Preserving Our Integrity
The year was 1947 when I first got my California drivers permit. I was fourteen years old. Whether I was a good driver or not was debatable. At the time, in the state of California, a fourteen year old wasn’t permitted to drive after dark. Two years quickly past and I became eligible at age sixteen for a regular drivers license. Watch out world, day or night, wet roads or dry, sleepless, or well rested, I was as most boys of sixteen are: integrity-free while driving a car. A thwarted mind behind the steering wheel of an automobile, usually going a little too fast for society to cope with. And speaking of going places… my buddies and I never had to concern ourselves with the cost of gasoline; 25 cents per gallon in 1947.
I rather doubt if any of us had heard the word integrity as yet. Personally, I had no idea what it meant, up and until I heard my high school baseball coach use it as a description, praising his men who were players on the city of Los Angeles. Our Coach “Harry Brubaker” was given a standing ovation when introduced as the man who led his men to a national record of forty-three straight wins, over a two year period. “During my long career as a teacher and a coach”, he began “I’ve been privileged to work with many fine athletes and students. But never ever had a group of young men to put on this magnificent display of team integrity before. Men I’m indeed proud to have worked with you all!”. My Father, who was in attendance, was absolutely beaming with pride. That evening, I looked up the word integrity. Like father and son privately we celebrated unabashedly! It was seventy two years ago, hence, thank God the burning remains.
Above all
Burn with it
Learn from it
Teach with it
Allow it to grow
Where there is truth
Integrity will abound
Yours to sustain forever
HK / 12 / 23
-da harv
Integrity: the quality of being honest hand having strong moral principles; moral uprightness: he is known to be a man of integrity. 2 the sate of being whole and undivided: upholding territorial integrity and national sovereignty. º the condition of being unified, unimpaired.