Dr. Paslov loved poetry — especially good traditional poetry, so he emphasized this. It was such a personal pleasure receiving several phone calls from him over time telling me how much he enjoyed the special poetry of mine that our own Nevada Appeal newspaper has been publishing from time to time.
He and I had planned on getting together for a good ol’ face-to-face, hand-shaking meeting, when, sadly, the unexpected happened!
We found we had a great deal in common. Aside from being close to the same age, he had been in the Air Force for several years and so was I — in the Naval Air Force; he said his wife’s name was the same as my wife’s — Susan; and he liked to hear that a poet of my ilk (he said) not only born in New York (Long Island) but mainly that my grandfather was a famous electrical lighting engineer with massive East Coast credits.
I meekly told Dr. Paslov that the engineering strain stopped with my grandpa — he then quickly retorted reassuringly that “we all individually have special talents and gifts and most apparently, yours is in the liberal arts.” That reply meant so much to me, coming from a gentleman professional of such educational stature.
When he asked me about my own Ph.D. credential, I was reluctant to reveal that it took me over 30 years to achieve a doctorate, having to support a family all those years, working in major Hollywood films (stunt man and dancer) and teaching. I will never forget how quickly he replied, “See, didn’t I tell you that you were destined to be in the creative arts?”
Dr. Paslov was a massive inspiration and encourager! I wish to conclude with just a few lines by an anonymous author (to paraphrase a little):
“If I had known what thoughts despairing drew you — oh why do we never try to understand? I would have lent a bit more friendship to you, and made your stay more pleasant in the land — if I had only known.”
With the deepest sympathy to our whole community and especially to all family members,
Thane Cornell
