June 8, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E 1187

thinking or doing, however ancient, can be

trusted without proof. What everybody

echoes or in silence passes by as true today

may turn out to be falsehood tomorrow. . . .

‘‘I went to the woods because I wished to

live deliberately, to front only the essential

facts of life, and see if I could not learn what

it had to teach. . . . I wanted to live deep and

suck out the marrow of life. . . .

‘‘Our life is frittered away by detail. . . . I

say, let your affairs be as two or three, and

not a hundred or a thousand. . . .

‘‘Why should we be in such desperate haste

to succeed, and in such desperate enterprises? If a man does not keep pace with his

companions, perhaps it is because he hears a

different drummer. Let him step to the

music which he hears. . . .

‘‘Love your life, poor as it is. . . . The setting sun is reflected from the windows of the

almshouse as brightly as from the rich man’s

abode. . . .

‘‘Cultivate poverty like a garden herb, like

sage. Do not trouble yourself much to get

new things. . . . Turn the old; return to

them. . . .

‘‘Only that day dawns to which we are

awake. There is more day to dawn. The sun

is but a morning star.’’

Such is the philosophy of Henry David

Thoreau from ‘‘Walden’’ represented in the

red maple tree we dedicate today.

Robert Frost’s deep, stirring poetry builds

upon that philosophy, as with ‘‘The Road

Not Taken.’’

‘‘Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

‘‘And sorry I could not travel both

‘‘And be one traveler, long I stood

‘‘And looked down one as far as I could

‘‘To where it bent in the undergrowth.

‘‘Then took the other, as just as fair

‘‘And having perhaps the better claim,

‘‘Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

‘‘Though as for that, the passing there

‘‘Had worn them really about the same.

‘‘And both that morning equally lay

‘‘In leaves no step had trodden black.

‘‘Oh, I kept the first for another day!

‘‘Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

‘‘I doubted if I should ever come back.

‘‘I shall be telling this with a sigh

‘‘Somewhere ages and ages hence;

‘‘Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

‘‘I took the one less traveled by,

‘‘And that has made all the difference.’’

With these thoughts we dedicate a red

maple, one of the most beautiful and

sturdiest of all trees. The red maple buds

magnificently in spring, shades us well in

summer, comes to full glory in autumn, and

then promises us new hope in winter.

It reminds us of Robert Frost, and Henry

David Thoreau, and so many of the authors

who have given us a great American literary

heritage. Thanks to that heritage, we come

together as Americans, linked by a common

love of books and of libraries and of our

country.

TRIBUTE IN HONOR OF MAXINE

COHEN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

fOF SAN ANTONIO COMMUNITY

RELATIONS COUNCIL

HON. FRANK TEJEDA OF TEXAS

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, June 7, 1995

Mr. TEJEDA. Mr. Speaker, I take this opportunity to honor an outstanding woman in San

Antonio, TX, a woman who in words and deed

has built bridges between diverse communities

and fought with uncompromising dedication for

her values. Maxine Cohen, the executive director of San Antonio’s community relations

council, is a woman of action, giving new

meaning to the words of Oliver Wendell

Holmes when he said: ‘‘To reach the port of

heaven, we must sail sometimes with the wind

and sometimes against it,—but we must sail,

and not drift, nor lie at anchor.’’

The Jewish community in San Antonio earlier this week honored Maxine Cohen in a

beautiful and moving tribute. Diverse community leaders, one after the other, stood up to

praise her and highlight for all to hear the

positive impact that one person has made.

Ms. Cohen has spearheaded holocaust education programs in San Antonio schools,

founded the San Antonio Holocaust Memorial

and Museum, responded to attacks on the

Jewish community in various media, and

fought for the security and well-being of Israel.

She has reached out to others. Recognizing

the value of shared experience and personal

relationships, Ms. Cohen established an organized dialogue with local Catholics to break

through old barriers and emerge with lifetime

friendships. Her work concretized what we already knew: that we as humans share fundamental values and bonds that emerge from

and at the same time transcend religious lines.

Maxine Cohen combines inner strength, personal conviction, and unlimited spirit. One

after the other, her admirers recalled instances

of her selflessness and dedication, her love

and caring for her fellow Jews and for the entire San Antonio community. She inspires others to become involved in politics, in community, in our schools, teaching all of us time and

again the virtues of involvement and activism.

Senator Robert Kennedy must have envisioned Maxine Cohen when he uttered the following words in a 1966 address at the University of Capetown, now inscribed at his

gravesite in Arlington National Cemetery:

It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped.

Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or

acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes

out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny

ripple of hope, and crossing each other from

a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can

sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression

and resistance.

Maxine Cohen contributes far more than her

share of ripples of hope, and with her setting

the example for us, we can hope for a future

in which we stand proud for ourselves, whatever our background or race, and appreciate

each other for our unique contributions to our

great Nation and the entire world.

CHAPLAIN PRECIADO AND THE

fVFSC

HON. MATTHEW G. MARTINEZ OF CALIFORNIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, June 7, 1995

Mr. MARTINEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to

praise the laudable work of a nonprofit, charitable organization in my congressional district,

the Veteran Family Service Corp. [VFSC].

Started 4 years ago during the Persian Gulf

war, the VFSC has helped thousands of veterans find food, clothing, shelter, and drug and

alcohol treatment.

Through the tireless work of Chaplain Robert Preciado, the founder and president of the

Veteran Family Service Corp., hundreds of indigent veterans and their dependents in the

San Gabriel Valley receive moral and material

support every other Wednesday. The VFSC

provides 9 to 12 tons of food monthly, directly

to veterans, homeless shelters, and food pantries in the community.

The VFSC, through its food bank, gives veterans who are down and out a helping hand.

Chaplain Preciado offers hope to people who

have run out of hope. I have stood with Chaplain Preciado and seen first hand the admirable work he does.

During natural disasters, the Veteran Family

Service Corp. has extended its services to

nonveterans. The VFSC, for example, provided much-needed relief to victims of the

Northridge earthquake. With the help of countless volunteers, the cities of Baldwin Park,

Irwindale, and Azusa, as well as the California

Army National Guard 40th Infantry Division,

the VFSC provided over 27 truckloads of provisions to earthquake victims. The VFSC has

also provided help to flood victims in the

South Bay area in January 1995.

In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I salute Chaplain Preciado and the Veteran Family Service

Corp. for providing food, clothing, assistance,

and hope to veterans and their families in

need.

COMMEMORATION OF THE RETIREMENT OF ALBERT M. DREYFUSS

f

HON. ROBERT T. MATSUI OF CALIFORNIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, June 7, 1995

Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to

take this opportunity to call to the attention of

the House of Representatives the retirement

of one of the most distinguished business and

civic leaders in my home town of Sacramento,

Mr. Albert M. Dreyfuss.

For nearly 50 years, Al has made Sacramento a better place to live, both through

his landmark building designs and through his

service to the community.

As an architect, I can think of no one who

has made a greater impact on the Sacramento

area than Al. From our airport, to our leading

hotels, to some of the finest, most modern office buildings that grace our skyline, Al has

been a true innovator in creating facilities that

have made our city more attractive, and our

businesses more efficient.

As a community leader, Al has taken his

abilities as an architect and literally donated

them to our community’s governments and

civic organizations. He was a founding member of the Capitol Area Plan Committee in

1959, and served as its chairman from 1959

to 1967. Under Al’s leadership, CAP led our

region through some important transitions as

Sacramento grew into a major metropolitan

area. But he also made sure that, as Sacramento developed, it did so responsibly while

preserving its rich historical heritage.

Mr. Speaker, as Al undoubtedly is aware, I,

at one time, aspired to be an architect. When

I look at all Al has accomplished in his career,

I cannot help but wonder what would be left

for me to achieve as an aspiring architect, had

I followed that path. As he leaves the firm he