[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 147 (Tuesday, November 29, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: November 29, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                     THE QUINTESSENTIAL DESERT RAT

                                 ______


                     HON. ALFRED A. (AL) McCANDLESS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 29, 1994

  Mr. McCANDLESS. Mr. Speaker, as we rush headlong into the 21st 
century, we will undoubtedly look back on the marvels of the 20th. One 
of them surely will be Patricia ``Corky'' Larson, who will be retiring 
from the Riverside CA, County Board of Supervisors after 12 
distinguished years.
  Corky is the quintessential desert rat--meaning that she represents 
everything good about the desert and its people. She and her late 
husband, Keene, did it all: they worked the land, they raised six fine 
children, and there was hardly a community organization that did not 
receive their attention, and the Larson brand of energy and generosity.
  With Corky, what you see is what you get. While she has worn dozens 
of different hats over the years, the face and the mind beneath them 
never changed. A straight shooter, she has also been one of the more 
thoughtful members of the board. She always tries to put herself in 
your shoes, while taking the long view, too.
  As a public official myself, I'm in tune with the long hours and 7-
day a week part of the jobs we hold. Even so, I've always been 
impressed with the sheer amount of time that Corky has always been 
willing to devote to causes that needed her guidance, from 
transportation to housing, from our desert environment to the Salton 
Sea, she has always been there when we needed her.
  This Corky Larson, this friend, who had the tenaciousness and 
strength to get her law degree after Keene's terribly premature death, 
may be retiring from the Riverside County Board of Supervisors. But I 
know for certain that she will not be retiring from her very special 
place in the Coachella Valley. She will not be retiring from the hearts 
and minds of those thousands of our friends and neighbors whose lives 
are the better for Corky's continual efforts over the years. That place 
is hers and hers alone.
  So, from one desert rat to another, here's hoping that your next 
chapter will bring you much happiness and joy--and the time to read the 
whole Sunday paper.

                          ____________________