un-native language.  Our son, Kevin, addressed the student body in Spanish, and his friend addressed the student body in English. The audience of approximately 1100 students went wild with applause and acceptance.  I remember feeling so proud of the student body at that time.

I think your film captured the ability of young people to change their views of the world.

The young lady, Chelsea Blue, illustrated this, when she stated that her opinions of General Lee changed when she realized that he actually loved his country, and didn’t really want the war. Kids don’t always realize the different perceptions of people.  This may well be the root of problems in schools, and the world in general.  My hope is that the young people in your film will take what they learned and "pay it forward."

Thank you for taking the time to make such a film and to show it in Scranton.  I’m sure the young people who attended the other night learned a lot.

Sincerely,
Diane and Bill Perry

Thank you, Diane and Bill for giving us permission to publish your letter in our blog.
Thank you, for your kind and encouraging comments about the documentary and the work we have been doing in North Plainfield. The honesty and sincerity of your comments fill us with gratitude and appreciation that only a poet can accurately describe.

Samuel Johnson wrote 11 words that record what Kitch and I are feeling about your note:

Our brightest blazes of gladness are commonly kindled by unexpected sparks.

Please provide feedback to:

tony.mussari@gmail.com

Walking Into the Light at Gettysburg: A Scranton Reads Event

Written by Kitch Loftus-Mussari
Photographs by Kitch Loftus-Mussari
Copyright Mussari-Loftus Associates, LTD 2013
All Rights Reserved

Our journey to the Scranton Reads event at the Children’s Library began at Marywood University in March. Annette Fisher enjoyed Tony’s presentation about Gettysburg, Lincoln and Leadership at the 11th Annual Forum and Conference on Ethical Leadership and Corporate Social Responsibility. When he finished his talk, she asked him if he would be willing to screen the documentary he mentioned as a Scranton Reads event in the fall.

In June, Kristen Shemanski, a member of the Scranton Reads committee made the final arrangements.

Screenings by their very nature produce a lot of anxiety. Tony is a first class worrier. He always wants to maximize these events for the attendees. He spends a good deal of time anticipating questions and preparing material that will give the audience more than they expect.

For this event, he researched and read the Scranton Reads book selection, Stephen Crane’s Red Badge of Courage. Listening to him share his analysis of the book and his discoveries, I knew he was ready for the event.

Shortly after 7 p.m., Brian Fulton introduced Tony.

During his remarks, Tony expressed his gratitude to Kirsten Shemanski and the members of the committee for making the event happen. Then he explained his concept of experiential learning, and he set the stage for the screening with these words:

“If you came here to watch a film about warfare, you will be disappointed. If you came here to learn how a visit to Gettysburg can transform young people you will be pleased. Stephen Crane’s book is the story of Henry Fleming’s transformation during his experience on the battlefield.  Our documentary is a story about the transformations that took place in the students who visited a battlefield.”

The lights dimmed, the sound of voices diminished, our company logo appeared on the screen, and the main event began.

From my seat in the back of the room, I watched both the film and the body language of the people in front of me. The audience was riveted until the lights went up.

The spontaneous applause during the credits told me the film resonated with the audience. This was made much more obvious during the Q&A session that followed. People wanted to know more about the making of the film, and they were generous in their comments about its content.

A Girl Scout from North Pocono Troop 406 said she liked the film because it explained the history of the battle at Gettysburg, and it showed how the students from North Plainfield reacted to it.

A wonderful surprise came from a couple seated in the first row. When the woman spoke, she prefaced her comments with the disclosure that she and her husband lived in North Plainfield for 32 years. She taught at the high school for 22 years, and she taught one of the students who appeared in the film. She spoke in glowing terms about the film, and she complimented the student who referred to himself as an American-Columbian during the closing scene of the film.

A young man in the back of the room said he enjoyed the film because he had the same reaction as the North Plainfield students when he went to Gettysburg in the late 90’s. He wanted to stay there for the rest of his life because he was awestruck by the place where the tide of the Civil War turned in 1863.

A man from Dunmore, PA, thought the film was excellent and his companion noted that youngsters should learn about history in this way so they could appreciate the core values our country. For her, the film highlighted how appreciative these students, especially the ones who were not born in America, were about the freedoms Americans possess from birth. Too often, Americans take these freedoms and rights for granted.

Referring to the current stalemate over the government shutdown and the debt ceiling crisis, Sister Mariam Pfiefer, a dear friend of ours, asked Tony to take the video to Washington right now.

Annette Fisher said she loved the way Tony incorporated all the facts and quotations about Gettysburg, Lincoln, Lee and the Civil War in subtle but effective ways throughout the film. She said she had been to Gettysburg recently, but she appreciated seeing it through someone else’s eyes.

Sister Mariam, as a finishing note, said the film was filled with the Gospel values that she has tried to cultivate and practice during her lifetime.

Turning to the Girl Scouts in the front of the room, Tony ended the evening with a comment that came straight from his heart. Referring to the students in the film and two people in the audience who have been friends for 50 years, he challenged the students in a way he has done with other students for most of his lifetime:

“You have to start identifying your dreams now. Your dream is the anchor of your life.  You should make a promise to yourself to learn something every day, and you should do an act of kindness every day. Learn to be patient, and know that the distance between your dream and your success is not a straight line.  There are many bumps on the road.  You must be resilient. The word resilience is not mentioned in the film, but that’s what it is all about.”

Our big night in Scranton was a night of community, confraternity celebration and learning. An adaptation of the words of Stephen Crane apply; In the community room at the Children’s Library in Scranton, we became members. We felt something of which we were a part, and we were dominated by a single desire. We wanted to learn, and we did.

May the Scranton Reads program continue to prosper and grow.

Please provide feedback to:

tony.mussari@gmail.com

America at its Best: Weldon Long, Hope and Redemption

Written by Tony Mussari, Sr.
Edited by Kitch Loftus-Mussari
Photographs by Kitch Loftus-Mussari
Copyright Mussari-Loftus Associates, LTD, 2013
All Rights Reserved

You can’t have everything in life. There’s always a price to pay.  Weldon Long

The road to the Medal of Honor Convention in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was long and filled with many opportunities to learn about the things that really matter in life.  During the journey, I was fortunate to meet a classic Face of America on its best day, Weldon Long.

As some of you know, I research, write and produce America at its Best commentaries for Marty Wolff’s Business Builders Show. In August, while Kitch and I were dealing with a number of challenges relating to the preparation for the production in Gettysburg, I had the good fortune to produce a commentary about Weldon Long. This is an excerpt from that commentary:

Weldon Long looks like a happy person. He talks with the confidence of a successful businessman, and he speaks with the energy and enthusiasm of an evangelist.

Strange as it may seem, the roots of Long’s achievements can be found in the dark caverns of his criminal past.

His 18 year journey into degradation began when he started drinking at 14. Nine years later he was convicted and imprisoned for his first felony.

By his own admission, he was really good at wasting his life.  His downward spiral ended in a jailhouse library when he found a copy of Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

Today his compelling story of change and business success inspires thousands of people who read his books and listen to his lectures.

His message:

We become what we think about.

Those six words resonated with me, and they provided a subtext for everything I did during our location shoot at the Medal of Honor Convention and after.

It was not surprising to learn from the recipients of the golden pentagram that they thought about saving the lives of their “brothers.” They made choices because they were properly trained. They controlled their fear, and they did not permit their anxieties or the danger and inconvenience of the moment get in the way of doing the right thing.

They celebrated their comrades in battle, and they frequently made reference to unsung, everyday heroes who are not in the military.

In my opinion, Weldon Long is one of those heroes.

Here are but a few things I learned about life and values from Weldon during a recent conversation:

1. We have to put our kids in a situation where they have to make a choice and we must give them the stark reality of their choices;

2. The path of least resistance is rarely the right path;

3. Follow Stephen Covey’s dictum, “Pick up both ends of the stick.” Realize there is a choice on one end and a consequence on the other;”

4. Most of the time, (99 percent) our fear is the anxiety of something that exists in our heads and in our thoughts;

5. If you can find a purpose in your suffering, then you can tolerate the suffering;

6. As we get older, we begin to see that some of the worst things in our life turned out not to be all that bad;

7. What I do to increase the possibility that I will not do something stupid is a quiet time ritual, a daily review of all the priorities in my life;

8. America is about freedom to choose, self reliance and personal responsibility;

9. Lowering the standards is a short-sighted plan;

10. If my father were alive today, I would say to him, “You don’t have to be ashamed of me anymore.”

Weldon Long is a good man with a good message and a very good heart. He respects the values the Medal of Honor represents.  

Like the Medal of Honor recipients he admires, he is a hero without the blue ribbon. He is changing lives with his message of hope, hard work, humility and personal responsibility.

His story of redemption, success, and gratitude gives hope to parents all over America who know the emptiness, disappointment and sadness of his father’s experience.

His is a classic example of America at its Best, and his face is a brilliant portrait in the mosaic of the Face of America on its best day.

Thank you Weldon for giving us hope.

Please provide feedback to:
tony.mussari@gmail.com

Gettysburg Gifts: Part 5, Robert J. Monahan, Jr.

Written by Tony Mussari, Sr.
Edited by Kitch Loftus-Mussari
Photographs by Kitch Loftus-Mussari & Tony Mussari
Copyright 2013, Face of America, Mussari-Loftus Associates, LTD

Nothing is more important than creating an environment in which people feel they make a difference. Jack Stack

Robert J. Monahan, Jr., knows something about creating an environment in which people feel they make a difference. He was born, raised and educated in Gettysburg.  It is fair to say that he loves this city and its legacy, and he has spent a good part of his life helping his hometown prosper and grow. 

Today, he is making the last minute arrangements for the 2013 Medal of Honor Convention which will be held in Gettysburg.

Last year, I had the privilege of watching Bob Monahan do what he does best, lead by making people feel they make a difference.

It was beautiful October day. The place was Lincoln Square, and the occasion was the raising of the Medal of Honor Flag. It was a touching symbolic event marking the beginning of a year of activities designed to commemorate the Medal of Honor and its living recipients at the annual Medal of Honor Society convention.

Little did I know then that almost a year later, Kitch and I would be preparing the production of a documentary to be shot on location at the convention. To be very honest, the person who made this possible was Bob Monahan.

He read the article we published in our blog. He took the time to make contact. He showed a genuine interest in our work. He invited us to meet with him. He encouraged us to move forward with the documentary, and he promised to do everything in his power to help us realize our dream. He delivered on his promise.

In my mind, Bob Monahan personifies all of the characteristics of the Face of America on its best day.

He is helpful, honest, and genuine. He cares about others. He is generous with his time, and he knows how to bring out the best in the members of his team.

Bob Monahan is a service-oriented person who gives to give not to get. His philosophy of leadership is deeply rooted in finding out what people can do, and helping them do it.

He is the person who initiated the idea to have Gettysburg host the Medal of Honor Convention to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the battle that changed America forever. He has worked tirelessly for three years to make this event happen.

All that being said, one of his most compelling characteristics is his welcoming and friendly way. He is the kind of person you would want to be your neighbor. His life is centered in his family. When you visit his office, the pictures occupying the most prominent spaces speak to family and friendship.  The reception you get from Bob is warm and supportive.

Bob Monahan enjoys making things happen. He does it in quiet ways with determination and perseverance that is always wrapped in a package of dignity and class.

When Kitch and I think about our best moments in Gettysburg, our visits with Bob Monahan and his correspondence with us always come to mind.

When we think about America at its best, we think about his goodness, his kindness, his concern for others and his willingness to help.

For us, these words of Amelia Earhart provide a perfect description of Robert. J. Monahan, Jr., a classic Face of America on its best day:

No kind action ever stops with itself. One kind action leads to another. Good example is followed. A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees. The greatest work that kindness does to others is that it makes them kind themselves.  

Kitch and I would like to adapt the words of William J.H. Boetcker to express our gratitude:

Your greatness is measured by your kindness; your education and intellect by your modesty… and your real caliber is measured by the consideration and tolerance you have for others.

Thank you Bob for making our dream become a reality.

Please provide feedback to:
tony.mussari@gmail.com

For more information about the Congressional Medal of Honor,
please go to www.cmoh2013.org

(The studio pictures of Bob Monahan were taken from his Qurvis Focus Washington interview, http://www.focuswashington.com/2013/08/23/congressional-medal-of-honor-society-convention/)

Remembering Brenda: A Radiant Face of America

Written by Tony Mussari
Edited by Kitch Loftus-Mussari
Copyright 2013
Mussari-Loftus Associates, LTD

Love is stronger than death even though it can’t stop death from happening, but no matter how hard death tries it can’t separate people from love. It can’t take away our memories either. In the end, life is stronger than death.Norman Cousins

A wonderful woman with the heart and soul of an angel made her way to heaven last week. She was caring,compassionate, competent, and conscientious. Her heart was a giving heart. Her soul radiated love of family, friends, community and God.

Kitch and I met Brenda Lispi in 2007. She, her husband Ray, and her son, Lee, visited our garden to discuss an episode of Windsor Park Stories about Lee and Joe Paterno.   On that day, we became fast friends.

Shortly after the visit we produced an episode entitled “Dreams.” It featured Lee Lispi talking about the many ways Joe Paterno influenced his life. The story resonated with viewers, and it became the launching pad for our friendship with Brenda.

For more than a year, Brenda battled an insidious form of brain cancer. She did it with courage, determination, dignity and class. She did it in a way that endeared her to everyone who knew her.

Those of us who were privileged to know Brenda are saddened and troubled. Again and again we ask the question, “Why do the good die young?”  “Why did this woman who did so much to help others leave us at 58-years young?”

No answer satisfies. No explanation fills the void. At times like this we turn to the words of poets and philosophers for comfort, context and closure.

Combining John Paul Moore’s poem Drinking From The Saucer with Brenda’s words helps us fill the void created by Brenda’s passing. 

I’ve never made a fortune,
And I’ll never make one now
But it really doesn’t matter
‘Cause I’m happy anyhow

Anyone who knew Brenda Lispi felt the embrace of her happiness and contentment. Her beautiful smile was the hallmark of her kind and gentle heart. Her words were always affirming:

Thank you so much Tony and Kitch.  The picture is breathtaking !  Our conversations inspiring – I am content and will get through this with all your help.  Lee says hello and is happy that we are in touch- he wishes you well. Brenda

As I go along my journey
I’m reaping better than I’ve sowed
I’m drinking from the saucer
‘Cause my cup has overflowed

I can’t thank you and Kitch enough for all your support and encouragement… I am belated in sending a birthday and thank you card but it is on my list.  I am 33.3 5 complete in treatments.  That means four more weeks of traveling to Philadelphia 5 days a week, plus my sister was visiting from England last week so I have been busy.  The only side effects I’ve had so far are weight gain from the steroids and walking difficulties-from steroids.  I will soon have a PT and OT eval.

I hope to soon visit your garden again- it is looking fabulous and "peaceful." Brenda

I have had some setbacks this week but I received more encouragement from people like you and Kitch to get me through.  I lost my hair this week but it will grow back.  My gait is sluggish so I will receive a PT and OT eval-The steroid side effects are hurting me the most with climbing stairs walking and weight gain but I am tolerating the iv and oral chemo as well as the radiation.  Today I am 50% complete for this phase of treatments – only 50% more treatments to go through- busy being away and handling insurances and correspondence-hopefully I will get caught up.  Thanks for keeping me posted. Brenda

I thank God for the blessings
That His mercy has bestowed
I’m drinking from the saucer
‘Cause my cup has overflowed

Brenda was a gratitude person. These are words she shared with Kitch and me in 2012:

Thank you Tony for this wonderful tribute to Joe Paterno. He was a great influence on Lee who has turned out to be an outstanding young man. Of course, as his parents we are biased, but this is what we heard from others as well. Lee, Ray, Tina and I thank you for the opportunity you gave Lee in 2007 to share his story and the influence Joe had on him even when his dreams were changed.  Joe taught Lee that it’s important how you react to changes in your dreams and what you learned and do from there to be a better person. Brenda

He gives me strength and courage
When the way grows steep and rough
I’ll not ask for other blessings for
I’m already blessed enough

Happy New Year Tony and Kitch, I am trying to learn the Kindle Fire and at the same time I trying my daughter’s Tina’s patience as she is teaching me.  For now, I am back at the desk top using my left hand since my right side is still paralyzed but I receive home health therapy 2 x’s week-making progress and using my left side.  I also started new chemo drug last week as a third tumor is growing-it is an aggressive cancer but I am not ready to give up so much to live for -so much to do and see and help- so many people like you both to hear of your accomplishments-like in Gettysburg-let me know… Brenda

Brenda was never too busy to help others. In fact, her life and her work was all about helping others.

Those who were blessed to know Brenda Lispi will be nourished in her death by drinking from the saucer of the memories of a life lived for others, a life lived with kindness and generosity, a life that clearly speaks to what America is on its best day.

Thomas Merton was right:

Death is someone you see very clearly with eyes in the center of your heart: eyes that see not by reacting to light, but by reacting to a kind of a chill from within the marrow of your own life.

We will miss you Brenda, but we will never forget you. Kitch and I are better people because we knew you. We will carry your beautiful and inspirational Face of America in our hearts until our journey comes to an end.

Please Provide feedback to: tony.mussari@gmail.com

A July 4th Moment

Written by Tony Mussari
Edited by Kitch Loftus-Mussari
Producers
Walking into the Light at Gettysburg
Copyright 2013
The Face of America Project
Mussari-Loftus Associates, LTD

In the quiet of the early morning hours of America’s birthday, I asked myself this question, “What is America?”

At first glance, it seems like a no brainer. It’s short and to the point.  The answer, however, is complicated, at times contradictory, elusive and almost without an answer, if you consider the reality that every generation must answer the question during times of conflict and disagreement about its resolution.

America is a dream for many, an idea for others, an illusion for some and a spirit that demands diligence, determination and dedication to maintain.  It’s about guaranteeing the blessings of liberty and equality for all who live here.

Yes, that’s it, you say. 

Not so.

America is not about license to do whatever one wants without regard for the rights of others, and that’s where the complications begin. Guaranteeing and protecting the rights of minorities, the dispossessed, the people who lack power and a voice to make things happen is a never-ending challenge. It took five brutal, blood-stained years of civil war to address that issue, and every year that followed Gettysburg and Appomattox to adjust the attitudes and refine the laws that will make it happen.

During one of his debates with Stephen Douglas, Abraham Lincoln summarized the issue for his time with these words:

Our republican robe is soiled, and trailed in the dust. Let us repurify it. Let us turn and wash it white, in the spirit, if not the blood, of the Revolution. Let us turn slavery from its claims of “moral right,” back upon its existing legal rights, and its arguments of “necessity.” Let us return it to the position our fathers gave it; and there let it rest in peace. Let us re-adopt the Declaration of Independence, and with it, the practices, and policy, which harmonize with it. Let north and south—let all Americans  —let all lovers of liberty everywhere—join in the great and good work. If we do this, we shall not only have saved the Union; but we shall have so saved it, as to make, and to keep it, forever worthy of the saving. We shall have so saved it, that the succeeding millions of free happy people, the world over, shall rise up, and call us blessed, to the latest generations.

Today we are those people President Lincoln called blessed, and we are beset with problems different in name but equally important to our future:

A large and growing class of people and children living in poverty;

An increasing and very alarming inability to find the common ground of consensus;

A decreasing number of high school graduates;

A greatly diminished trust in government at all levels;

A deterioration of interpersonal communication which leads to a lack of humanism in all walks of life;

An all-time record high in narcissism and lack of civility.

There are others, but I think you get the picture.

Our founders set the tone of our country with these words in the second paragraph of The Declaration of Independence:

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.—

Our national contract begins with these words:

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blesings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United states of America.

In both instances the pronoun is we.

The American spirit is deeply rooted in the “We” not the “I”. it is nourished with selfless service. We will only prosper if our national painting includes everyone, not just a few. We will only grow and develop in proportion to every one’s growth and development.

On this our national birthday, Kitch and I took a few moments to reflect on the words of a few of our leaders. Their priceless insights helped us better understand, what America is on its best day.

“This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in.”   Theodore Roosevelt

“The mission of the United States is one of benevolent assimilation.” William McKinley

“Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists.”  Franklin D. Roosevelt

“Anyone in any walk of life who is content with mediocrity is untrue to himself and to American tradition.”  George S. Patton, Jr.

“A nation which does not remember what it was yesterday, does not know what it is today, nor what it is trying to do. We are trying to do a futile thing if we do not know where we came from or what we have been about.” Woodrow Wilson

An American is one who loves justice and believes in the dignity of man. An American is one who will fight for his freedom and that of his neighbor. An American is one who will sacrifice property, ease and security in order that he and his children may retain the rights of free men. An American is one in whose heart is engraved the immortal second sentence of the Declaration of Independence.”  Harold Ickes

Happy Birthday America

(Historical images from the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division)

Please provide feedback to:
tony.mussari@gmail.com

Father’s Day 2013: An American Dad

Written by Tony Mussari
Edited by Kitch Loftus-Mussari
Copyright 2013
Mussari-Loftus Associates, LTD
The Face of America Project
faceofamericawps.com

One father is more than one hundred schoolmasters. George Herbert

For the past few days, I have been thinking about my dad. He was and is a powerful influence in my life.

My father wasn’t rich, famous or powerful.  Like his father he worked on the railroad, a job he loved.

He was a good, decent and honorable man. He lived a quiet life close to home doing what he had to do to care for his wife and three children.  His world was centered in his family, his church and his work.

He was a quiet, unimposing man who expected little and gave much. His most attractive feature was a beautiful smile that radiated goodness.

His greatest accomplishment was a lifetime of sacrifice so that my brother, my sister and I could get an education.

The most defining moment I had with my father happened about a month before he died. While he and my mother were visiting the University of Iowa campus, he took me aside, and he shared these words, “I didn’t graduate from high school, but what you, your brother and sister have accomplished, I feel like I graduated from college.”

To honor his memory on Father’s Day, I would like to share my fondest recollections of my dad.

1. He was kind. He lived the words of William Wordsworth:

That best portion of a good man’s life; His little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love.

2. He was industrious. He knew and practiced Edison’s three principles for success:

The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are, first, hard work; second, stick-to-itiveness; third, common sense.”

3. He loved my mother. In so doing, he modeled the words of Thomas Carlyle;

The soul gives unity to what it looks at with love.

4. He was a great conversationalist. He knew the value of Montaigne’s maxim:

The most fruitful and natural exercise for our minds is, in my opinion, conversation.

5. He was talented. He modeled the three rules of John Wooden for my brother, my sister and me in everything he did:

Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.

6. He had a beautiful smile. Byron’s words best describe my dad’s smile:

Be thou the rainbow in the storms of life.

Be the evening beam that smiles the clouds away, and tints tomorrow with prophetic ray.

7. He sacrificed everything for the three children he loved. He agreed with Henry Ward Beecher:

It is not what we take up, but what we give up, that makes us rich.

8. He never complained. He lived his life for his family and he taught us by example the importance of Einstein’s advice about life:

Only a life lived for others is a life worth living.

9. He personified humility and respect. The words of Laurence Sterne and Robert G. Ingersoll describe to my father:

Respect for ourselves guides our morals; respect for others guides our manners.

He stands erect by bending over the fallen. He rises by lifting others.

10. He knew what was important in life. His life gives truth to the words of Robert Louis Stevenson:

To be rich in admiration and free from envy, to rejoice greatly in the good of others, to love with such generosity of heart that your love is still a dear possession in absence or unkindness – these are the gifts which money cannot buy.

On this Father’s Day, I will follow the advice of Anne Sexton who wrote these words about her father:

It doesn’t matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was.

As I connect with my father in the mirror of my memory, I will thank him for everything he did to give me the opportunities I have had in life. 

I will tell him again as I told him the day he crossed over to the other side and every day since, “I love you,” and I will rephrase the words of Helen Keller to celebrate the man who gave me help, guidance, discipline and the desire to make him proud of his son:

Whatever I have made of my life, it happened because I learned from you to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. You moved the world along for Ken, Mary Claire and me, not by mighty shoves, but by the tiny pushes of an honest worker, a devoted husband and a great father.

You and all the fathers like you have painted a magnificent picture of the Face of America on its best day, and we, your sons and daughters, are in your debt.

Happy Father’s Day

Please provide feedback to:
tony.mussari@gmail.com

A Letter to a High School Graduate 2013

Written by Tony Mussari
Edited by Kitch Loftus-Mussari
Copyright 2013
Mussari-Loftus Associates
The Face of America Project
faceofamericawps.com

Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome. Booker T. Washington

Context

Several events got me thinking about life, love, learning and the bumps we encounter on the road of life:

An invitation to the 50th anniversary celebration of my college graduation and a delightful visit with Jen Davis, a former student, who returned for her 20th class reunion;

A telephone conversation I had with one of my college classmates, Pat Mulloy;

Pat was one of the brightest and hardest working students in our class. Pat spent a lifetime in the state department and on Capitol Hill. At one point in his life, he was an Assistant Secretary of Commerce.

A visit with John Sullivan; John was a pathfinding high school principal. He founded the Empire State Supervisor and Administrators Association. John and I were friends in college, and we have been reunited in ways of the heart and soul.

A freak accident that resulted in a broken bone in the lumbar region of Tom Mazur’s back. Tom is the Director of Arts in the North Plainfield School District in New Jersey. He literally put our “Gettysburg Family” together.

An invitation to a high school graduation party at the home of our friend Dr. Mollie Marti in Iowa;

Mollie was very kind to us during our Face of America Journey. Mollie’s first born, Nate, is a member of the class of 2013. Unfortunately, we could not attend the party.

The announcement of the June 7th graduation ceremony at our local high school;  Olivia Sod, one of the members of that class, had her senior picture taken in our garden.  Her father was one of my former students.

Both Pat and John were very interested in the work Kitch and I have been doing in Gettysburg.

The visits and the telephone call caused me to think about some of the things we learned during the production of our documentary, Walking into the Light at Gettysburg.

The bottom line here is simple. Life is full of surprises some pleasant, others not. As we get older, we realize that everything we experience in life is just another opportunity to learn and grow in ways that will make us and our world a better place.

Teaching students how to be resilient was the primary intent of our Gettysburg Project which involved students and teachers in the North Plainfield School District.

To close the circle on this project, I decided to spend some time thinking about the most important lessons I learned about life and its unexpected twists and turns from two of the main characters in Walking into the Light at Gettysburg.

The way I see it, this will be a unique and lasting gift to Nate, Olivia and the students from North Plainfield who are featured in the documentary.  

I hope it has special meaning for David Havrilla a member of our “Gettysburg Family.” On June 20th he will graduate from North Plainfield High School.

I hope what is written in this letter will resonate with these students, not just today, but at various times during their lives when they are challenged by the bumps in the road they will encounter.

The authors of these words of wisdom were challenged in ways we cannot fully appreciate during the most difficult time in our history. Today, Abraham Lincoln is considered by many to be our greatest president. Robert E. Lee is legendary in all things military and educational.

In my opinion, the word that best describes Lincoln is magnanimity.  Lee is remembered for his commitment to reconciliation after the Civil War and the code for gentlemen he established as a college president.

To celebrate graduation 2013, I would like to share a few of their inspirational and life-transforming thoughts.

I wish someone had shared these thoughts with me when I was a teenager.

Life Lessons

1. Be honest with yourself and others

Live your life in a way that will inspire someone to write or say these words of
Abraham Lincoln about you:

In very truth he was the noblest work of God – an honest man.

2. Be Candid and Courageous

Robert E. Lee said two very important things about living a successful life. They are easy to read, but very difficult to practice:

You must study to be frank with the world: frankness is the child of honesty and courage.

Say just what you mean to do on every occasion, and take it for granted that you mean to do right.

3. Cultivate Friendships

Abraham Lincoln was very aware of the importance of friends.

The better part of one’s life consists of his friendships…If we have no friends, we
have no pleasure. Abraham Lincoln

Robert E. Lee added an important and life-saving caution.

Never do a wrong thing to make a friend or keep one. Robert E. Lee

4. Always Be Kind

If you follow the advice of Lincoln and Lee, you will scatter kindness wherever you go.

It is an old and a true maxim that a drop of honey catches more flies than gallon of gall. Abraham Lincoln

Treat all people in a simple, unpretentious manner. Robert E. Lee

5. Don’t Be Afraid of Success or Failure

Too often, fear of failure prevents people from doing things that will help them develop and grow.  Lincoln and Lee put failure in perspective with these words.

I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. Abraham Lincoln

We failed, but in the good providence of God apparent failure often proves a blessing.  Robert E. Lee

6. Do Your Very Best

The pursuit of excellence was central to everything Lincoln and Lee did in their in
lifetime.  They used these words to encourage people to reach up for the highest
edition of themselves.

Every man is proud of what he does well; and no man is proud of what he does not do
well.  With the former, his heart is in his work; and he will do twice as much of it with
less fatigue. The latter performs a little imperfectly, looks at it in disgust, turns from it,
and imagines himself exceedingly tired. The little he has done, comes to nothing
for want of finishing.  Abraham Lincoln

The education of a man is never completed until he dies. Robert E. Lee

7.  Be Magnanimous

There was nothing petty, resentful or vindictive about Abraham Lincoln. He was generous, forgiving and high-minded to friends and critics alike.

May the Almighty grant that the cause of truth, justice, and humanity, shall in no wise suffer at my hands… Abraham Lincoln

My trust is in the mercy and wisdom of a kind Providence, who ordereth all things for our good. Robert E. Lee

I can only say that I have acted upon my best convictions without selfishness or malice, and that by the help of God, I shall continue to do so. Abraham Lincoln

The gentleman… cannot only forgive, he can forget; and he strives for that nobleness of self and mildness of character which impart sufficient strength to let the past be but the past.  Robert E. Lee

8. Be Disciplined… Control Your Impulses

In a world of constant distractions, we would be well advised to pay attention to the advice offered by Lincoln and Lee.

I cannot trust a man to control others who cannot control himself.  Robert E. Lee

Quarrel not at all. No man resolved to make the most of himself, can spare time for personal contention. Still less can he afford to take all the consequences, including the vitiating of his temper, and the loss of self-control.  Abraham Lincoln

9. Be Flexible

Everyone makes mistakes. The wise person admits the mistake and learns from it.

I shall try to correct errors when shown to be errors; and I shall adopt new views so fast as they shall appear to be true views. Abraham Lincoln

10. Be Grateful

Abraham Lincoln was a gratitude person long before that term became fashionable. In this quotation, he tells us that gratitude to family, country and posterity is a requirement not an option.

This task of gratitude to our fathers, justice to ourselves, duty to posterity, and love for our species in general, all imperatively require us faithfully to perform.

What are the qualities Lincoln admired in others?

I am not a Lincoln Scholar. I am an unabashed student of all things Lincoln.  On my good days I try to model his attitude and behavior whenever I encounter problems. On my bad days, I remind myself of the healing and hopeful lessons that constitute his legacy.

From what I have read about Abraham Lincoln, the boy, the man and the president, these are some of the things he admired in the people he knew, liked and trusted:

1. Sober and steady judgment;

2. Level headedness;

3. Absence of fear;

4. Inner strength;

5. Loyalty;

6. Kindness;

7. Compassion;

8. Gratitude;

9. Duty/responsibility;

10. Humility;

11. Dependability;

12. Perseverance.

In every instance, these are characteristics one finds in Abraham Lincoln. There are others, but if you build the foundation of your private and public life on these you will be able to deal with whatever life gives you. You will be humble in the endorphin-filled moments of accomplishment, and you will be magnanimous in the lonesome moments of failure.

As you make your way through life, no one can guarantee you success and freedom from pain.  In fact, I recently heard a very wise man, Congressman John Dingell, say, “Getting hurt is an important part of the learning process.”

The wisdom of Lincoln and Lee will help you realize what Samuel Johnson called “the supreme end of education- the power to tell the good from the bad, the genuine from the counterfeit, and to prefer the genuine to the bad and the counterfeit.”

To every teacher, administrator, aide, bus driver, member of the support staff, school board member, parent and grandparent who helped make this day happen for the graduating seniors all over America, we express our congratulations and gratitude for a job well done.

To the students who walked on the stage to accept their diplomas, we salute you as the hope and promise of America’s tomorrow.

Kitch and I pray that Providence will bless you with good health and good fortune all the days of your life.

Sincerely,

Kitch & Tony Mussari

Please provide feedback to:

tony.mussari@gmail.com