Burnt Bridges and Loose Ends ...
... A Thomas Baker Novel
In memoriam of Dr. Raymond Henn aka "Ray Henessy" ... Ray, You are my hero. And to George Lois aka "George Lotus" ... George, you are a hero to all of us, and a mentor to me. Wherever you are, George, please be careful. (in reference to 'George, Be Careful' by George Lois with Bill Pitts).
"Ray Henn was born in Brooklyn, New York, and attended St. Brigid Elementary School and Alexander Hamilton High School. He served with the Green Berets in Vietnam and Okinawa from 1967 to 1969. After the military he attended New York City Community College, followed by graduating with a Degree in Geology from Queens College of the City University of New York.
He began work on a doctorate in Mining and Earth Systems Engineering at Colorado School of Mines. Upon graduation he was an Adjunct professor at Mines while working for Haley and Aldrich and then Lyman Henn. He later worked for Brierley Associates before forming his own business, RW Henn, LLC.
Ray published over two dozen professional papers in various technical publications and he has authored three ASCE text books on grouting for underground construction.?He established the first, UCA Student Chapter which is at the Colorado School of Mines and served as the faculty advisor for eight years.?In his free time Ray enjoyed collecting antique mining equipment and memorabilia from Colorado and the West."
(Read full Obituary) https://www.horancares.com/obituary/DrRaymond-Henn
"The passion of George Lois has lit a million creative flames in this world, opened minds, influenced?culture and politics, challenged countless millions to embrace societal change and exposed truth at every turn. From depicting Muhammad Ali as Saint Sebastian on the cover of Esquire magazine to having Mick Jagger scream "I WANT MY MTV”?George rocked the world with a dynamic and persuasive visual explosion. Whether he was organizing a fund to fight the racial injustice of the wrongfully convicted boxer Rubin Hurricane Carter, exposing the evils of war by placing Lt. Calley on the cover of Esquire, or making you smile at the idea of Joe Namath as an Olivetti Girl, George found a way to get under the skin of society and evoke change.?Business Week?once wrote that?“Every industry has its stars,?and in the world of advertising, George Lois is a Supernova…”?Indeed he was, but unlike the stars in our skies that become supernovas only to burn out, his light will continue to shine and inspire forever."
(Read full obituary) https://riverdalefuneralhome.com/tribute/details/1645/George-Lois/obituary.html#tribute-start
New York Times on George Lois death https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/19/business/media/george-lois-dead.html
I used the imagery and personalities of Ray and George for their namesake characters in my stories. I will continue to use them going forward as a memorial tribute with continued dignity and respect. I use this character development practice with other friends, relatives, and colleagues to bring a reality to the stories, many of which are based on contemporary and true events.
If you are not familiar with these characters and the Thomas Baker series, 'Sunset Playland', 'Sweet Land of Liberty', and 'Something for Nothing' are all posted on this Linkedin page chapter by chapter in the "activity" section. My thanks to the many of you for your comments and support. 'Exodus Afghanistan: A Personal Story' is also posted, and as an update for those of you who have read it, Retired Afgahn Army Air Corps Colonel Farid Nuri is still in hiding in Kabul with his wife and three children waiting and hoping for the U.S. State Department to grant him an immigration visa, which they mysteriously continue to reject. I've changed his name in the story for purposes of privacy, and for his own and national security. His brother and the rest of their Afgahn family, all U.S. citizens, continue to pursue this case from America with legal counsel, but they are encountering many burnt bridges and loose ends ...
Burnt Bridges and Loose Ends
Preface
When Thomas Baker was a kid growing up in Brooklyn, Ray Hennesy would kick his ass every day. In stickball, handball, football ... it was supposed to be touch football, but this was Brooklyn. You got tackled. There were no clear or well defined rules. We played in the street, sometimes pausing to let cars go by. It was the 1960's. Beatlemania. We were concerned that the Beatles would steal our girlfriends from the neighborhood. Ray Hennessy was smarter than Baker too. After high school, Ray joined the Army and received invaluable life experience before going back to school. He had a clear idea of the career he wanted to pursue. Baker went straight into college unclear of what career he wanted to pursue and received a boatload of student debt, burnt bridges, and loose ends.
George Lotus was busy with other things at that time, over in Manhattan. Seemingly a million miles away from Brooklyn and young Baker and Hennessy. He was turning the advertising industry upside down, and our society inside out, orchestrating and conducting the "creative revolution" whose charge only the advertising industry could have led with its mass communication reach and grip, stimulating America. Stimulating a creative fire in a whole new generation of mass media professionals. It didn't come easy for George. He had to fight every step of the way. The brilliance of his talent and character prevailed and translated into his work, but he suffered the jealousies and egos, and arrows, of many of his less creative peers, his competitors, and his critics.
As fate would have it, Thomas Baker pursued a career in advertising and landed a job working for his hero, George Lotus, at his Manhattan ad agency. This, after graduating from college with a Degree in Geology.
But this is where the story begins, not ends. In Thomas Baker's surreal landscape of burnt bridges and loose ends, the "fickle finger of fate" pointed him in several directions, career and otherwise, one of which altered his perception of life, and nearly cost him his life (see 'Sunset Playland').
But he survived, and now finds himself on a fishing boat in the Mediterranean off the coast of Greece ... working for a clandestine agency of the U.S. government with total autonomy, anonymity, and a plausible deniability that works both ways.
Baker tells Hennessy, "I'm too old for this shit." Hennessy, at home in Denver recuperating from a gunshot wound (they're speaking on a satellite phone) says, "So, why do you keep saying 'yes'? I'm sure Ilene would want you safe at home." Baker responds, "Yes, she would, Ray, and so do I. This is the last job. Definitely. And I mean it this time."
John Kushma is a communication consultant and lives in Logan, Utah https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/john-george-kushma-379a5762