Roland "Commander" Sykes
June 1st, 1953 - March 10th, 2008
Wizard, Bit Twiddler, Philosopher, Teacher, and most fun of
all...
The Bus Driver for ADAPT
From: Christine Sheppard
Although I live in the world of answering phones, pushing paper... I'm not much of a writer...alas here it goes
I didn't know Roland well.... I do remember his stories in Mouth about Sun Tzu and "the Art of War" with tactics and strategy that I found frustratingly far beyond my comprehension. I remember Roland’s laughter and his story of widening the inaccessible doors on different floors of a hotel. I keep another article in Mouth about Indiana's fiasco on my desk where Roland quoted "There is a system that's killing people, incarceration in taxpayer-funded care facilities die every three minutes, that's a pretty damn efficient killing system." -Statistics, Strategy, Tactics - Ahh Roland this is Sun Tzu.
I’ve read a few books about U.S. Presidents. Parts of Lincoln’s Gettysburg address makes me think on parallel about Roland and the troops of the disability movement.
We cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground.
The brave men who struggled here have consecrated it far beyond our power
to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we
say here but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the
living rather, to be dedicated to the unfinished work which they who
fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be
dedicated to the great task remaining before us, that from these honored
dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last
full measure of devotion, that we here highly resolve that these dead
shall not have died in vain, and this nation under God, shall have a new
birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, and
for the people, shall not perish from this earth. - Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address
Christine Sheppard
