A Chip Off the Old Block

Last night as I slipped into that place in meditation where I often meet my parents, I found myself saying, "Daddy, I finally understand that summer of the Rohrman trial. I forgive you for our lost vacation. You were just dealing with a matter of principle that was very important to you."

My father was a scientist, a physicist who loved to invent things. Although most of his work as an enlisted man and then as a civilian with the US Navy was confidential, I know that he received multiple patents for inventions having to do with minesweeping.

This is my father (3rd from the left) talking to some of the boys at the U.S. Naval Mine Countermeasures Station in Panama City, FL.

Here he is (on the right) playing with his ham radio rig. He loved to send Morse code.

He never dealt well with the bureaucracy imposed on any government worker. He even refused to apply for a final promotion because he thought it would remove him even further from the technical things he loved.

One summer when I was around 10 years old, we had packed our bags in preparation for a 3-day trip north to Minnesota to see his family. I was always excited about the prospect of a road trip. But suddenly we found the trip to be on hold because of an issue at the naval base where he worked.

It seemed the scientific director, a Mr. Rohrman, was on trial, a trial that seemed rather like a court marshal. My father was testifying on his behalf and the controversy around this whole thing was extremely troubling to him. But he was intent on making the truth known as a matter of principle.

As a 10-year-old looking at my packed suitcase every passing day, I resented this Rohrman guy who was keeping us from going on our vacation. I failed to understand the significance of my father’s commitment to doing the right thing.

My recent work saga reminds me that I am my father’s daughter in terms of my concern for doing the right thing with our data, amid bureaucratic pressure to do things differently. I’m sure he could have identified with my discomfort at being in meetings where I was pushed against the wall and where I felt like I was out on a limb all by myself.

But finally, Daddy, I get it. I understand just how difficult it is to stand up for what you believe when you are swimming upstream. Thank you for your example.