Lady From Hoback

By Keith Keltner

An American history college professor inspires his students with an enormous sense of civic pride with the hopes that they will go into the world and make a positive difference in their communities. Little does he realize that these students, in addition to the various characters he meets along his own life’s path, will tear him away from the comfort of the classroom and thrust him into the world of politics. Rising to the occasion with the professionalism and commitment to service for which he is known, the professor tackles his assignment with his customary charm and unique style. However, just as he believes his term in office is ending, he gets sucked back into the political arena due to an obscure provision in the Constitution. Drawing on his roots as a teacher, he educates those around him what a government official can accomplish when he’s made no campaign promises and has no political donors to appease. Since there are no political favors owed, he establishes a team of advisers and assistants based solely on merit. The success of his team re-defines the process of representing a constituency. Meanwhile, his eclectic group of friends and former students, who range from an Ethiopian war hero to a spell-conjuring lady and from match-making friends to Russian immigrants, all continue to help him stay focused on the citizens he wants to serve.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Keith Keltner
• Release date: Aug 25, 2016
• ISBN: 9781310364990

Keith Keltner

Keith Keltner is a writer, currently living in the Pacific Northwest. His life’s journey has traversed destinations on both sides of the Mississippi River and both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line. He has extensively traveled through all fifty states, the Caribbean, Canada, Central America, as well as parts of Asia and Europe. While his diverse resume gave him a wide range of skills and experiences, the wealth of inspiration he gained from the people and friends he met along the way is what he truly values.

Book preview

The Lady from Hoback

By: Keith Keltner

Dedication:

Helen Keller in her book, The Story of My Life, wrote: You don't love someone for their looks, or their clothes, or for their fancy car, but because they sing a song only you can hear. This book is dedicated to my wife, Diane, because she sings a song to which my heart joyously dances.

Contents

Chapter 1 – Riesman University

Chapter 2 – Demeke

Chapter 3 – Last Year for Crocs

Chapter 4 – New Friendships

Chapter 5 – Shifting Gears

Chapter 6 – Team Building

Chapter 7 – The Sprint Begins

Chapter 8 – No Time to Wait

Chapter 9 – Charlotte Hall

Chapter 10 –The Awakening

Chapter 11 – 11 Electors

Chapter 12 – Sam and Judy

Chapter 13 – Drafted

Chapter 14 – Fraze

Chapter 15 - 28th Amendment

Chapter 16 - Stray Horse

Chapter 17 - Springtime Again

Chapter 1

Riesman University

I am an American, and I am free today because someone fought, bled, or died in my place. I vow that as long as there is breath in my body that their sacrifice will not be in vain! I am an American. — Unknown

The room was considerably smaller than their other classrooms. The desks were arranged closely, in the center of the room. While the students chose their desks, they tried to move the desks farther apart only to quickly find the furniture had been anchored to the floor. Obviously, the furniture arrangement was not open for modification.

In front of the room was a large monitor located next to a camera on an industrial- strength tripod.

Ah, Vincent said. The desks and chairs are all arranged for the camera’s field of view.

A campus security guard carried a folding chair to the back of the room. Once he placed the chair into position, he took his hat off and took a seat.

One of the students murmured what several of the others were thinking. It’s strange to have a class here in the engineering plant with all of this tech equipment, but at precisely 9 a.m., the monitor flickered on and the students saw their professor for the first time.

While he was getting situated in front of his camera and adjusting his monitor to see all of the students better, they could see the professor was a slightly overweight man in his 40s already missing most of his hair. He did have a mustache that matched his salt and pepper hair. When he looked squarely into the camera, the class could see the intense stare emanating from his dark brown eyes.

I am Professor Ian Dixon, and the class for this semester is American History – 350. The 350 tells you this is an upper-division course. In short, this will be a much closer examination of the events that shaped and formed our republic than you experienced in your lower-division American history classes. He glanced at each student on his monitor screen, taking a few moments to see everyone.

He continued, For those who were unaware, this class is an experiment regarding distance learning techniques and the potential of Internet technology. Tests and papers will be faxed, emailed, or sent by courier via the dean’s office. There are handouts on the desk in the front with my phone number and email address if any of you need to contact me directly.

"Now, let me give a brief overview of the course syllabus and my expectations for this class. Let me first emphasize the following points:

Always be prepared

Focus and actively listen to whoever is speaking

Know the people around you

Have a sense of humor

Realize your actions communicate your personal priorities to the world"

He continued, We will now go around the room and exchange introductions.

Vincent quickly jumped at the chance of introducing himself. Howdy, I’m Vincent Arden from Fort Worth, Texas. I sincerely want to thank you for agreeing to teach this class.

Melody spoke next, Hello, yes, thank you for teaching this class. I’m Melody McCaskey from Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Terry followed and said, Hi, I’m Terry Taylor, and I just want to say that I’m very excited about being part of this experimental trial run of distance learning. I’m sure it’ll be a success.

One by one, the rest of the students introduced themselves to the professor as well as to each other. Sam was near the end. His casual delivery and nonchalant style spoke volumes to the professor above and beyond his actual words.

After the last student introduced himself, the professor began to speak again. By now, you have certainly noticed there is a security officer in the back. His name is Demeke Tesfaye. He will be auditing this class as frequently as his work schedule will allow. Since he is auditing the class and not an actual student, he will be exempt from all exams and will not receive a grade or credit for the course.

Demeke, would you like to say anything to the class about yourself?

Demeke smiled, and with a heavily accented voice said, No, professor, you covered everything very well.

Are there any other questions at this point?

All of the students simply shrugged their shoulders and briefly glanced at one another. After a brief silence, the professor took a step closer to the camera. His facial expression became quite serious and his gaze grew intense. The class was slightly confused about what was about to happen.

The professor began to speak:

In Congress, July 4, 1776. The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America. When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands…

The class realized the professor was reciting the Declaration of Independence apparently from memory.

Most amazing was that he appeared to use no notes or props to help him recollect the entire document. He recited every one of the 1,300 plus words from memory.

Once it occurred to her what he was doing, Terry tried to find the written document in her textbook to see if she could follow along and determine if he was paraphrasing or actually reciting the document verbatim.

However, by the time she found it, she, like all of the other students, had gotten caught up in his impassioned, heartfelt delivery. It was as if he was verbally telling off King George III himself. Each student was totally mesmerized by the professor’s delivery. Unlike any other teacher these students had previously had, it was clear this guy was dedicated to his subject matter.

The professor completed the recitation,

…And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

As he finished, the professor calmly looked at his watch and announced, You’re expected to read and understand the first two chapters of the class textbook. I’ll see you on Thursday.

As quickly as the class had begun, it had concluded and the monitor was remotely switched off. Looking at their watches, the students realized the entire 90 minutes had gone by, and it was 10:30 a.m. to the second.

Several students sat there for a moment taking in what they had experienced. Some students noticed the time and realized they had to go to their next class. Collecting her things and heading for the exit, Melody said, Wow, I’m so impressed he could remember the entire text and deliver it with such sincerity!

While Vincent agreed with her, Sam simply scoffed, I’m sure he was using cue cards or a cheat sheet of some kind.

Demeke followed them out and locked up the room as he left. He shook his head slightly in disbelief at the variety of student reactions to the professor’s performance.

As the weeks went by, the professor’s study plan steered its way through the early periods of American history including the British control of the colonies, the American Revolution, and formation of a new government.

Since this was designed to be a more challenging course, the material dealt with the nuts-and-bolts issues that drove the decisions leading to the various components of our history, answering the more in-depth questions associated with the formation of our Republic.

In short, it was fairly dry material.

Even with the professor’s enthusiastic style and charismatic delivery, one particular Thursday class found the students’ attention was adrift. The professor noticed Sam appeared to be writing, but he was using broader strokes across the paper rather than what would have been expected if he was actually writing words.

The professor abruptly called out, Will the student from Florida please share with us the detailed notes he is taking?

Everyone turned to look at Sam, who didn’t realize the professor was referring to him. Finally, the deafening silence got Sam’s attention, and he finally looked up from his doodling. What? was the most intelligent response he could utter.

Now, everyone looked back at the monitor to see what the professor’s response would be.

With about 20 minutes left in the class, the professor said, I’m dismissing the class early since I’m assigning everyone a challenging paper to write before the next class. The assignment is for you to write your own personal history, from birth until the year 2000. You must include at least three references from regular published sources such as newspapers, magazines, or published books. The paper must be at least 20 pages long with single-line spacing.

From the back, Sam called out, Does our birth announcement count as a printed reference? to which the professor simply replied, Thanks to the distinguished student from Florida, let’s make it four references. Now, are there any other questions?

The students groaned.

The professor briskly said, I look forward to seeing your work in five days. In an instant, the monitor flickered off.

As the students left, a couple of them gave Sam looks of stern disapproval. Another student actually mumbled, Thanks a lot, pal. Some of the others simply whined about having to change some of their weekend party plans to allow time for the assignment.

Most of the class worked feverishly over the next five days to complete their assigned task.

Vincent wrote about his life growing up in the suburbs of Fort Worth, Texas. Finding printed references about his life was not a problem for him since he always excelled in sports. During high school, he was the star linebacker in football, and he was the star catcher in baseball. Vincent was attending Reisman University on a baseball scholarship.

He felt obligated to excel in both athletics as well as academics since his older sister and older brother were near perfect at everything they tried their hand at. Sibling rivalry was his motivation to excel in school and in sports.

Vincent’s main problem with the assignment was trying to select how to narrow down the printed references to only four or five. His family had been cattle ranchers since the late 1800s. In the early 1950s, they discovered oil on their ranch. Needless to say, Vincent and his family were frequently discussed in the local papers.

Melody had a more challenging time finding documentation regarding her life. She was born in Rapid City, South Dakota. Her father worked for the railroad as a track maintenance welder and had been killed in a work-related accident six weeks before Melody was born. Her mother, Diane, never remarried.

When Melody was two, her mother moved them to Cheyenne, Wyoming, where Diane had a job as a scheduler for a local trucking company. When Melody started grade school, her mother started taking correspondence classes in various business-related areas. When Melody began junior high school, her mother started taking night classes at the local community college.

Melody said seeing her mom working full-time, struggling to be a single mom, and then finding time to finally get her associate’s degree in business was a true inspiration to her. Melody was a solid B-plus student throughout high school and earned a partial scholarship to Reisman University due to her rifle marksmanship.

Sam wasn’t too invested in the assignment since he never really cared much for the way his life had turned out. It was unclear what he actually expected – he just knew what he ended up with couldn’t be it.

Sam was born in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1978. His father was a machinist in the U. S. Navy. He was always away on deployment, and Sam only saw his father when he was home on leave which wasn’t very often.

Sam’s mother abandoned him when he was four. His paternal grandparents raised him. While his grandparents were loving and totally devoted to Sam’s safety and well-being, he was always embarrassed his guardians were so much older than all of the other kids’ parents.

Life changed only slightly when his father left the Navy in 1995 to take a position as a factory maintenance representative for Lester Power Plants. In this civilian position, his father constantly traveled across North America and the Caribbean maintaining industrial power generators. At least Sam saw him a few times each month.

Sam’s grandfather had died in July of 1998, only six weeks before Sam started at Reisman University. While Sam mourned his grandfather’s loss, he found himself worried his death would in some way hinder his break for freedom, his chance to go far away to college and be free to live his life independent of all of the old-generation rules he viewed as being too confining and rather suffocating.

As the weekend dragged along, Sam found the lure of one of the local frat parties too great for him to resist. He didn’t want to be shackled to a desk writing a burdensome paper. On Sunday he found the temptation to join a group of friends greater than his discipline to be thorough with his paper. In short, by Tuesday his paper ended up being exactly one line over the half-way mark of page 19. He figured the professor would round up the fact and give him credit for 20 pages.

While the students drifted into the professor’s class, a couple of students still harbored some resentment for the role that they felt Sam had played in causing the class to have the assignment in the first place. At 9 a.m. the monitor flickered on in the classroom, and the professor walked into view. He looked on his monitor to determine if everyone was present and then said, Demeke, can you have Karl, the janitor, come in the room now? Demeke snapped to attention and gave a quick nod as he swiftly left the classroom.

The professor then asked, Everyone in the class, please place your personal histories on the desk corner.

Demeke and the janitor returned to the room. Demeke faced the camera and announced, He is here, sir, and returned to his seat.

The professor greeted Karl with a big smile and said, Double or nothing next time?

Karl replied, Sure, professor, why not?

Then the professor asked Karl to read off the student’s name and then the page number on the final page of each report.

Karl quickly complied and read off the information as requested. Terry Taylor – 26 pages, Melody McCaskey – 21 pages, Sam Brunkow – 19 pages…

From the back of the room a voice blurted out, 19 and three-quarters!

The professor asked Karl to hold the last page up to the camera. He glanced at the amount of text on the last page, and said, Karl, please continue. Vincent had a total of 25 pages.

Once Karl had completed reading all of the names and total number of pages from the students’ papers, the professor said, OK, Karl, Now that you are finished, you know what to do with them. Students, please follow Karl.

The confused class followed him as they were told.

Demeke walked up to the camera and spoke quietly, They have all left now. Do you really think this will work?

The professor simply smiled and slightly shrugged his shoulders as Demeke smiled back and slowly walked back to his seat.

Karl led the students down the hallway of the engineering plant to the stairwell. At the bottom of the stairs, he led them into the boiler room where he set the papers down on a desk. He walked over about six feet to open the large furnace door.

Once the door was opened, Karl went back to the desk and picked up the stack of papers and then made his way back to the open furnace. The students started protesting as soon as they saw what he was doing. They then watched as Karl tossed all of the personal history papers into the furnace. He then picked up a wooden club and used it to close and latch the furnace door.

Karl said, Go back to class. The demonstration is over.

Some students hurried back to the class to protest. Other students were frustrated at all of their wasted energy and all of the fun they had missed out on.

Terry always analyzed situations and events for alternate meanings or hidden significance. Her incredibly high IQ fostered this type of response to inexplicable events. In this case, however, she merely chuckled at the whole idea.

The professor watched as the students returned to the class. They mumbled and shot dirty looks at him as they went past the camera. A few students clearly objected to the exercise they had witnessed in the furnace room.

One of the first, and clearly the angriest, complaint was being levied by the esteemed student from Florida. A couple of other students wanted to know why all of their work had been destroyed.

Once all the students had taken their seats, the professor looked carefully at all of their faces as if he was reading their very souls. He then slowly stepped towards his camera and began to explain his actions.

For those of you who are taking economics this semester, could you please tell me the Gini Coefficient’s sacrifice so that you are free to attend this university?

After a pause for a response, he continued, Some of you are taking Dr. Langston’s psychology class so certainly you can tell me the amount of blood shed by heuristics so you would be able to vote in the upcoming election.

Again, there was a dramatic pause for effect.

Since some of you seem to be proficient with drawing in class, maybe the students who are taking advanced accounting classes can collaborate with the English literature students and prepare a pie chart or even a Ishikawa diagram showing me which literary works from Geoffrey Chaucer, Charles Dickens, Mary Shelley, and/or Francis Bacon defended this country after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor by the Imperial Japanese Navy. Do any of you believe you could produce such a drawing for us?

This time, the pause was only brief enough to take a quick breath. I implore any one of you to tell me of just one element from the periodic table who gave its life so you had the choice this past Sunday to do what you chose to do. You each had a choice and were free to make it. You could go to the Chapel of the Holy Cross in Sedona or any other church of your choosing. You were free to stay in bed if you wanted and not go to church at all or you were free to play football in the park, like some of you did.

Sam squirmed slightly in his seat.

Continuing, the professor said, I’m not saying this class is more important than Dr. Langston’s psychology class, or Professor Holliman’s accounting class, or Dr. Deshazo’s English literature class. The point here is the subject matter in this class pertains to real people who had to make real life-and-death decisions. They had to make decisions that not only changed their lives but the lives of their families.

His face winced slightly as he recalled specific stories. Josiah Bartlett signed the Declaration of Independence and as a result, opposing Tories back home in New Hampshire burned down his home. Abraham Clark also signed the Declaration of Independence, which inspired two of his sons to go on to become officers in the Continental Army. Eventually, both were captured, tortured, and beaten. One of his sons was thrown in a dungeon and given no food except what was shoved through a keyhole. Medgar Evers firmly believed that his skin color should not prevent him from going to law school. He became a vocal activist for civil rights even though his home was fire-bombed and he narrowly escaped being intentionally run down by a car. His beliefs and fight for freedom eventually got him killed.

The professor’s intensity increased as he said, These individuals each contributed to the molding and shaping of this nation. What about the lives of those who fought in American wars? Don’t they deserve some basic respect? Over 75,000 Americans were killed or wounded for this nation to be free from England in two separate wars, first the Revolutionary War and then in the War of 1812. Now, add the number of Americans who were killed or wounded in the Mexican-American War, the American Civil War, both World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, and the Gulf War. The total is nearly three million Americans.

The professor stepped forward slightly as he repeated the calculated total of nearly three million Americans.

He then added, Men and women, most were close to your age. A few were children, while a few were senior citizens. Three million Americans who chose their duty to their country over attending a frat party.

Again, Sam grew more uncomfortable with the professor’s references to his weekend activities.

The professor declared, American history is a grand portrait created over the years by the drive, courage, determination, ideals, struggles, and sacrifices of our ancestors. It is a living history, and the portrait has not been completed yet. It awaits your contributions. Consider for a moment if you were asked to contribute to a famous painting by Rembrandt or Monet. You wouldn’t hastily grab a brush and start painting over these priceless works of art, would you? Of course not! You would have to study the existing work to determine where it would be acceptable for you to make your mark.

This is the purpose of this class. You are each supposed to understand this wonderful heritage that has been placed in front of you so you can determine your future path. In short, you must know your past to know your future.

The professor walked back to his chair and picked up a couple of papers before beginning to speak again. So, cry if you want over a lost weekend and some sheets of paper, but think of how meaningless it really is compared to the sacrifice of going off to war in some remote jungle and not knowing if you will ever see your family or loved ones ever again.

Immediately, the professor changed topics. Terry, last Thursday we left the class while discussing James K. Polk. Please tell us who he was and why we should care.

Following Terry’s skillful and accurate response, the professor made a couple of additional points and then proceeded to cover the remaining material scheduled for that day’s class.

The students got the message: the professor was dedicated to the subject and he expected each of his students to be as well. After the paper-burning incident, most of the students did re-focus their attention on the lectures, and they each participated more in class. Not surprisingly, the more involved they became, the more focused they were.

Over time, the students’ appreciation for the professor grew as well. They found him to be witty while also being highly adept at presenting obscure material. The students recognized the mastery with which the professor guided their understanding of a subject they thought they knew, yet each day brought a fresh perspective. All of them agreed the professor had a wonderful talent for translating his knowledge and enthusiasm into a heightened learning experience.

Chapter 2

Demeke

The first requisite of a good citizen in this republic of ours is that he shall be able and willing to pull his own weight. — Theodore Roosevelt

In early October, the professor told his students, I’d like to encourage all of you to vote in the upcoming election. If you haven’t yet registered to vote in your home state, I can help you get registered if it isn’t too late according to your individual state laws. I have also provided information to assist you in casting absentee ballots.

The students knew the professor considered voting an important responsibility for all American citizens.

Throughout the campaign season, students always asked the professor questions to find out which candidate he was supporting.

However, each time, the professor skillfully dodged the question by turning it around, and asking the questioning student what he thought about Social Security reform or the nation’s foreign policy towards Somalia or the Balkans.

He told them, I want you to define your own personal beliefs and decide for yourselves which candidate best represents your views for government.

To focus the class’s attention on important political issues, the professor brought up the 1860 presidential election.

He started calling on different students, not using their names but calling them the student from Wyoming or the student from Florida.

If there were multiple students from the same state, he used the city from which they came, such as: the student from Bakersfield or the student from Fresno. When he called on these students, he assigned them a candidate’s name from the 1860 presidential election or a major political issue of the time.

Besides Abraham Lincoln, there were four other candidates for president in 1860; Stephen A. Douglas, John C. Breckinridge, John Bell, and Gerrit Smith, who all represented separate and different views and visions for this country.

In addition, the election featured several issues that inspired displays of extreme emotions from various factions. A few of these issues were tariffs to protect U.S. workers and industry, support for a Homestead Act granting free farmland in the western territories for settlers to occupy the land and productively work it, federal funding of a transcontinental railroad, and the perceived threat of Mormonism.

Slavery-related issues were prominent: how to deal with the fugitive slave laws, personal liberty laws, ramifications of the Dred Scott decision, and the various goals of the abolitionist movement.

Each student had to research their candidate or political position, and write a short paper on why voters in 1860 would want to vote for or against their assigned candidate or issue.

Seconds after the professor announced the assignment, Sam blurted out, Are you going to burn these papers too?

Instantly, the professor responded, You may now all thank the student from Florida for modifying the assignment to seven full pages in length. Are there any other questions or comments?

Naturally, several students glared at Sam as he squirmed in his chair.

On the Thursday before Election Day 2000, the students submitted their reports and then promptly began a spirited discussion about the various issues and personalities involved in the 1860 election.

The professor listened to their points for a while, and then asked, Considering how emotional the atmosphere was back in 1860, isn’t it amazing voters actually elected anyone into office?

After the rhetorical question, he continued, Many individual voters were focused on only one issue. For them, the choice appeared vividly clear. However, voters with a broader scope had a more difficult time deciding on their ideal candidate.

With that observation, the class started to discuss the current presidential candidates, George W. Bush and Al Gore. Terry observed, I notice the amount of focus a candidate gives to an issue frequently does not mirror the priority the voter gives to that same topic.

With a thoughtful nod, the professor watched as another student asked Terry to clarify her comment. Terry continued, "Look, in a recent poll of voters regarding the importance they placed on various issues, education was considered the number one issue.

Meanwhile, abortion rights did not even rank in the top ten. However, the candidates focus far more attention on abortion than on education-related issues."

As the discussion turned into a firestorm when the students began weighing in on abortion, the professor calmly regained control by saying, Campaigning politicians frequently focus on more volatile issues to create conflict and division with these type of emotionally charged topics. But, the question I have for you is, can you explain the differences in each candidate’s education agenda?

Obviously, no one could. The professor explained, This is precisely why candidates focus on divisive issues. None of you can explain your candidate’s stand on education even though that is voters’ most important issue right now. At the same time, you could each describe your candidate’s stand on abortion even though this isn’t a major concern for voters in general. So, you support a candidate based on his viewpoint on secondary issues, while you don’t really know where he stands on important issues.

For the rest of the time, the class defined the issues that they felt should be addressed over the next four years. They then reached consensus on where each candidate stood on those issues. By the end of the class, a few students had changed their opinions about who they wanted to support, while others were pleased to have their earlier opinions validated.

Whether you changed your opinion or felt pleased with your original choice, only you can determine what you think is a priority. Picking a candidate to support requires you to do critical thinking and careful analysis. Voters need to be well informed to sustain the republic. Each citizen—each of you—must constantly delve into the issues and study them completely. Voters must make their decision to support a candidate grounded on a rational decision, supported by solid information, rather than a whim stemming from a well-timed sound bite.

Do you know why politicians use emotional mud-slinging? They do it to distract the voters from the real issues. This tactic also serves to keep their opponents busy discussing topics of lesser importance to the voters. In short, the voters need to recognize these smokescreens and stay focused on the real issues.

On Election Day evening, the professor watched as the results came pouring in. At about 1:00 a.m., Vice President Al Gore conceded the election to Former Texas Governor George W. Bush. After this announcement, the professor switched off his television and retired for the evening.

He didn’t hear that the vice president had retracted his concession until the following morning. With that, the professor was glued to the news.

The election came down to the electoral votes from the state of Florida. This one state’s outcome would determine the next president of the United States.

By the next Thursday class, the story had grown even more confusing. As the automatic recounts and legal posturing continued, the professor was barraged with questions regarding historical precedence and constitutional guidance. He attempted to explain. There were three previous presidents who failed to gain the popular vote, but won the electoral vote and went on to become president: John Quincy Adams, Benjamin Harrison, and Rutherford B. Hayes. As a point of interest, none of these men served a second term.

He elaborated on the Hayes–Tilden presidential race: In the national election of 1876, there were three states late with tabulating their votes; one of the states involved coincidently was Florida. Due to widespread election fraud and corruption, Congress and President Grant sent the matter to a non-partisan election commission to decide the fate of 20 contested electors. The commission gave the electors to Hayes, the Republican candidate. The Democrats were outraged with this decision and organized a filibuster to prevent the commission’s results being delivered to Congress.

He continued, Eventually party leadership on both sides negotiated a deal to allow the Republicans to put Hayes in the White House while the Democrats were able to end the Union military control over the ‘unredeemed’ Southern states. In other words, the period of American History known as ‘Reconstruction’ would end as the result of a politically negotiated deal that put President Hayes in the White House.

Over the next several days, the class continued to follow the political maneuvering of the current presidential election. Then, on December 13, Gore conceded the election a second time and Bush accepted the election victory.

The next day was the last class before final exams and Christmas break. When the professor finished the Bush-Gore recap, Karl the janitor walked into the room with a stack of small packages. He set them on the corner of the desk, gave the professor a nod and slight wave, and then walked out of the room as the professor thanked him for his help.

Professor Dixon continued to review for the upcoming exams without explaining what the packages were.

The students wondered if the professor had got them all some type of present for Christmas. If so, what was it? The packages were brown envelopes appearing to contain something flat. Maybe it was a book or calendar.

Thanks for your patience with the distance-learning experiment. I’ll be teaching the second half of the class starting in the winter semester. So, if you are interested, please register for it. Now, let me wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and of course the best of good fortune on your final exams.

Abrupt as ever, he switched off the camera without saying anything about the packages on the desk.

As the students were leaving, they couldn’t help walking towards the desk so they could get a better look at the mysterious packages. Upon closer inspection, they noticed each package had one of their names on it.

Silently, each student began to rummage through the pile to find their package. Some students took their package and left. Vincent, Melody, and Terry tore into them immediately. They were each stunned to find the self-history paper they had written earlier in the year. They didn’t understand how this was possible since they all had seen Karl throwing them into the furnace.

The professor had read and graded each report. Terry got an A. Vincent and Melody both got an A- on their reports, while Sam had received a C-.

The students’ performance on their finals mirrored the grades they had received on their personal history papers. For most, it was a pleasant way to start the holiday break.

Second-semester registration day fell on the first Wednesday in 2001. Several of the professor’s students rushed to register for the second half of his upper-division American History class, since they had grown to appreciate his style and delivery even via a television.

However, Sam didn’t really care much for the professor and tried to take some other course to fill out his class load. Unfortunately for Sam, his advisor explained he would have to take the second half of the class for it to count towards transfer credits. When he tried to find a class opening with a different professor, he quickly realized he was too late. The only class remaining was the professor’s class. He registered for it reluctantly.

The returning students quickly took their seats as they watched the new students try to move desks around and vie for seats in the back of the room. Demeke marched in with his folding chair, which he set up in the rear of the room seconds before the monitor flickered on.

Recapping the previous day’s events, the professor explained the process of how Vice President Al Gore, as president pro tem of the Senate, presided over the Electoral College results being recorded, which certified he had lost the presidential election and officially declared George W. Bush the winner.

Focusing on the next steps, the professor explained, President Clinton will soon be leaving office and probably will not give a State of the Union address. Many outgoing presidents choose to give some type of farewell address to the nation and/or Congress. With the new president, there most assuredly will be some type of inaugural address that will provide some type of broad-strokes view of what he wants to accomplish over the next four years. Usually, within the first couple of months in office, the new president may decide to address a joint session of Congress. This speech is customarily similar to a state of the union address where the new president talks about the more immediate goals and directions for his first year in office.

Having given the brief synopsis of presidential events that the class could expect to witness over the next few weeks, the professor then offered his own personal rendition of a state of the union address. It reminded the returning students of the professor’s amazing recitation of the Declaration of Independence.

Again, the professor had focused intensely on his delivery. The hard-hitting speech captivated his audience while he highlighted the nation’s opportunities and its vulnerabilities. He even outlined his recommendation for a legislative agenda that he felt Congress should implement.

While most of the class continued to be impressed with the professor’s zeal and passion for his subject matter, Sam failed to be inspired.

Sam continued to grow more annoyed by the professor and his antics with each class. For whatever reason, the clash between Sam and the professor progressively got worse. Sam’s work on his reports continued to be subpar, which aggravated the professor. Every time Sam was called upon, he was daydreaming and unaware of the current topic. Whenever Sam did comment on a historical event, the professor would have to correct him due to inaccuracies. The tensions between them continued to grow for the rest of the semester.

For his journalism class, Sam had to write an investigative report on some thing or some person. Sam immediately decided to write his report on Professor Dixon. While the assignment assumed the writers would keep an open, impartial mind about their topic, Sam focused on finding dirt on the professor to take him down a notch or two.

Sam attacked the journalism assignment with great ambition, hoping to find something embarrassing about the professor. After his initial research turned up very little regarding the professor, Sam decided to discuss his frustration with Sherry Leary, a journalism friend from high school. During their email discussion, Sherry asked him, This Ian Dixon guy, what do you know about him?

Sam responded, I haven’t been able to find out too much, really. The main stuff I found primarily pertains to his teaching relationship with Riesman University and the experiment with distance learning. Basically, it’s all very boring and uneventful stuff.

Sherry asked, Has he always been a teacher at Reisman? Where did he teach before? Did he have some other career prior to teaching?

Sam thought about the questions briefly before replying, I believe I heard that he had some type of business background.

Sherry asked more questions. So, he used to be in business but now he is teaching? What happened? People just don’t change career paths for no reason. People change usually because they have something to hide. There must be a catalyst. Find out what motivated this professor of yours to leave business and start teaching. This might provide you with the lead you are seeking.

After a day or two, Sam got an email from Sherry explaining she’d done some sleuthing on her own while interning at the city newspaper offices back in Jacksonville. She told Sam, I found some traces of an Ian Dixon who became the focal point of some scandal in Virginia. The information was choppy but seemed to indicate the incident occurred at a company called Universal Interferometer Tech, or UIT, around July of 1991. If it is the same Ian Dixon, it looks like he was working for a consulting firm, Finley Operational Management Solutions as an embedded consultant, whatever that means.

Sam was thrilled to get this lead and couldn’t wait to dart off to the library to conduct further research. His search was slowed by the fact UIT had gone into bankruptcy and subsequently liquidated. Sam figured he could make something from the fact that UIT had folded four months after Mr. Dixon had consulted with them on their business activities.

The investigative piece was developing well in Sam’s opinion when he got an email from Sherry with what he considered to be pay dirt. She had found an obscure business magazine’s reference to Mr. Dixon’s resignation from Finley Operational Management Solutions in August of 1991, less than a week after some incident at UIT. The thought that Sherry had found this out from a business journal motivated him to return to the university library and begin searching for trade magazines as well as smaller local newspapers.

Shortly, he had discovered an article in a small weekly business journal covering businesses in Northern Virginia. Sam could barely contain his excitement as he read the article:

"Theft and Violence at Local HQ

August 1, 1991

Halle Lang, Staff reporter

Arlington County Sentinel

Excitement erupted this past Monday inside the Arlington corporate headquarters of Universal Interferometer Tech (UIT) when Senior Accountant Cheryl Lackner confronted a contracted consultant regarding large amounts of corporate funds that had vanished over the past few months. The discussion quickly escalated to the point where UIT Senior Vice President of Operations Bannock Keeler felt compelled to intervene. I overheard the arguing from the hallway…It sounded like that guy was going to hurt Cheryl. Keeler stated. According to Mr. Keeler, when he tried to stop the argument, the consultant struck him in the face.

The UIT legal counsel quickly terminated our access to Mr. Keeler, claiming the matter was considered closed. The counsel’s official press release regarding the matter simply stated, A heated and unprofessional dispute occurred between a representative of an outside consulting company, Finley Operational Management Solutions (FOMS) of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and representatives of UIT. After a quick investigation of the matter, it was decided the services of FOMS should be terminated immediately. UIT considers this matter closed, and we would now like to focus on our work of providing the best Interferometer Technology available.

The press release made no reference to the alleged embezzlement that supposedly triggered the initial altercation. We were unable to contact FOMS prior to our press deadline, and they have refused to return our calls. In addition, we were unable to contact Ms. Lackner for additional information on this story. It is also unclear if Mr. Keeler will be filing assault charges against the unnamed consultant."

Sam became giddy to learn Professor Dixon had not only been accused of embezzlement but had also actually hit one of his clients! With glee, Sam gathered the handful of facts he had found and wove them together into a story that certainly put the professor in an unfavorable light. Wherever the story was missing a point or two, Sam simply allowed his imagination to fill in the blanks.

In Professor Dixon’s last class before exams, there was a buzz in the air as the professor closed the distance-learning program experiment. Students were trying to get a handle on all of the areas that would be covered in the final exam as well as starting to look forward to their summer break. Many were amazed their junior year of college was almost over.

After reviewing some of the semester’s key points, the professor gave a big smile and announced he had an observation. "Some of you