Ken

He first came in ’73
His purpose — to earn a degree

One of the first,
He was off with a burst

To teaching and “Governor T”*

He next came in ’77
His purpose — to raise earth to heaven

A physics RA
He made Larry’s day**

MIU’s engine was revvin’

Then Ken took over the Press
He made it a stunning success

But when mahas were printed — ***
When money got minted —

His true love left little to guess

When the Treasurer’s position recessed
How to fill it became Bevan’s quest

A voice from on high
Gave a booming reply

“Get West, young Bevan, get West.”****

Ken is a Treasurer’s ideal
He approaches the budget with zeal

With his fabulous talents
In making books balance —

We’ll enlighten the world — at a steal

When the time to do program then comes,
To hear how the universe hums,

He closes his eyes
And — now big surprise —

The “Mild, Mild West” he becomes

When it’s time for vacation and rest
There’s a place that they like to go best

They take a direction
Toward increasing affection

They head for the hills — they go West

And at night when they see the first star
Ken will slip out his guitar

Ken is a picker
A part-time country slicker

Pick it, Ken, wherever you are

The music that Ken loves the best?
I suppose that it’s easily guessed

The songs that he strums
And the man he becomes —

The flavor’s pure Country ‘n’ West

But Ken ain’t no redneck, ya foller?
Ken is a true-blue white collar

In the Treasurer’s Grand Prix
The winner is he

He beats them all, dollar for dollar

And someday when our work is all done
Paula will offer some fun:

The tale will be told —
She’ll finally unfold

The saga called “How West Was Won” *****

Having said it, I’ll say it again:
Ken’s our main man among men

When the assets are rated
And statements are stated

The main asset of all is our Ken.

* “Governor Training” – the course in which teachers of the TM technique learned the advanced TM-Sidhi program

** Ken served for several years as the RA in the physics deparment, chaired by physicist Dr. Larry Domash, MIU’s second president.

*** Mahas was the name of an alternative campus currency we experimented with for several years, to reduce the work involved in interbilling. MIU Press, which Ken oversaw, printed them.

**** A play on the famous statement, “Go West, young man,” popularized by Horace Greeley, the American author and newspaper editor, in promoting America’s westward expansion.

***** I wrote this during the time when Ken was married to Paula. She is now Paula Strong, married to Stephen Corrick.