THE MAN FROM ZENAS It is smaller than a small town. The population could fit in a van... a small van.

There used to be a school, a store, a gas station... But, that was... decades ago. The church is all that still remains... symbolic...perhaps... of the lasting power of the foundational values taught up and down these lonely and quiet country roads. The little town of Zenas... it has barely survived into the 21st century, and, yet... it has little changed for 50 years. Too small for a sign... and a stranger would not know they had even passed through. And, yet... thats where he was from... and thats what he will tell you. Hes the man from Zenas. ...from that tiny spot... thats his origin...his roots... from that humble start. Some might say, that kind of a start is fortunate... there is no direction one can go but up... anywhere is progress forward. But, to think so, is to miss the reality of that little corner... where the road turns west... leading past... only the church... the little town of Zenas. He is from there... still... still from there... Hes the man from Zenas. Ive heard him say that... many times. There are a lot of different ways to start life... many places to be from... New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, a thousand other places that surely would be a real launching place for life... places that would give oneself an identity that others could relate to... places to be from... But... Hes the man from Zenas. Ive heard him say that many times.

Its curious and strange to hear those words... now that hes so many years down his journey. Travels took him around the world... He has lived on the east coast of the country... the northern border in the expanses of Montana, on the gulf beach of Florida, and thousands of miles west across the largest ocean on the island of Okinawa. Yet... Ive heard him say many times... where hes from... that invisible pause on a country road... a place where even other Hoosiers could never guide you... The place is Zenas. Thats where hes from. Hes the man from Zenas. Ive heard him say it many times. More than a quarter of a century he served his country, starting an enlisted man, he ended a colonel. He flew small, fast jets... he trained others... he did his job... during peace... during war... around the world...Okinawa...Viet Nam... all over the country... all directions... and, yet... only yesterday... I heard him say... words that referred to... a remote little place... that isolated, angular corner... where the road turns west... leading past the little church... the little town of Zenas. Thats where all his journeys have led from... Hes the man from Zenas... Ive heard him say that...many times. Hes the man from Zenas... and thats never changed. He learned early from his father to build a house... but he lived... thinking ...every waking moment, and seeing the world around him. He discovered the creativity of Frank Lloyd Wright and went on to create unique forms and distinctive styles... designing and building... works of art. His family...his children... still today...know nothing but... living in homes of creative design and function... geometric shapes...

filled with stone, beautiful wood, and expansive glass... works of art that combine beauty and privacy... while always bringing the outside in. I have sat in his works of art... admiring the hall... of floor to ceiling glass, divided only by repeating brick pillars, looking out on the peaceful beauty of nature... and feeling a part of the surroundings. I wondered...silently... if people comprehended how awesome the creativity was... of this man who had started near the corner of the road... the one that headed west... past the church. This is the man from Zenas... Ive heard him say it many times. I watched him looking out his windows... I recognized the ability to see... a way of observing... that can understand what is truly there... and, yet... knows there is always ... something more. And, I know...I understand... he doesnt want to miss it. He turned to me and pointed out... a small hummingbird... seated on a thin twig. And said a second would come soon. The first would then defend the feeder... would launch...and dive... a dogfight in the air would ensue. In a little while... it happened... as if they were trained... and he was the director of his own little airshow. But, he was only showing... his knowledge... gained from observing... really seeing... the world around him. And though he has taken that kind of seeing... all over the country... all over the world... and filled his mind with more than a normal lifetime of experiences, sights, and knowledge... he still never forgets... that he started near... that bend in the road... where the pavement heads west...

that little place hes from... Hes the man from Zenas. Ive heard him say it... many times. How can you go so far in life... and, yet... never seem to leave... what seems to be a place... that everyone else has forgotten... a place where everyone else may have left. Perhaps, no one else in the world ever says... those words. Quite possibly he is alone... maybe... the only one. I dont think he cares... that doesnt change the facts... Hes the man from Zenas. Hes still... from there. What does it mean... those words he keeps saying? What does it mean to be from Zenas? Is it the most humble place in the world? Is it the closest to nothing... or nowhere that you can get? If you are only from Zenas... does it mean you must have been, too.... at one time... close to nothing... stuck in nowhere... When you are from Zenas... how far can you go... without strong awareness ... of the distance? But...listen... and you will hear him say... Hes still from there... Hes the man from Zenas. Ive heard him say it many times. When youre only from Zenas... how far can you really go...in life? Well... hes from Zenas... and hes gone farther... than any person Ive ever known. ...so loving and supporting... to his family... his son and daughters...and their spouses... to his grandchildren... decades of devotion to his church... where he has been trusted and given responsibilities.... a businessman loved and trusted by customers... and an employer who is so dedicated to employees.. they stay for decades. How far can you go...

when you are from Zenas... ...far enough... to earn and deserve the respect and devotion of all who are lucky enough... to be called friend. How far can you go... Yet...how can you go so far... and still be from that small spot ... that one bend in the road... that heads west... past the church. How can you live a lifetime... and see the whole world... and still be... from there... and still be... what I have heard him say... many times... Hes just... the man from Zenas... and thats never changed. It seems impossible... a little absurd... at first...it makes no sense... a bit of humor...maybe... surely...some tongue in cheek... But, he always says it with a smile... and... I think I finally...know why. He identifies himself by giving his roots... the place from where he started... only a few feet from that corner... that one...solitary turn... where the pavement heads west. It was there... in a building on that corner... a building, now...no longer there... that he learned... that he began. From his parents... he learned the root of love... love for family... love for life... he learned the root of commitment to God... commitment to country... he learned the root of dedication to values... to integrity... dedication to his church... to his community... he learned the root of appreciation for observing life all around him... observing beauty... observing how things worked. These were given to him at the start... given to him in Zenas...

a few feet from that corner... where the road turns west. He never left these roots... he never turned from them... he never changed... from the roots of where he was from.... he just...grew... and...he traveled... and...he added constantly... to his start. He added the world... a lifetime of knowledge... a long list of accomplishments... he added the developed ability of an artist, architect, and builder... he added...breadth... more than any person I ever met. And all that he added made him grow in depth and dimension... and if youre around him... you cant help but know... hes a thinker... a real visionary... creative...ingenious... analytical...rational... logical...and a consummate problem-solver. But underneath it all... hes a man who never left his roots... who recognized their value... who knew they would serve him well... no matter where he went... no matter how far... they would serve him well... if he never left them... if he refused to forget... if he never let fade from his vision... the values he learned... in that house on the corner... where the road bends west... and the values he learned... in that little church... where the road runs by... He really is... the man from Zenas. It is a fact that has never changed. He always told me with a smile... a smile that seemed to hold... an unexplained secret... a secret we all have to discover as we journey through life. Perhaps, we all get confused, at times, about where we are from.... about what is important... we forget our roots...

or we are unaware... that our life is missing... important foundational qualities. If thats true for you... I wish you could experience seeing someone who knows... who knows... where he is from. And nothing is more true of the one who keeps referring... to a place... a place so obscure... and so remote... it is a place that no one knows... a place where the road sharply turns... and heads west... past a quiet little church. It is the place... the place where he is from. Hes the man from Zenas. Ive heard him say it many times. Hes the man from Zenas. ...who went everywhere... ...who went very far... ...who has done so many things... but who has never forgotten... one thing... it is that one thing... he keeps...telling me... and...so... I will not forget... Hes the man from Zenas. Ive heard him say it ... many times.
dedicated to Uncle Hugh Tom Colgan Sept. 12, 2000