Arrt Pollock
keeps us updated

September 16, 2008

Peggy and Roy, my father, who taught you among his first students in Virginia, and who always loved you, would be very embarrassed and sad that you are passing along this sick, untrue material below. When the law of our land finally and thankfully called for segregated schooling to end, students at historically black Gibbs Jr. College in St. Petersburg were essentially left with only a path to neighboring St. Petersburg Jr. College, predominantly white in racial composition. Because Gibbs had been funded and treated in a very separate and unequal way, not all the students now channeled into St. Pete Jr. College, were fully prepared to do the coursework. My father helped to develop a Directed Studies program which solved that problem, and he gained a little more than his fifteen minutes of fame in national educational circles for his timely and heartfelt work. In his segregation-era high school teaching and coaching years in Virginia and Florida, I don't believe he ever encountered a black student. He found, as Coach Bear Bryant related when he integrated the Alabama football team, that these Americans of color were hungry to learn and give their all. My father taught me junior-year English in high school, and I witnessed his enthusiasm as we covered great works of literature. I saw his joy when he coached our high school's baseball team to the 1964 state championship after losing in the final game the previous year. However, I never saw that modest man glow as much and for as long as when he played his role in helping to make one small part of America a place of more equal opportunity.
You may know that in his youth my father idolized baseball star Lou Gehrig--a man of integrity on and off the field. And, like Obama, a Columbia University man. I guess I must have been in third grade when Dad first showed me his well-worn copies of Gehrig biographies intended for young readers. That's been long over fifty years ago, yet I still recall with dismay reading about the prejudice Gehrig endured growing up in the post-World War I era, solely due to his German ancestry.
In Gehrig's day, and today with Sen. Obama, that's not what America or our presidential elections should be about. Since my father's mother was an American Indian, I joke to friends that I am the Native American, and all the rest of you can now go back to Europe, Asia, and Africa. I do not feel that way, of course, for there is also Scotch, Irish, and German in me and perhaps Polish or Italian in you. Out of diversity has come a rich national multi-cultural quilt of the heritages we all celebrate, enjoy, learn, and grow from, as well as a great history of national strength and accomplishments.
In college, and later as a college professor and administrator, I debated, coached debating, and judged debates. Even had my small moments in the media limelight when the local papers called for "who won . . . and why?" quotes. Thus, I am always interested in a good argument. Naturally, I find it quite interesting that be it on health care, energy, or taxation, non-partisan sources, and even conservatives such as Alan Greenspan, either favor Obama's plans or question those of McCain on these very such issues.
The key word there is issues, not the color of Obama's skin, his heritage, or even the party he represents.

With warm regards and great thanks always for the joy you gave my father,
ART POLLOCK


In a message dated 9/15/2008 10:25:51 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, pegroyhaly@msn.com writes:
The last sentence tells it all.

Bubba on Obama ... Please read all the way to the bottom.

MAYBE I'VE GOTT'N THIS ALL WRONG - ME JUST BE'N AN OLD
FARM BOY WITHOUT MUCH EDUCATION...BUT NOW, Y'ALL CHECK THIS OUT:

HIS FATHER WAS A KENYAN, A MUSLIM, AND A BLACK- WE SEEN
ALL THOSE PICTURES OF HIS NICE AFRICAN FAMILY.

HIS MOTHER IS KANSAN, ATHEIST, AND WHITE. SO - WHERE
ARE ALL THOSE PICTURES OF HIS NICE WHITE MOTHER AND HIS NICE WHITE
GRANDPARENTS - THE ONES WHO RAISED HIM ALL THOSE EARLY YEARS?

&n bsp; HIS FATHER DESERTED HIS MOTHER AND HIM WHEN HE WAS VERY
YOUNG AND MOVED BACK TO LIVE WITH HIS FAMILY IN KENYA (THAT'S THE ONES IN
THE PICTURES).

HIS WHITE MOTHER THEN MARRIED AN INDONESIAN MUSLIM AND
TOOK HIM TO THE CITY OF JAKARTA WHERE HE WAS FIRST SCHOOLED IN A MUSLIM
SCHOOL .

HIS MOTHER THEN MOVED TO HAWAII AND HE WAS RAISED BY
HIS WHITE MIDDLE-MERICAN GRANDPARENTS THERE.

UMMM...NOW HERE'S THE HARD PART FOR ME (HELP ME OUT HERE, IF
YOU CAN):

SOMEHOW, SUDDENLY - HE WENT TO THE B EST HIGH DOLLAR PREP
SCHOOLS IN AMERICA , AND LATER, HE GOT INTO A TOP IVY LEAGUE COLLEGE AND
LATER, INTO HARVARD LAW SCHOOL- HOW? WHO SPONSORED HIM? WHO PAID FOR ALL
THAT SCHOOLING? (HAVE YOU LOOKED AT TUITION EXPENSES TO ATTEND UNDERGRADUATE
YALE LATELY? HOW ABOUT HARVARD LAW SCHOOL ? SOMEBODY PAID A LOT OF BUCKS FOR
THIS KID'S IVY LEAGUE EDUCATION.......) WHO?

A SENATOR'S SALARY IS NOT THAT GREAT, BUT THIS YOUNG
MAN AND HIS YOUNG WIFE PRESENTLY LIVE IN A $1.4 MILLION DOLLAR HOUSE THAT HE
ACQUIRED THROUGH A"DEAL" WITH A WEALTHY FUND RAISER.

WHAT SORT OF "DEAL"? RIGHT OUT OF HARVARD LAW, HE
"WORKED" AS A CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST IN CHICAGO ..

&n bsp; HE THEN ENTERED POLITICS AT THE STATE LEVEL AND THEN
MOVED TO THE NATIONAL LEVEL - WHERE HE SCRAMBLES TODAY WITH VERY MINIMAL
EXPERIENCE IN ANYTHING - WHILE OTHER PEOPLE WRITE HIS SPEECHES FOR HIM.

IN ALL HIS TIME IN THE STATE AND NATIONAL
LEGISLATURES - HE'S NEVER LAUNCHED ANY IMPORTANT LEGISLATION WHATSOEVER
MOSTLY, HE'S OUT RUNNING F OR PRESIDENT.

HE CLAIMS TO BE "PROUD OF HIS AFRICAN HERITAGE" BUT IT
SEEMS THAT HIS ONLY CONNECTION WITH AFRICA WAS THAT HIS AFRICAN FATHER GOT A
WHITE GIRL PREGNANT AND THEN DESERTED HER.

&n bsp; UMMM....WHERE IS THE PRIDE IN HIS WHITE HERITAGE? AFTER
ALL - IT WAS WHITE GRANDPARENTS THAT RAISED HIM!

HE IS PRESENTLY A MEMBER (FOR OVER 20 YEARS!) OF AN
"AFROCENTRIC" CHURCH IN CHICAGO THAT HATES WHITES, HATES JEWS, AND BLAMES
AMERICA FOR ALL THE WORLD'S FAULTS.

HE REPEATEDLY COVER ED UP FOR THAT PASTOR AND THAT
CHURCH - SAYING THAT HE CAN SEPARATE THE RELIGION FROM THE POLITICS, WHEN HE
HEARS A HATE-WHITEY SERMON.

HE CLAIMED THAT HE WAS SIMPLY UNABLE TO CONFRONT HIS
PASTOR OF 20+ YEARS ABOUT THE PASTOR'S DEMONSTRATED U N-AMERICAN BIAS, BUT HE
WANTS US TO BELIEVE THAT HE CAN CONFRONT NORTH KOREA AND IRAN , WHEN THE
TIME ARISES TO TAKE AMERICA 'S SIDE.

YEAH - WITH THIS BACKGROUND AND EXPERIENCE, HE "HOPES"
THAT HE COULD BE A UNITER AND BRING US ALL TOGETHER;

BUT - WE THINK THAT THE REAL "HOPE" IS, THAT HE REALLY
HOPES, THAT NO ONE WILL PUT ALL THESE PIECES TOGETHER, UNTIL AFTER THE
ELECTION.......! And he wants to be our commander and chief of our armed
forces and he was never in the service. Hmmm.......we can't let this happen.

What do you think of this?

The Book of Revelations

This will make you re-think : A Trivia question in Sunday
School : How long is the beast allowed to have authority in Revelations ?
Guess the Answer?
Revelations Chapter 13 tells us it is 42 months, and you
know what that is.
Almost a four-year term to a Presidency. All I can say is
Lord Have Mercy on us.!

According to The Book of Revelations the anti-Christ is:
The anti-Christ will be a man, in his 40's, of MUSLIM
descent, who will deceiv e the nations with persuasive language, and have a
MASSIVE Christ-like appeal....the prophecy says that people will flock to
him and he will promise false hope and world peace, and when he is in
power, will destroy everything ..

=

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Date: 12/31/2006 6:37:47 P.M. Central Standard Time
From: ArtPollock
To: galanza@ccsd.ws, Saldonreyn, flicker16@msn.com, bmiller@hghs57.org
Boy, did I love reading about those Chappaqua and Little League memories. Here's the time sequence and my memory:
Dad gave up the minors and began teaching/coaching in Ashland, VA in 1949 or 1950.
Salaries were so low that he returned to Chappaqua to try to work in NYC and there he got to participate in starting up the New Castle Little League. (He returned to Va. and the teaching/coaching he loved in the fall of 1953 and then came to Fla. after the 1954-1955 school year was over.)
I was born 01/24/47, just before Dad's graduation from Colgate, so you can do the math from then to those first New Castle Little League days. HOWEVER, even at age 5 or 6, I recall still today the Lions (in blue?), the Bears, Owls, and Rams. Were the Rams green and Owls orange? Once, several of you came to the Scheer home in which we were living (on Orchard Ridge Rd.). Looking down at your shoes and stuttering, you respectfully asked if you could borrow some equipment to go down to the field and practice on your own. Dad was thrilled you were so interested and motivated!
Dad wore an inaugural New Castle Little League tee-shirt well into the sixties while doing yard work here in Fla.
He loved those he played with and coached above almost everything in life.
Bless all of you and thanks again!
You may certainly forward this on to others or reprint in any form!
Happy New Year!,
ART
(Chick's son Arthur Pollock)

November 20,2006 I must report that Dad (Chick) is feeble, though he looks good and his vital signs are great. The ALS seems to be progressing very slowly. He can go from his chair to his bed right beside it and can navigate to the bathroom via his walker, but we really have to get him to a standing position and, of course, follow along behind him. The big brand-new news is that a bright, caring, energetic, experienced woman of 52 has moved in with Dad and Mary as a full-time caretaker and that is a true blessing to celebrate here at Thanksgiving time!
TV is Dad's entertainment without the ability to talk to others. However, he enjoys visits and the conversation around him. Obviously we are always talking to him!
Again, heart, lungs, and brain remain good. (He has to write it on paper, and that's a bit difficult for him to do coordination-wise, but he'll remind us of things or come up with an item of trivia when our memories go blank.) It's just that once-athletic body that's slowly deteriorating. None of us have an idea of a time frame, but he's not in pain and seems to have adapted to his situation--making the best of it. He may outlast us all!
Dad and Mary always enjoy getting U.S. Mail if you have a chance to write: 165 Americana Ct. N.E., St. Petersburg, FL 33702. He is not able to talk, but often listens to people who call on the phone: (727) 528-7212
Thanks for asking and caring and Happy Holidays!,
ART (son)

August 18, 2006 - Latest about Chick
We just learned that the suspected TIAs my Dad was having have now been diagnosed as ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease. Great irony, considering that Lou was Dad's favorite. I think there were some eleven N.Y.C. daily papers back when Gehrig died, and I am now in possession of the many news clippings Dad cut out and kept upon the Iron Horse's death. Also, I have an autographed Gehrig photo which my grandfather fetched for Dad when Lou was working in New York City near the end of his life.
"I've been given a bad break," Gehrig remarked in his famous farewell address, yet we more vividly recall that he juxtaposed that comment with one that is the most famed portion of the speech: "I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth."
Dad knew his health and quality of life were very poor. The agony for him, I believe, has been in not understanding what was happening, why he is still here, and when the end would come. Now he and we know more definitively. Not quite lucky, but at least an answer which links him to someone he admired so. In a strange way, I think he will be more at peace now until the end finally comes.
We'll appreciate any prayers that he remain in as little pain as possible until the end arrives.
Thanks, love and peace,
ART

July 20, 2006