In 1937, still in ethos of the Great Depression, farm life in rural eastern North Carolina brought challengeable endeavors to provide just basic needs for families. Even though the markets of tobacco and other crops faltered or were nonexistent throughout much of that decade, on the horizon was some hope for the future. That year of my birth, Carolina Power and Light Co. erected lines to my Cox grandparents' home; on the other hand, three miles down the road, it would be another ten years before Rural Electrification established service to my parents' Cornice Cornell and Geneva Louise Westbrook Cox's house. Electrical power switched on in May 1947 was one of the happiest days of my life. Oil lamps and its improved version, the Aladdin Lamp, were now needless relics.
Invariably, morning and evening, we heard WWII news by H. V. Kalenborn off the battery radio: events of unsettling news, bombing of Pearl Harbor and the death of President Roosevelt, weighed heavily on my father, who had two brothers in service. Disciplined for quiet time to ensure my daddy wouldn’t miss a word of war news, I sat intently listening. Although I was a child with limited comprehension, these events impressed on me the precariousness of the times, helping me develop a life-time interest in world affairs.
The experience of growing up on a farm in the thirties and forties under conditions today we would describe as third-world gave me invaluable training for the years to come. I am grateful for a work ethic instilled in me during my teenage years from working horses to plow the fields; clearing new-grounds; weeding in vegetable gardens on hot, humid summer days; feeding and tending livestock; milking cows; harvesting tobacco; picking cotton; and building things with handsaw, hammer, nails, and my hands.
Career: After graduating from Four Oaks High School in 1955, I was off to Louisburg Junior College. In two months I became a college dropout, for ineffable reasons. But for certain, in part at least, it was a pining for family and farm life. After I returned to the family farm, in the spring of 1956, my former high-school vocational agriculture instructor encouraged me to run for office in the North Carolina Future Farmers of American. I had been a four-year, enthusiastic member of the FFA and president my senior year, serving also as president of the parliamentary procedure team, which went on to have success in county-level competitions. State FFA officers usually were chosen from freshman students of outstanding agriculture backgrounds from N. C. State University; however, my office-status was born of an actual farmer in practice. Being State FFA Treasurer gave me unique opportunities to grow in leadership development, receive an American Farmers Degree, while having lunch with former President Harry S. Truman in Kansas City Mo. These activities, among others in my home community, were rewarding, as an enviable higher-education was still left to chance. Out of necessity, exceptional diligence would become the standard for success. Fitting to triumph was the FFA motto applied throughout my life (Learning to do, Doing to learn, Earning to live, Living to serve.) And even though a college degree would have opened the door to be that Vocational Agriculture Teacher I had originally envisioned being, it is questionable that that degree may have been a ticket to a more financially, or otherwise, rewarding life. A short farming course at NC State University and classes at the local community college filled in my education. Certainly, a better education would have made some situations more idyllic and opened more opportunities.
Forgoing college education, farming three years with my father after returning from Louisburg, and not seeing a viable financial opportunity or having a sincerely strong desire for farm expansion on my own, I accepted a management offer at a local newly-opened milling company. After two years in that position, circumstances led to my taking a bookkeeping job at Smithfield Oil and Gin Co. (Petroleum products and cotton ginning.) These businesses, relevant to agribusiness and related to my farm experiences, gave me identifiable-blocks to build a career. The private corporation -- serving farmers and home heating customers -- and its eccentric, cynical owner Mr. Johnson, a fiscal conservative, but progressive proprietor, would become my mentors, giving me every opportunity to hone my management skills. I spent eighteen years with Smithfield Oil and Gin (In 1966 renamed Smithfield Oil & Gas - for its propane addition.), staying on after a public corporation (AmeriGas, now the nation's largest propane company) acquired the distributorship. My forty-one year profession in same office and business is unimaginable in today's labor market. I am now retired eleven years after serving as district manager, market manager and the last year on the Business Transformation Team. Innovativeness and initiative and the belief I could do most everything kept the job interesting, maybe sometimes putting me at odds with upper management. Nonetheless, always embolden by passion and infused with that hard work ethic from early life on the farm, I gave the company more than was required or financially compensated. Without higher education, I had to prove myself in a world increasingly valuing academic learning. I certainly came to exemplify that all knowledge does not come from books; with true grit, fortitude and determination, combined with some luck, I succeeded professionally. In an industrious practice of these attributes, searching and being open to innovative ways of doing business, I grade myself an A.
Family: First married in 1959, I have always believed in the importance of family. Although, in the early years of my first marriage, under financial constraints, I may not have always been fair to my family. My motivations, however, were for my family, the duty to provide economically for my wife and children, part of that work ethic I learned from my parents. As the sole bread winner, I dedicated myself to my job, to the business which had hired me. This devotion, however, was never about getting rich --- but financial refuge for family. As I reflect on this period of my life, I ask: Were the finances my sole responsibility? Maybe not. Married to someone who probably suffered from borderline personality disorder, however, I felt at many times like I was by myself in ensuring stability for my family. After twenty three years --- in a second marriage, with a partner equally providing for the new daughters Jane gave me, I have found gratification sharing joys and difficulties that come in family life. My dedication to my job and my work ethic have provided college educations for four children, two with masters degrees. These children are my inspiration, three of them public educators and the fourth one in management for a major clothing company. Reflection of my children's accomplishments has reaffirmed the importance of education. Here at age seventy four, I now have the leisure to read and think and write, adding to the learning I’ve acquired on the job and by my hands. And with that reading, and learning, and reflecting, I come to realize that family is more important than dogged commitment to profession. Given the limitation of my wisdom in those earlier years and the recognition that I could have done more for family, I give myself an A-.
Faith: The Methodist Church has guided my faith's journey from baptism at thirteen years of age onwards. Faith has been an essential part of my life, but, I suppose like many others, at times a passive-Christianity. I have depended on the church family's support in times of life's trials. Over the last many years I have been actively involved in its financial support, leadership, mission, and study. Since retirement, paying closer attention to world-wide church's loss of members in some areas and growth in others, I have become especially interested in what seems to be a new type of Reformation that Harvey Cox, a Harvard religion professor, describes in his book, The Future of Faith. For Cox: Christianity initially moved from its early age of faith to an age of belief, a period emphasizing right belief, dogma. Cox believes that the church is entering a third era, a period he describes as an age of faith (in some ways closer to the earliest age of the church). Many people say: I'm not religious; I'm a spiritual person. (And so am I.) My faith calls me to be aware of this ongoing transitional period and to understand its significance for the church's survival, to be a vital moral agent for communities. As an ecumenical Christian, I believe my faith behooves empathy in other religions. My God must be large enough to embrace all seven-billion people on this planet. More reading and study has given me a new understanding of my faith experience in the church, not totally detached of creed, but aware that Christianity should be more about Jesus' reiteration of the Torah’s to love God and to love neighbor. To do that, you can't be a passive Christian. For my focus on this principle I give my Faith grade a B+.
Community: It's important to be cognizant that community goes far beyond the local neighborhood into an interdependent world that summons whatever initiative and support I may have for better world-understanding and peace. Therefore, I have involved myself as a participant and leader in a variety of organizations that connect local to global: the Jaycees, the Rotary Club, The Salvation Army and my church, Centenary UM. I believe this diverse participation gives me a broader perspective on community. I hope that my participation and leadership in these groups has helped strengthen the social fabric and promoted goodwill at the same time these organizations have allowed me to grow personally. I have tried to take seriously what Arch Klump, a former Rotary International President, admonished: "Principles that are not found in practice are useless, and nothing is ever believed until it's felt necessary." I hope I have lived out this quotation and strengthened community bonds through offering my talent and skill as a woodworker to the service of these organizations and my church, talents and skills I learned on my parents’ farm and in the shop of my vocational agriculture teacher: a large church history cabinet, an electronic sound cabinet, adjustable-height floor and table-top lecterns, and a Celtic cross -- include some of these crafts. These creations and an activeness in mission work strengthen goodwill in community. Initiative and participation of this type, I believe, justifies a B.
Self-knowledge: In the last few years, having more time, I've made a concerted effort to discern the soul that lives within this body. Perhaps the words heading my blog, Critical Actions, give some insight to this goal: "The opinions hereof on religion, politics, economy, humanity, or other topics, are an exercise of self-examination in developing critical thought processes on important issues. Further objective is to encourage others to engage in introspective, honest, respectful, dialogue on issues that will affect our lives - our children's future." "Introspection" is a key word, necessary to define me. In an ongoing self-examination, I embrace a renewed passion for more reading: print and online articles and columns, hard-cover books, books on my Kindle. The Op-Eds in the Times are favorites that have helped broaden my worldview. Being an open-minded person --- skilled writers versed in broader-world-views, such as religious scholar Karen Armstrong and the columnist/author Thomas Friedman, have fashioned my global perception. Reading and reflecting on their ideas brings forth a spirit that beckons a deep conscientiousness and ethical attentiveness in this distraught world. As I read and reflect, I am fully aware of my limitations in education, woodworking, oral communication, and writing, including some poetry I’ve dabbled in. Albeit, an "inner drive" pushes me to reclaim the better angels of humanity, to share with others and to inspire younger generations. Through increased reading, I have discovered a new world of thought-provoking edification that continues to challenge my intellectual boundaries. For this effort, I give myself a Grade A.
My golden years, now spent in a world of magic instant communication and wondrous technologies, have turned out to be one of the most exciting periods of my life.
Invariably, morning and evening, we heard WWII news by H. V. Kalenborn off the battery radio: events of unsettling news, bombing of Pearl Harbor and the death of President Roosevelt, weighed heavily on my father, who had two brothers in service. Disciplined for quiet time to ensure my daddy wouldn’t miss a word of war news, I sat intently listening. Although I was a child with limited comprehension, these events impressed on me the precariousness of the times, helping me develop a life-time interest in world affairs.
The experience of growing up on a farm in the thirties and forties under conditions today we would describe as third-world gave me invaluable training for the years to come. I am grateful for a work ethic instilled in me during my teenage years from working horses to plow the fields; clearing new-grounds; weeding in vegetable gardens on hot, humid summer days; feeding and tending livestock; milking cows; harvesting tobacco; picking cotton; and building things with handsaw, hammer, nails, and my hands.
Career: After graduating from Four Oaks High School in 1955, I was off to Louisburg Junior College. In two months I became a college dropout, for ineffable reasons. But for certain, in part at least, it was a pining for family and farm life. After I returned to the family farm, in the spring of 1956, my former high-school vocational agriculture instructor encouraged me to run for office in the North Carolina Future Farmers of American. I had been a four-year, enthusiastic member of the FFA and president my senior year, serving also as president of the parliamentary procedure team, which went on to have success in county-level competitions. State FFA officers usually were chosen from freshman students of outstanding agriculture backgrounds from N. C. State University; however, my office-status was born of an actual farmer in practice. Being State FFA Treasurer gave me unique opportunities to grow in leadership development, receive an American Farmers Degree, while having lunch with former President Harry S. Truman in Kansas City Mo. These activities, among others in my home community, were rewarding, as an enviable higher-education was still left to chance. Out of necessity, exceptional diligence would become the standard for success. Fitting to triumph was the FFA motto applied throughout my life (Learning to do, Doing to learn, Earning to live, Living to serve.) And even though a college degree would have opened the door to be that Vocational Agriculture Teacher I had originally envisioned being, it is questionable that that degree may have been a ticket to a more financially, or otherwise, rewarding life. A short farming course at NC State University and classes at the local community college filled in my education. Certainly, a better education would have made some situations more idyllic and opened more opportunities.
Forgoing college education, farming three years with my father after returning from Louisburg, and not seeing a viable financial opportunity or having a sincerely strong desire for farm expansion on my own, I accepted a management offer at a local newly-opened milling company. After two years in that position, circumstances led to my taking a bookkeeping job at Smithfield Oil and Gin Co. (Petroleum products and cotton ginning.) These businesses, relevant to agribusiness and related to my farm experiences, gave me identifiable-blocks to build a career. The private corporation -- serving farmers and home heating customers -- and its eccentric, cynical owner Mr. Johnson, a fiscal conservative, but progressive proprietor, would become my mentors, giving me every opportunity to hone my management skills. I spent eighteen years with Smithfield Oil and Gin (In 1966 renamed Smithfield Oil & Gas - for its propane addition.), staying on after a public corporation (AmeriGas, now the nation's largest propane company) acquired the distributorship. My forty-one year profession in same office and business is unimaginable in today's labor market. I am now retired eleven years after serving as district manager, market manager and the last year on the Business Transformation Team. Innovativeness and initiative and the belief I could do most everything kept the job interesting, maybe sometimes putting me at odds with upper management. Nonetheless, always embolden by passion and infused with that hard work ethic from early life on the farm, I gave the company more than was required or financially compensated. Without higher education, I had to prove myself in a world increasingly valuing academic learning. I certainly came to exemplify that all knowledge does not come from books; with true grit, fortitude and determination, combined with some luck, I succeeded professionally. In an industrious practice of these attributes, searching and being open to innovative ways of doing business, I grade myself an A.
Family: First married in 1959, I have always believed in the importance of family. Although, in the early years of my first marriage, under financial constraints, I may not have always been fair to my family. My motivations, however, were for my family, the duty to provide economically for my wife and children, part of that work ethic I learned from my parents. As the sole bread winner, I dedicated myself to my job, to the business which had hired me. This devotion, however, was never about getting rich --- but financial refuge for family. As I reflect on this period of my life, I ask: Were the finances my sole responsibility? Maybe not. Married to someone who probably suffered from borderline personality disorder, however, I felt at many times like I was by myself in ensuring stability for my family. After twenty three years --- in a second marriage, with a partner equally providing for the new daughters Jane gave me, I have found gratification sharing joys and difficulties that come in family life. My dedication to my job and my work ethic have provided college educations for four children, two with masters degrees. These children are my inspiration, three of them public educators and the fourth one in management for a major clothing company. Reflection of my children's accomplishments has reaffirmed the importance of education. Here at age seventy four, I now have the leisure to read and think and write, adding to the learning I’ve acquired on the job and by my hands. And with that reading, and learning, and reflecting, I come to realize that family is more important than dogged commitment to profession. Given the limitation of my wisdom in those earlier years and the recognition that I could have done more for family, I give myself an A-.
Faith: The Methodist Church has guided my faith's journey from baptism at thirteen years of age onwards. Faith has been an essential part of my life, but, I suppose like many others, at times a passive-Christianity. I have depended on the church family's support in times of life's trials. Over the last many years I have been actively involved in its financial support, leadership, mission, and study. Since retirement, paying closer attention to world-wide church's loss of members in some areas and growth in others, I have become especially interested in what seems to be a new type of Reformation that Harvey Cox, a Harvard religion professor, describes in his book, The Future of Faith. For Cox: Christianity initially moved from its early age of faith to an age of belief, a period emphasizing right belief, dogma. Cox believes that the church is entering a third era, a period he describes as an age of faith (in some ways closer to the earliest age of the church). Many people say: I'm not religious; I'm a spiritual person. (And so am I.) My faith calls me to be aware of this ongoing transitional period and to understand its significance for the church's survival, to be a vital moral agent for communities. As an ecumenical Christian, I believe my faith behooves empathy in other religions. My God must be large enough to embrace all seven-billion people on this planet. More reading and study has given me a new understanding of my faith experience in the church, not totally detached of creed, but aware that Christianity should be more about Jesus' reiteration of the Torah’s to love God and to love neighbor. To do that, you can't be a passive Christian. For my focus on this principle I give my Faith grade a B+.
Community: It's important to be cognizant that community goes far beyond the local neighborhood into an interdependent world that summons whatever initiative and support I may have for better world-understanding and peace. Therefore, I have involved myself as a participant and leader in a variety of organizations that connect local to global: the Jaycees, the Rotary Club, The Salvation Army and my church, Centenary UM. I believe this diverse participation gives me a broader perspective on community. I hope that my participation and leadership in these groups has helped strengthen the social fabric and promoted goodwill at the same time these organizations have allowed me to grow personally. I have tried to take seriously what Arch Klump, a former Rotary International President, admonished: "Principles that are not found in practice are useless, and nothing is ever believed until it's felt necessary." I hope I have lived out this quotation and strengthened community bonds through offering my talent and skill as a woodworker to the service of these organizations and my church, talents and skills I learned on my parents’ farm and in the shop of my vocational agriculture teacher: a large church history cabinet, an electronic sound cabinet, adjustable-height floor and table-top lecterns, and a Celtic cross -- include some of these crafts. These creations and an activeness in mission work strengthen goodwill in community. Initiative and participation of this type, I believe, justifies a B.
Self-knowledge: In the last few years, having more time, I've made a concerted effort to discern the soul that lives within this body. Perhaps the words heading my blog, Critical Actions, give some insight to this goal: "The opinions hereof on religion, politics, economy, humanity, or other topics, are an exercise of self-examination in developing critical thought processes on important issues. Further objective is to encourage others to engage in introspective, honest, respectful, dialogue on issues that will affect our lives - our children's future." "Introspection" is a key word, necessary to define me. In an ongoing self-examination, I embrace a renewed passion for more reading: print and online articles and columns, hard-cover books, books on my Kindle. The Op-Eds in the Times are favorites that have helped broaden my worldview. Being an open-minded person --- skilled writers versed in broader-world-views, such as religious scholar Karen Armstrong and the columnist/author Thomas Friedman, have fashioned my global perception. Reading and reflecting on their ideas brings forth a spirit that beckons a deep conscientiousness and ethical attentiveness in this distraught world. As I read and reflect, I am fully aware of my limitations in education, woodworking, oral communication, and writing, including some poetry I’ve dabbled in. Albeit, an "inner drive" pushes me to reclaim the better angels of humanity, to share with others and to inspire younger generations. Through increased reading, I have discovered a new world of thought-provoking edification that continues to challenge my intellectual boundaries. For this effort, I give myself a Grade A.
My golden years, now spent in a world of magic instant communication and wondrous technologies, have turned out to be one of the most exciting periods of my life.
