An Evening With Mr. Park of Lawrence, Kansas

We are lucky again in this assignment at Leavenworth in that Ward and I get invited to all of the International events. Last night was the quarterly dinner in which all participants bring a dish to share. It is an international potluck! With over eighty countries represented, there was everything from ceviche to Korean glass noodles to Canadian moose milk. But although the cuisine is sublime, it is not the best part of the evening. Meeting new people, that's the sublime part of the night!

Mr. Park, of Lawrence, Kansas, was my dinner partner to my left. And because the gentleman to my right was the director of the event he was kept busy with keeping things running smoothly, I found myself for the most of the dinner, engaged in conversation with this TaeKwonDo philanthropist from the university. Mr. Park provides trips for foreign students to tour the university and to get into games, play golf and if they and their host country are interested a way to attend the university for a year after attending CGSC here at Fort Leavenworth. He was telling me how many foreign students had done this in the past and had gone on to become heads of state.

As the evening went on we spoke together about Seoul, where I have lived briefly and where he was from originally and how he came to come to the U.S. and become a citizen. We talked of the differences between Japan and Korea. And Mr. Park amazed me with his candor, but also his love of his adopted nation. He is an American now and a patriot! Wow, his knowledge of history and his point of view in that our country is one that, "never asks for a fight, but when called out goes in full force. And we never nationalize those countries we defeat! We help them rebuild and then get out." Of course he went on to say that did you know that Japan has never apologized for Pearl Harbor, and that we need to keep an eye on them even now. I also remember that not only did they never apologize to Korea for the atrocities that took place even before WWII, there was a controversy even when we were there in 2000-2002 over that part of history in their textbooks. I am amazed that the two countries were able to share hosting the World Cup!

The dinner portion was over too soon, and a DJ began playing tunes and the one thing that seems to be truly universal among the students began. The dance! I was mesmerized be a particular Italian officer who, being single, took over the floor with any available female dance partner he could find. Ah, to be twenty (OK, thirty!) years younger and to do the salsa! Ay carumba! Next time I am going to bring a camera to capture the sheer fun of this . . . did I mention that the students were all dressed in their native costumes?