SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
May 31, 2023
Sullivan’s Salvos 6/6/23
In this edition:
*Deaths
*RIP Steve Rackis
*RIP Ron Henderson
*RIP Andy Small
*Congratulations Barbara!
*THINK Before You Speak!
*What We Think We Know
*Did You Know?
*Deaths
A friend once told me, “Salvos is always good when it doesn’t begin with an RIP.” I understand the sentiment. And as you can see, today’s edition mentions 3 people who have recently passed.
I do not want Salvos to be the place locals go for obituaries. I also have neither the resources nor the desire to cover every death in the county. Every death means something to someone. In my case, I never try to cover a person’s whole life. I simply want to point out that someone has passed away, and I feel you should be aware of it. It does not mean the people mentioned are better, worse, or more important than those not mentioned. I just think you ought to know. It is arbitrary, yes. But I am not a professional.
I seem to frequently find myself in some sort of “local historian” role. I’m dubious about this; I know how diligent, smart, and hard-working actual historians are. I am not in their league, and I am not trying to be. Frankly, I wish we actually had people doing the work Irving Weber, Marlene Perrin, Bob Hibbs, and others used to do!
It is remarkable to me how little historical knowledge we possess. In my mind, it is critical that you know who came before and what they did. We seem to be almost completely lacking this context, and it worries me greatly.
*RIP Steve Rackis
I was sad to hear of the passing of Steve Rackis. Our paths crossed a lot over the years; Steve was in various roles with Iowa Workforce Development for 21 years, and finished his career with the Iowa City Housing Authority. RIP, Steve.
*RIP Ron Henderson
I was sad to hear of the passing of Ron Henderson. Ron served as the Director of Youth Homes in Iowa City, then ran the Iowa City Housing Authority.
Ron was a longtime Democratic activist, running the Tiffin caucus for at least 20 years. He was a kind and funny man, and will be missed. RIP, Ron.
*RIP Andy Small
Another passing I need to mention is Andy Small of Iowa City. Some may recall Andy from the early days of Iowa City Public Television, where he was an early and frequent contributor.
Andy ran the Video Center, and did the video of all the meetings of the Board of Supervisors for about 15 years. I grew to love Andy over this time. He could be frustrating, funny, hyper, and asleep all within the same 15 minutes. Andy was definitely one of the most unique and interesting characters I have ever known, and I will miss him. Now that he is gone, maybe I can tell some of the stories! J RIP, Andy.
*Congratulations Barbara!
The Iowa City Free Medical and Dental Clinic Executive Director Barbara Vinograde has stepped down after 31 years with the organization.
The Iowa City Free Medical and Dental Clinic (FMC) is a non-profit organization, established in 1971. They believe that access to affordable health care is a basic human necessity. They strive to provide the widest range of medical and dental services possible to people in the Iowa City and surrounding community who would not otherwise have access to care.
Barbara Vinograde has given much of her adult life to this noble pursuit. In addition, Barbara is one of the kindest, gentlest, humblest, fairest, most caring people I have ever met. You can look far and wide, and you will not find a better human being. Congratulation, Barbara! You are the best!
*THINK Before You Speak!
You may have seen the following before. I found it on Facebook a while ago, and I really like it. I thought I’d share it here:
"Remember T.H.I.N.K. before you speak. Is it true? Is it helpful? Is it inspiring? Is it necessary? Is it kind?"
Unfortunately, lots of us do not observe these rules. I sometimes violate these rules myself. I promise to try to do better. I hope you’ll join me.
*What We Think We Know
The Board recently went through a retreat, and I found it quite helpful. The facilitator hit on a concept that really resonated with me. He said we all have a certain amount of information; things we are pretty certain we know. There is also a big world full of knowledge that we are pretty certain we do not know. Then there is that middle ground – the things we *THINK* we know. Obviously, it can be precarious operating in this space.
The space is different for everyone. I know quite a bit about baseball. I know very little about cross stitch. Someone else will be just the opposite. Meanwhile, both of us are unlikely to know much theoretical physics. This is one of the many reasons I believe it is important to have a 5-member Board rather than a 3-member Board – you are simply drawing upon more knowledge and experience.
Let’s focus on the things we think we know. Unfortunately, I think the Board operates in this space far too often. Why? There can be a million reasons why: We are in a hurry. Other issues have our attention. We assume we have all the necessary info. We heard from one party and assume that is the whole story. It looks simple, so we didn’t ask for comment. We haven’t thought through all the ramifications. We recognize that a colleague or two is operating in this area, but we don’t want to rock the boat. There are probably several additional reasons.
I have been really trying to point out when I see myself or others sliding into this area of “things we think we know.” Of course, sometimes you guess correctly. And sometimes you were wrong, but there were no consequences. But overall, I want to try to move out of this space.
The whole idea reminded me of something former Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld famously said. Rumsfeld noted that there are “known unknowns, and unknown unknowns.” If you stop and think about it for a moment, it makes a lot of sense. Rumsfeld was giving a pretty good explanation of a psychology tool called the Johari Window. (Google it.) It is a pretty good tool for gaining insight into problems.
(It should be noted – Don Rumsfeld was a liar and a war criminal. I also happen to know that he blackmailed someone. Hundred of thousands of humans lost their lives because of him. So I don’t give him much credit for anything. But we’ll admit that he helped teach a bit of logic to the American people.)
Anyway – back to the topic at hand. We need to all be careful about those things we think we know. As the old saying goes, “Beware! Here there be monsters!”
*DID YOU KNOW? The Iowa City Free Clinic was established in 1971 by a group of people who were all concerned about the high cost of health care. They believed that access to health care was a basic human right and that everyone – regardless of their ability to pay – should receive needed care. Clinics were first held in a building in what is now the Pedestrian Mall. Because of the Clinic’s strong community support, the Iowa City Free Clinic is one of the longest running free clinics in the United States.
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---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 6:49 PM
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