Document nkqmvDLdeQObo5Xyw4w8bepgG

PUBLISHED BY THE MARINE DEPARTMENT, HUMBLE OIL & REFINING COMPANY Vol. 8, No. 8 April 21, 1966 SELF-RENEWAL In these excerpts from an address by Dr. John W. Gardner* you will find stimulating thoughts which, if you can act upon them, will lead you to a richer, more satisfying life. Man is a contradictory creature. He can win against great odds and he can lose when everything is in his favor. He is beginning to feel safe in outer space but he doesn't yet feel safe with his fellow man. He is master of his physical en vironment but not yet master of himself. Why do some people go to seed? Why do some men grow old before their time? We all know men who are old at the age of thirty -- a friend of mine calls them young fogies. And all of us know men who remain young in spirit to the end of their days. How can we account for such differences? I am going to outline for you some of the characteristics of selfrenewing individuals. Self-renewing people are versa tile and adaptive. They are not trapped in the techniques, proce dures, and routines of the moment. They are not fully imprisoned by fixed habits and attitudes. For the self-renewing person, the development of his own potentiali ties and the process of self-discov ery never end. It is sad but true that most human beings go through life only partially aware of the full range of their abilities. It is even sadder, and perhaps truer, that self knowledge, the beginning of wis dom, is ruled out for most people by the increasingly effective self deception they practice as they grow older. By middle age, most of us are accomplished fugitives from ourselves. One of the reasons why mature people learn less than young people is that they are willing to risk less. They do not like failure, and learn ing is a risky business. But the selfrenewing individual doesn't mind a failure now and then as long as he is learning and growing. He is al ways exploring his own capacities, always trying new things. How long is it since you have failed at anything? If it is long, you are in poor shape. If you are suf ficiently adventurous, sufficiently willing to try new things, you will stumble fairly often. It is the price of growth. Self-renewing people have mu tually fruitful relations with other human beings. They are capable of accepting love and capable of giv ing it--both more difficult achieve ments than is commonly thought. And what has that to do with self renewal? The man or woman who is incapable of accepting love or of giving it is imprisoned, cut off from a great part of the world of ex perience. The distinctive thing about our dealings with human beings is that we not only react to our environ ment, in some measure we create our environment. The person who craves a quarrel creates circum stances in which a quarrel is in evitable. People who meet friend liness wherever they go are prob ably doing much to produce that friendliness. Thus we really do create our own climate. The power of that truth to change our lives is seldom grasped. Self-renewing people are highly motivated and respect the sources How long is it since you have de veloped a new interest? How long since you've made a new friend? How long since you've gotten into an argument with someone of fun damentally differing views and come away thinking that the other fellow was right? It should happen occasionally even with the wisest of us. This picture isn't very suggestive of spring -- even though it was taken Mar. 31, 11 days after the season became official. But then, this was off Hatteras, where weather pays scant heed to calendar. The ship is the Esso Washington and the photographer who caught her after house wreathed in spray with a new Polaroid is Chief Mate Bert Christensen. *Dr. Gardner is Secretary of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. At the time he made this talk (before the General As sembly of Telephone Pioneers) he teas President of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and a director of the New York Telephone Co. He is the author of 2 much-discussed books, EXCELLENCE and SELF RE NEWAL. EXX-MOR-006481 of their own energy and motivation. They have the priceless quality of enthusiasm. They know how impor tant it is to believe in what they are doing. Now obviously all of us cannot spend all of our time pursuing our deepest convictions. But everyone, either in his career or in his after work activity, should be doing something about which he cares deeply, something that is related to his deepest values. Life is an endless unfolding, and if we wish it to be, an endless process of self-discovery, an endless and unpredictable dialogue between our own potentialities and the life situations in which we find our selves. It is not a puzzle that has a solution. It is not a riddle that has a definite answer. It is not a game that has a definite point at which you win or lose. We are engaged in an endless ex ploration of our own potentialities and the potentials of the circum stances in which we find ourselves. And by potentialities I mean not just intellectual gifts but the full range of one's capacities for learn ing, sensing, wondering, under standing, loving, and aspiring. Now if someone were to ask me, "Why bother with all this? Why even try to be a self-renewing per son?" one answer -- and a very good one -- would be, "Just because vitality is better than stagnation, because growth is better than de cay. As a self-renewing person you will live life more fully, and with greater awareness." But there's an even more meaningful answer. As a self-renewing person you will be better able to serve whatever values and ideals you cherish --whether they are religious values, devotion to loved ones or service to the com munity. And you will serve your country better. The renewal of this nation depends on the capacity for renewal of the individuals who make it up, and that means you and me and the family next door. Baton Rouge Refinery to be Enlarged The Company's Baton Rouge Refinery, already one of the 4 largest in the world, is to have still more capacity. Expansion and modernization of the No. 10 pipe still, a crude oil distillation unit, will increase the plant's processing capacity from 380,000 to 415,000 b/d. The other 3 refineries capable of processing more than 400,000 b/d are the Lago refinery in Aruba, Iranian Oil Co. at Abadan and Creole's plant at Amuay, Venezuela. Construction of the new Baton Rouge project is now in progress and completion is set for the first half of 1967. "---------J RECENT RETIREMENTS r~ - - ? Oiler Joseph P. Donovan, Jr. joined the Company as Wiper . ., in the Fred W. Weller on Sept. 17, 1947, after South Pacific service in the Navy during World War II. He advanced to \$f FWT in Jan. 1949 and sailed as Oiler from April 1954 until his retirement, April 1. His credited service totals 18 years, 4 months. A native of Massachusetts, Mr. Donovan is a resident of Hyde Park, a suburb of Boston. Second Cook Gersion G. Woolf, senior Second Cook in the Fleet, retired April 1, with 17 years, 10 months of credited service. Except for 3 assign ments as Messman in 1949, he always sailed as Second Cook. His first ship was the J. A. Mowinckel, in Jan. 1948 and his most recent, the Esso Newark. Mr. Woolf is a native of Boston and lives in Mattapan. Mass. Original Licenses Irvy H. Ebanks -- Third Mate, 4/8/66 Fred H. Loyd, Jr. -- Second Asst. Engr., 4/7/66 Those Dues Deductions There seems to be some confusion about union dues deductions on the new pay vouchers. There are 2 columns under "Deductions" on the voucher. One is headed "Current" and the other "Year to Date." When a dues deduction is first made, it appears in both columns. In following vouchers the same amount will appear in the Year to Date column but that doesn't mean there has been an other deduction. It's the original deduction, which is carried forward to the end of the year. It only increases when another dues deduction is shown in the "Current" column. Yi TAFFRAIL TALK Ed Cole, who handles assignments and "disassignments" of Radio Officers, Chief Stewards and Cooks in the Seagoing Personnel Section, is doing "very well" after an operation, April 12, to remove a cataract from his left eye. He had one removed from his right eye three weeks before. * ** A 2-lb. box of candy wdth a note "Happy Easter -- from the officers and crew of the Esso Lima" was left at the Seaman's Center in Baytown early this month. The result was about 50,000 calories ESSO FLEET NEWS is published for the seagoing em ployees of the Marine Department, Humble Oil & Refining Co.: Joseph Andreae, General Manager; Sydney Wire, Assistant General Manager. W. E. Gardner. Editor. Contributions and suggestions are invited and should be addressed to The Editor, Esso Fleet News. Humble Oil & Refining Co., P. 0. Box 1512, Houston. Texas 77001. FLASH - Esso Jamestown (Captain Harold L. Sholes, Chief Engr. William A. Dundon) enroute from New Haven to Baton Rouge, was diverted to Port Everglades April 19 to clear for a foreign voyage. She will load an MSTS cargo at Aruba about April 23 for discharge in the Far East - probably Guam or maybe Okinawa. # of appreciation. "It's the first time anyone has done anything like this for us," Mrs. A. V. Bloom, leader of the Center, said. * ** And speaking of generosity, 8 vessels in the Fleet have made donations of $100 or more to the American Merchant Marine Library Association's 1966 campaign. The list is as follows: Esso Florence $152 Esso Washington 151 Esso Baltimore 129.50 Esso Lexington 119.50 Esso Gettysburg Esso Lima Esso Dallas Esso Scranton $118 105 101 100 There was a ripple of excitement aboard the Esso Newark, April 18, when the men heard that their next port after New Haven would be Aruba. "Haven't seen Aruba in a long time," was the general reaction. Actually, the loading port may be Aruba or it may be Amuay. The cargo will be jet fuel -- part of the 3 million bbls. to be trans ported for the Government -- for discharge at Scnrsport, Maine, about May 8. OBITUARY a ............ i Ramon Pineiro, retired Third Asst. Engr., died March 15, 12 days before his 70th birthday. Surviving are his wife Cande laria; 4 sons and a daughter, aged 31 to 8. Born in Spain, Mr. Pineiro went to sea in 1917 as a coal passer and sailed with the Mor gan Line and Gulf Oil before joining Esso in Oct. 1924 as Oiler in the Loki. Of his 28 years in the Fleet, he served 11 in the J. A. Moffett, Jr. and the last 6 before his retirement (Jan. 1958) as Third and Second Asst, in the Esso Augusta. He lived in Staten Island, N. Y. Safety Awards Marine Department Certificates of Safety were presented last month to the Esso Chester and Esso Florence, 2 of the 6 vessels which earned the ESSO CHESTER, New York, March 31, I. to. r.: Third Asst. Joseph J. Cabral; MM/2P Roy G. Stanley; Second Mate Albert M. Scara; Cap tain C. Paul Sperl (behind stan chion); RO Earle J. Schlarb; Chief Cook Joel R. Teixeira; Chief Steward Lester E. Eckert; AB Ian G. Harrison; Chief Mate Edward Crawford; Third Mate Edmund J. Sabowski; Second Cook Fernando A. Ferreira; A. Giallorenzi, Manager, New York Branch Office; AB Kolbjorn Hansen; AB Walter F. Hartis; Captain James A. Mercer; UM James B. Hedgepeth; OS Arthur W. Hawkins; AB Leo J. Grau; Third Mate Jack T. Stillman, and OS Vernon B. Parrott. award for operating through 1 965 without an accident resulting in lost time or sick leave. This was the 3rd consecutive year that the Chester has received the honor -- and that's 'V I-v a record no other ship in the Fleet has equaled. The Chester is also working toward a 4-year Jones F. Devlin Award and the Florence will receive a 2-year Devlin certificate. ESSO FLORENCE, Baton Rouge, March 12, I. to r.: OS James E. Hy man; Third Mate Oscar A. Jensen; Oiler Walter D. Borden; Captain S. V. Gardner, Manager, Baton Rouge Branch Office; First Asst. Richard E. Lewis; MM/2P Andrew L. Reis; Chief Mate Charles H. Parker; Captain Clarence S. Lee; Third Mate Walter L. Parker; AB Angel R. Meraz, and AB Ernest R. Gamble. EXX-MOR-006483 A Fine Hand at Handiwork By AB BILL TYRA Author of Capitalizing in Baton Rouge, My Day at the Fair, Suez to Philadelphia, and other articles. One of the many talented men sailing in the Esso Fleet is FWT Donald Smith*, one of my ship mates in the Esso New York re cently. His varied talents and works of art were so intriguing to me, I thought perhaps you might enjoy reading about them. I spent several hours with Don ald, watching him work and looking at his creations. "Creative" is the one word that best describes his hobbies. He is primarily a sculptor but his skills also include carving, painting and knot work. Most of the materials used by this artist are obtainable aboard ship from salvaged waste and dis cards. He makes use of bits and scraps of paper, wire, lead, brass, wood -- almost anything than can be transformed or re-shaped. He displayed several figurines and 2 decorative wooden hammers carved from the core of a discarded mooring line reel. These curved center pieces are ideal for his carv ings because of the texture, grain and absence of knots. Another object was a carved wooden acorn that looked real *Don joined the Fleet in Feb. 1947 and has been FWT since Feb. 1949. He is married, lives in Philadel phia. enough to tempt the most discrimiating squirrel. This was a "thinking piece," any small object that a per son can hold in one hand and fidget or toy with while in deep thought -- as a substitute for doodling, per haps. Other than a chunk of wood, the only equipment Don uses in his carvings is a pocket knife and a piece of sandpaper. In his metal sculpturing he uses anything malleable or bendable, shaping it with his hands into at tractive, or sometimes unattractive figurines and statuettes. He showed me an assortment of his creations in lead and copper and explained his technique in making them. He holds a flat sheet of lead in one hand and raps and taps it with one of the wooden mallets until the lead is formed into whatever he intends it to be. Usually he lets the finished product corrode or oxidize for a while, giving it an appearance of being an artifact of a bygone era. Occasionally he uses black shoe pol ish to dull a lustrous finish, as he did the lovely lead figurine he gave me. Another way Don expresses his artistic abilities is in plaster of Paris -- a whitish powder with some of the characteristics of cement. The powder is mixed with water and applied with a spoon, stick and brush to a prefabricated skeleton made of wire or other hardware. This is allowed to harden before other layers are daubed on until the desired form is achieved. A different method Don uses is to cast plaster bricks by filling a milk carton with plaster. After it hardens, he removes the brick from the carton and carves it the same as a block of wood. To prevent chip ping while carving, the plaster is kept wet by dunking it in a basin of water. Donald also likes to work with whales' teeth and had 5 or 6 with him. On one he had just completed an engraving of a compass rose and had sketched a "Moby Dick" scene for another. Whale tooth art, or scrimshaw, is becoming a lost art, possibly because it is such a hard substance to work with. But hard or not, Don uses only his pocket knife and scrapes, scratches and scores until his design is etched into the tooth. He prefers to leave his ivories in their natural state, pol ishing them to bring out the rich creamy color but never painting them. Just before I got off the New York for paid leave, Don bought a few yards of black velvet on which he intended to try something new in abstract painting. He was also learning to play a guitar. As for future plans, he says he hopes some day to open a hobby shop in Nantucket, Mass. And I am looking forward to being on a ship again with Don, the man with many talents among many talented men sailing under the Esso oval. FWT Donald Smith and some of his artistic creations. Among them are paintings on black velvet, hand made wooden mallets, whale's teeth, carved statuettes, hammered lead masks, a plaster brick and the skeleton for another statue. L../ Q! J iiai-s- EXX-MOR-006484