When my 9-year-old grandson volunteered to be baptized in 2019, I reacted with mixed emotions.  I worked through my ambivalence by composing a letter to him that included congratulations and cautions. The letter is based on my experiences with organized religion, reading history, and otherwise paying attention.

George Novak Bio:

Before my retirement, I was a Principal Systems Engineer at Lockheed-Martin.  I spent 6 years with Motorola as Distinguished Member of Technical Staff.  I also did stints as a consultant.  Early on, I worked as a machinist and an inspector for Mack Trucks, General Dynamics, and a few other manufacturers.  I’m having a wonderful retirement and had a fortunate career due to lots of lucky breaks and 11 years of company-paid night school, which culminated in an Industrial Management MBA from the University of Dallas.

My spouse, Eva, and I have two daughters, a son, and three grandsons.  Eva and I built our cordwood retirement home in Soper OK with the aim of minimizing our carbon footprint (and utility bills) through use of solar power, a geothermal HVAC system, and compulsive attention to insulation.  We’re currently managing the Democratic Party in Choctaw County, OK and are members of Red River Unitarian Universalist Church.

I was adopted through a foundling home by two extraordinary people and raised in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.  Johnstown was a coal and steel producing center until the early 1970’s.  My parents (and much of Johnstown) were first- and second-generation Americans, raised through the Great Depression and World War II.  My adoption was conditional upon my being raised as a Roman Catholic.  I am now a ‘once-upon-a-time Catholic’.  Fair warning: The old saying, “I don’t know much about art, but I know what I like” covers my expertise on religion and morality.  So, here we go on November 9th.