In Memoriam

Robert L. Goldsmith was born on January 19th, 1931 in Malden, Massachusetts and passed away at his home in Jacksonville on January 22, 2010. He graduated from Malden High School in 1949 and joined the National Guard and served for over twelve years. He attended the Forestdale Community Church in Malden. He moved to Melbourne, Florida and in 1957 married Evelyn Claire Meadows, who passed away on August 30, 1991. On July 30, 1999 he married his lovely wife and constant companion, Joan Chatham, and moved to Jacksonville, Florida.

He started his business career in 1956 owning 2 gasoline stations and 1958 started Harbor City Oil Company, Inc., and retired on July 1, 2001. During his many years in Melbourne he served many Eau Gallie organizations including the Chamber of Commerce, Lions Club, Rotary Club, Police Auxiliary and then as a full time Policeman.

His memberships in Masonic affiliated organizations are many. He was a member of the Harbor City Lodge #318 F. &A.M. and served as Worshipful Master. He is a Life Member of the Master and Wardens Association of that District and served as Chairman. He is a member of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite Bodies, Valley of Lake Worth, was invested with the Rank and Decoration of Knight Commander of the Court of Honour and was Coroneted an Inspector General Honorary 33rd. He served the Grand Lodge of Florida as Most Worshipful Grand Master in 1983 and continued to serve as Chairman of the Jurisprudence Committee, Appendent and Allied Orders Committee, Digest Committee, etc. He was appointed Deputy and Crowned an Active Member of the Supreme Council of the Thirty-Third and Last Degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Southern Jurisdiction, U.S.A., in the Orient of Florida and was elected Sovereign Grand Inspector General in Florida. He was appointed the Grand Orator and elected The Grand Minister of State and later elected Grand Prior of the Supreme Council. He was appointed Representative to the Supreme Council in the Republic of Cuba and Slovenia. He was conferred with the Grand Cross of Honour and was made an Honorary Member of the Supreme Council for Slovenia. He served as President of the Scottish Rite Foundation of Florida, which sponsors 14 Childhood Language Disorders Clinics.

Masonic Services were held at the Orlando Scottish Rite Masonic Center on Tuesday, January 26, 2010 at 11:00 am. Burial  followed at the Florida Memorial Gardens in Rockledge, FL.

In Memoriam

Sixteen Minutes
By Bob Perks
     

           
They were just sixteen minutes
from home, these earth born creations
of God, when suddenly His hands
stretched out to catch them in their
unexpected free fall.
 

 
They were among the few in the
history of man, who climbed high enough
into the sky to see God's
heavenly work firsthand.  

Sixteen minutes from home after
sixteen days nearer to heaven than
you and I will ever be in our
lifetime and we all cried, "No, not
again."  
 

Seven men and women whose dreams
brought them to the edge of space and
beyond.  Seven people whose
paths crisscrossed until time, fate
and circumstance joined them
together as a team of explorers for the
good of us all.

This sixteen day mission was
dedicated to research in physical, life,
and space sciences, conducted in
approximately eighty separate
experiments, comprised of
hundreds of samples and tests. The seven
astronauts worked twenty-four
hours a day, in two alternating
shifts. Just sixteen minutes away from
the loving arms of family and friends.
     

    
Sixteen minutes away from a
dream gone full circle.  
Just sixteen minutes more and
they would have returned safely to earth.

Now seven families grieve for
the loss of seven people who were
just sixteen minutes away from
home.
 

Sixteen minutes never meant that
much to me before.  I always saw my
life in years and dreamed in
numbers much larger than sixteen.   
Now, suddenly I see the value in
small numbers.

After "sixteen" days "seven"
died just "sixteen" minutes from home
and the world as "one" mourned
the loss.
 

Next time someone asks, "Do you
have a minute?" give it to them.  It
might mean the world to them.
 

Bob Perks

Bob@BobPerks.com
 

This music video... features a special free-flying Bald Eagle named 'Challenger' (in honor of the lost space shuttle crew) cared for by the non-profit American Eagle Foundation (AEF). He's a 'human socialized' bird raised by the people who rescued him - after being blown from a wild Louisiana nest in a storm as a baby in the late 1980's.  Declared 'non-releasable' by federal and state wildlife authorities, he was trained by the AEF to perform educational free-flight demonstrations at high profile public events.

He's the first Bald Eagle in U.S. history that learned to free-fly into stadiums, arenas and ballrooms during the singing of the Star Spangled Banner.  The celebrity eagle has appeared at numerous major sporting events... like the World Series, Pro-Bowl, All-Star game, BCS National Championship, Fiesta Bowl and NCAA Final Four.

Challenger has also flown before 4 U.S. Presidents!  His life story is told in a children's storybook titled 'Challenger, America 's Favorite Eagle.'

Turn on your speakers and click on link below. 

Click here: YouTube - Amazing Free-Flying Bald Eagle "Challenger" (AEF)

WHOEVER WROTE THIS SHOULD STEP FORWARD AND CLAIM THIS POEM.
THE WORDS ARE VERY POWERFUL:

 TWO THOUSAND ONE, NINE ELEVEN
(2001-911)

Two thousand one, nine eleven
Three thousand plus arrive in heaven
As they pass through the gate,
Thousands more appear in wait
A bearded man with stovepipe hat
Steps forward saying, "Lets sit, lets chat."

They settle down in seats of clouds
A man named Martin shouts out proud
"I have a dream!" and once he did
The Newcomer said, "Your dream still lives."

Groups of soldiers in blue and gray
Others in khaki, and green then say
"We're from Bull Run, Yorktown, the Maine"
The Newcomer said, "You died not in vain."

From a man on sticks one could hear
"The only thing we have to fear...
The Newcomer said, "We know the rest,
trust us sir, we've passed that test."

"Courage doesn't hide in caves
You can't bury freedom, in a grave,"
The Newcomers had heard this voice before
A distinct Yankees twang from Hyannis port shores.

A silence fell within the mist
Somehow the Newcomer knew that this
Meant time had come for her to say
What was in the hearts of the five thousand plus
that day.

"Back on Earth, we wrote reports,
Watched our children play in sports
Worked our gardens, sang our songs
Went to church and clipped coupons
We smiled, we laughed, we cried, we fought
Unlike you, great we're not."

The tall man in the stovepipe hat
Stood and said, "Don't talk like that!
Look at your country, look and see,
You died for freedom, just like me"

Then, before them all appeared a scene
Of rubble streets and twisted beams
Death, destruction, smoke and dust
And people working just 'cause they must ..

Hauling ash, lifting stones,
Knee deep in hell, but not alone
"Look! Black-man, White-man, Brown-man, Yellow-man
Side by side helping their fellow man!"

So said Martin, as he watched the scene
"Even from nightmares, can be born a dream."

Down below three firemen raised
The colors high into ashen haze
The soldiers above had seen it before
On Iwo Jima back in '44.

The man on sticks studied everything closely
Then shared his perceptions on what he saw mostly
"I see pain, I see tears,
I see sorrow -- but I don't see fear."

"You left behind husbands and wives
Daughters and sons and so many lives
are suffering now because of this wrong
But look very closely. You're not really gone.

All of those people, even those who've never met you
All of their lives, they'll never forget you
Don't you see what has happened?
Don't you see what you've done?
You've brought them together, together as one.

With that the man in the stovepipe hat said
"Take my hand," and from there he led
three thousand plus heroes, Newcomers to Heaven
On this day, two thousand one, nine eleven

Author UNKNOWN

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