A Resolution
I have been reading through all of the comments so far in Whisper’s “Open Thread”,taking note of all the things we are saying we want to do. To that end, I compiled some of them and organized them below. Thought it seemed appropriate. YMMV.
Comments appreciated. I don’t want to see this community end. I don’t think any of us do.
WE the undersigned; Friends, Acquaintances, Shipmates, Classmates, Regulars, and Lurkers, do hereby agree that:
WHEREAS the blog NEPTUNUS LEX has brought us all great joy over the years; AND
WHEREAS the loss of CAPT CARROLL LEFON, USN (RET) has made the world a lesser place; AND
WHEREAS in an effort to maintain his legacy, agree to the following;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by The Readership of Neptunus Lex that:
- We the loyal readers and followers will do everything in our ability to maintain an archive of Lex’s posts, comments and links;
- To the extent possible, join together in person in remembrance of Lex on or about March 6th each year hence;
- If needed, establish a financial vehicle for the collection and distribution of contributed funds as the LeFon family deems appropriate;
- We agree to hold ourselves to the standard of integrity, honor, commitment, humility, and civility as set by Lex.
So say we all…
Posted by Jeopardy
On March 8th, 2012 under Family.
Comments: 25
Comments
Comment from Jason
Time: March 8, 2012, 8:34 am
Excellent.
Comment from Kris, in New England
Time: March 8, 2012, 8:50 am
Jeop – perfect. Would only suggest that the charter point about gathering in person on March 6th every year be changed to something along these lines:
2.To the extent possible, join together in person in remembrance of Lex on or about March 6th each year hence or gather virtually at an appointed time;
Comment from viril xenophon
Time: March 8, 2012, 8:50 am
Second the motion^100
Comment from OldT6Flyer
Time: March 8, 2012, 9:09 am
Call the question. Ayes have it. Declare vote by acclamation.
Comment from MikeyB
Time: March 8, 2012, 9:23 am
I would like to add: Establish and fund a perpetual scholarship in Lex’s honor via the Tailhook Educational Foundation.
Comment from doorkeeper
Time: March 8, 2012, 10:16 am
Thank you, Jeopardy!
I am still reeling…
I wish somehow that all of Lex’s collected writings could be published (including the book) in a volume I could keep, hold in my hands, and skim…being of the old school, and computers not being quite the thing. But an archive would be next best.
Count me in.
Debbie, aka doorkeeper
Comment from Idaho Joe
Time: March 8, 2012, 10:45 am
I’m definitely in.
Comment from NaCly Dog
Time: March 8, 2012, 10:49 am
I’m in. On all of it.
Comment from Foobert
Time: March 8, 2012, 11:45 am
I own/operate a webserver and maintain several not-for-profit websites. I dutifully volunteer to host the archives for as long as I’m around and capable of doing so.
I don’t have enormous bandwidth, but it is quite serviceable. The cost is already sunk for me, so, finances are not an issue.
When the time is right and we have family permission, we can work out the technical details and figure out how best can carry on the legacy through archives and maybe more.
I can be reached at john ata foobert d@t com.
Comment from Padre Harvey
Time: March 8, 2012, 5:16 pm
Agreed! And thank you for this.
I second the motion for the Tailhook Educational Foundation scholarship.
Comment from MissBirdlegs in AL
Time: March 8, 2012, 10:27 pm
Great idea, Jeopardy! Thanks.
Comment from Michelle
Time: March 9, 2012, 12:37 pm
Beautiful, Jeopardy. Thank you for doing this.
Comment from Ian
Time: March 9, 2012, 12:56 pm
Excellent. Good job. Count me in.
Comment from SGT B
Time: March 9, 2012, 4:05 pm
So say we all!
Comment from Jeopardy
Time: March 9, 2012, 4:16 pm
I knew he was a BSG fan, so I had to work it in.
Comment from MaxDamage
Time: March 9, 2012, 11:07 pm
So say we all.
So let it be written, so let it be done.
(he was a fan of other movies as well)
– Max
Comment from NaCly Dog
Time: March 10, 2012, 7:36 am
Last night, at the local Lex toast, HomeFront Six and I discussed adding some stories to the Lex tribute, in addition to a scholarship.
Every one of us can post:
our remembrances of Lex (plenty in the “Whisper: open thread” already),
why we were touched,
our best story in the Lex tradition.
Every one has a story they tell with friends and new acquaintances. These sea stories, vignettes, memories, and bon mots can be combined in a Lex tribute collection, for online or print.
We can also see if USNI would want to publish. USNI has plenty of interviews with significant figures in the Navy. This would be a slight extension of what they already do, and capture a wider range of voices. We can weave Lex’s best posts and the top comments in though the narrative.
An other idea is a story telling contest, in the Lex style. There has to be a top story-teller. Why not someone inspired by Lex?
Discuss among yourselves.
Comment from PeterGunn
Time: March 10, 2012, 3:49 pm
Count me in… I’ll be proud to be counted “in that number”!
Comment from CG-23 Sailor
Time: March 14, 2012, 11:36 pm
“So say we all”
Count me in.
Comment from Old Quatermaster
Time: March 20, 2012, 10:35 pm
I vote aye on all the motions.
Somewhere I saw that someone had seen in the USNI blog that they were going to publish Rhythms. If that is true then we have a start.
Comment from Scary
Time: March 21, 2012, 5:37 am
I think some of our pilots telling their best flying stories in their best “LEX” voice would be great. I know LEX has inspired me in my writing.
Comment from dwas
Time: March 21, 2012, 11:29 pm
I believe the monthly contributions are still open through Paypal..
Comment from Old AF Sarge
Time: March 29, 2012, 7:14 pm
Amen. Count me in, I’m a bit late to the meeting. But better late than never. God Bless You All!
Comment from Saturday’s Warrior
Time: March 30, 2012, 11:48 pm
Call me a lurker, I got a personal note from Lex one time in response to an email, but I was definitely a fan. He made me want to be better as a better human being. He lived the life I wished I’d lived and I lived vicariously through him. His writing inspired and inspires me.
I too am still in shock at the loss and very baffled as to why I feel so empty with his loss. Perhaps because he embodied to me everything America is, was, and should be and for which I was willing to lay my life down for in my own service.
His was and is a voice of insight, clarity, integrity and honor in stark and refreshing contrast to our era of crass cynicism.
C.S. Lewis remarked in “A Grief Observed” that remembering the dead is difficult because while they lived, they changed and grew and we grew with them. How best are we to remember the dead when death freezes time and growth, and memories grow dim or change as we change yet they are not with us?
Meanwhile, if the dead returned, we would still be faced with the prospect of losing them again in the course of life.
I like the idea, and when the time comes that I’m able to contribute something to said idea, I would like to participate.
Comment from Dr. Tracy M. Baker
Time: April 30, 2013, 4:13 pm
I too have read this site for several years and once exhorted Capt. Lefons to write a book. He wrote back that he had tried to do so, but he said he could never get it organized in a way that made sense to him. I find it amazing that a man with his skills and experience was so humble in spite of it. I was shocked to hear of his passing and have read the accident report. I rememger that for several months, his blog and web site were off line and I didn’t know why. Then, when I found out why, it was like someone punched me in the abdomen. Even though I am not a pilot, except on the Microsoft Flight Simulator, I could understand his thoughts and emotions as portrayed in the stories of “Rhythyms”. I have done over 500 traps on the “Carrier Deck” version of the Microsoft Flight simulator. When I started trying this, I was amazed at how HARD it was. I did 50 approaches to the carrier before I ever trapped. I never “died” in the process, but boltered 49 times. I felt like a dumb###, but finally got it and eventually became very good at it, even in a thunderstorm, which was the most fun. I discovered that the program had a built-in “error” whereby just as I would get to the ramp of the carrier, the thunderstorm wind gusts would throw the jet to one side or the other. What was tough was that you didn’t know which side, so you had to be ready to hit the rudder and stick one way or the other and just the right amount or I had to bolter due to missing the wires. But having done that, I could appreciate to a degree what carrier pilots like Capt. Lefons went through and it is amazing they don’t all REALLY die. I am just a dumb Oklahoma Family Practice Doctor, former Air Force puke who enjoys reading this site as I remain landlocked here.
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