The Giant Sucking Sound

I heard the news today of the passing of Ross Perot.  Although only 5 foot 6 inches tall, he was a giant of a man.  I had once read his book, entitled, "On Wings of Eagles" about Perot putting together a team to rescue some of his EDS employees from a Tehran prison.  On the drive home today, I learned some other notable things about the man that made me think. 

Now, I preface this post with a statement that Ross Perot was not perfect.  He was a man with failings and shortcomings like all of us, but I think we do a disservice, especially today, when we judge people in the past by today's standards or when we negate a lifetime of goodness by focusing on the negative in people.  If all were held to that standard, well, we could honor no one, for we all fall short.

First, I learned that Ross Perot believed that family meals were a sacred time.  He insisted that the family eat together, and he would sit at the head of the table and say grace, thanking the Creator for His Goodness and Mercy. 

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I think it is important to place family meal togetherness as a priority, especially in our busy world.  It is a beautiful thing to humble yourself and be thankful for your food, your sustenance, your blessings, and realize that it did not come by the sweat of your brow or from money you spent that you are partaking in a meal, but by the provision of a benevolent God.

You see, Ross Perot despite achieving tremendous success and being a billionaire, started from humble beginnings.  He was raised in East Texas in Texarkana and his upbringing shaped him.  When he was 25 years old, he dug his father's grave with a shovel and filled it in order to honor his dad.  He was frugal.  A story that made me chuckle is that he entered the U.S. Naval Academy at age 19 and when sworn in, he was given several pairs of shoes and a dozen sets of underwear.  Up to that point he had never had more than one pair of shoes and three pair of underwear at one time.  Perot said, "This was possibly my first example of government waste."

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Later, he brought to our national consciousness the subject of waste.  I had to laugh as I thought about how we are frugal, too!  We waste nothing!  We compost everything.  We aren't hoarders, but the only things that go into the trash are items that can't be shredded and composted.  We produce very little garbage.  We feed our soil and even feel guilty on vacation when we throw away a banana peel!  We wash and re-use zip loc bags, plastic forks and spoons and plastic sour cream containers.  Stretching a buck is important.

Another thing I remember about Perot is his charts and graphs.  He had a keen ability to be able to communicate things in a simple fashion that anyone could understand.  In fact, I think he would always say, "It's that simple." as he would finish a point.  He was the one that brought attention to the nation about the need for balancing the budget and the dangers of NAFTA.  Remember "the giant sucking sound?" 

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I've always believed in the following Bible verse and have been averse to debt from a personal standpoint.:

Romans 13:8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. 

I think it works on a national standpoint as well. 

I believe that Ross Perot loved his country, saw trouble brewing and wanted to sound the alarm.  He wanted to serve.  His son said it best when speaking of his father.  As quoted HERE: Perot Jr. said his dad truly loved the country, and that’s why he ran for president, “It wasn’t for personal gain,” he said. “He was a businessman, frustrated by what was going on, and wanted to help fix the country.”