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Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Jack's Most Incredible People

I have been blessed to have been around some incredible people. H. Ross Perot , the internet company builder and presidential candidate makes the list. In person he is a warm and compassionate man. He is also a genius whose mind operates at twice the speed of a normal human. Former Secretary of State James Baker makes my list. In 1972 I got an internship with him. He's a Princeton and University of Texas law school graduate. He is from a wealthy Houston family that owns Texas Commerce Bank. Despite all of these accomplishments, Jim is a super modest and kind man who treats everyone with respect. He also listens to everyone carefully. I was blessed to sit in a meeting with the late President Ronald Reagan. He was the most charming human being I have ever met. He also was much more intelligent than his critics thought he was. James C. Lewis makes my list. He was a Cuban of African ancestry who went to Colombia, spent 20 years in the US Air Force as a transport plane pilot, and later was my employer. He spoke English, Spanish, and Japanese fluently. He was also the most honest person that I have met in my life. Former President F.W. de Klerk also makes my special list. I had dinner with him in 2004. With the help of Nelson Mandela he saved South Africa from a brutal civil war like Syria is experiencing now. In person he is a man of incredible sensitivity and intelligence. He is not a racist or a right-wing person. My dear Uncle John Robert Helms also makes my very special list. He was a war hero and a man who had survived incredible hard times. Despite this he was always a funny and modest person. Of course my wife Elena makes the list. She was a teenager when the military coup happened in Argentina. It was a terrible time when over 30,000 people literally vanished. Despite this awful world Elena found herself in, she graduated from high school one year earlier. She went on to graduate from the University of Buenos Aires medical school at age 23 with an honors diploma. The final person on this list is Tim Bax. He was an incredible soldier in the Rhodesian army and one hell of a tough and special man. Tim congratulations on the publication of your autobiography! It comes out in two weeks and I already have one reserved for Elena and I.

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