Ok, It's True: Henrietta is Proud of Her Kids

Pride in our children is one of the most satisfying emotions of aging. Here in the Commons I have met or heard about a lot of the "children," who are, of course, in the baby boomer generation or older. All types of talents are represented, and probably every profession and type of job. But this week I am talking about authors.

I have learned something about writing in 16 years of producing this column I expect most writers had someone in their backgrond like Mrs. Hulley in Freshman English at C. U. in 1934. She had a lot of rules, including, "remember to never split an infinitive." Our baby boomer authors have learned it somewhere.

Nancy and Jim Westbrook are the proud parents of Dr. Robert B. Westbrook. He has three books in print and a fourth due this year. He is a professor of history at the University of Rochester. His books are, John Dewey and American Democracy, Democratic Hope: Pragmatism and the Politics of Truth, and Why we Fought. The titles speak for his powers of analysis, and they are very well written. He is a graduate of Grand Junction High School.

Betty Hauschulz is very proud of her son Gary. Gary and his wife, Susan Metzger, collaborated on the book, Alfa Dino Bet, under the name L. C. Sugar. The book contains fantastic drawings of fantastic fantasy dinosaurs which manage to twist themselves into the letters of the alphabet. Clever verses accompany each letter. The drawings and the imagination that conceived them are extraordinary. Gary and Susan teach art at Grand Junction High School.

The third proud mother is me -- if you will forgive the bad grammar. Both my sons are writers, among other things. The problem is that I can't really understand what either one writes. I'm not sure what that says about me.

Last month I received my copy of Dave's third hardback book, David C. Hay's , Data Model Patterns: A Metadata Map.

He is a pioneer in the data model field. Over the years he has developed the science of data modeling. His "elevator definition" is, "My job is to analyze the nature and structure of a company's information: what are the things they need to collect information about and how do they relate to each other. I then present this graphically in a schematic drawing." He has established a solid reputation and built his own company, Essential Strategies, Inc. He has worked with companies all over the United States and in Europe and in one stretch in Bahrain. He graduated from Grand Junction High School in 1965. He made me especially proud by dedicating the new book to "My mother, Henrietta Hay, who taught me to write well, and to appreciate good writing." I didn't know I was doing it, but he got yelled at whenever he split an infinitive.

John is a corporate attorney. He has been writing all his life. I remember well his Junior High essay, "The Universe," followed by an essay in law school titled, "Who Owns the Moon?" During his long career in the law he has written extensively on legal subjects. His one hardback is Arizona Corporate Practice in two volumes, written with four other lawyers. He was for many years President of the Arzona Civil Liberties Union. Once he even copied one of my columns on civil rights as his Annual Report. I don't think my editor knows about that. Oh yes, he is a GJHS grad too.

So we are proud of our children. I have enjoyed meeting so many of the sons and daughters of my new friends. They give us great joy.