[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 107 (Friday, July 25, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H5807-H5808]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO TOM ROGERS

  Mr. BURR of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I think what the gentleman 
from Arkansas, Mr. Dickey, was about to say, the reason that himself, 
the gentleman from Iowa, Mr. Jim Leach, and myself, the gentleman from 
North Carolina, Mr. Richard Burr, are here is to talk about a dear 
friend, to talk about somebody that touched the lives of not only the 
three of us, but who touched the lives of every person he met.
  Mr. Speaker, I did not grow up with Tom Rogers and I was not a peer 
of Tom Rogers. I was a friend of Tom Rogers. Tom Rogers never met a 
person, though, that was not a friend. Tom was a unique individual. Tom 
had a love for life, but he also became friends with every individual 
he met. Tom loved children. He was fascinated by children and the time 
they would spend with him as an individual confined to a wheelchair, 
but that was what was so great about Tom Rogers.

                              {time}  1400

  Tom never saw himself confined to a wheelchair. He saw himself as an 
integral part of everybody's life, an integral part of his community, a 
family member, somebody who looked at what God had bestowed him with as 
only another challenge in life and not as a hurdle in life, and Tom was 
there to overcome that hurdle.

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  You see, he was a historian. He was not only a successful broker. Tom 
was one that loved to read. I can imagine every night what Tom must 
have gone through just to be moved from a wheelchair to a bed. What 
would be so tiring for most of us was an everyday occurrence for Tom 
Rogers. Just the thought that with his mouth and with a wand he could 
operate a computer and run the finances of many people in the community 
and across this country who he represented is just an amazing feat in 
itself.
  I remember the story that, when Tom first went to the hospital, after 
polio, went into the ward where the iron lungs were and where many were 
stricken with polio, the first thing his mother said was that she was 
not going to let Tom Rogers die. Tom was also committed that he was not 
going to let polio change his life significantly, that he would be 
successful, he would win in the end. Tom was known for saying his 
greatest success was helping others see how lucky we all are, not just 
him.
  In this day and age all too often we hurry through life without 
stopping to realize the gifts that we have all been given. Well, Tom 
Rogers knew the gift he had been given and more. He knew how to use 
these gifts to enjoy his life and to help others see their importance. 
Though obstacles were in his way, Tom gained more knowledge and love of 
life than most of us dream about.
  Tom was successful in many ways. But he overcame every adversity, 
everything thrown at him, to truly teach so many so much.
  Tom Rogers had the ability to take a stranger and treat him like 
family. He had the ability to take family and make them think that they 
were the most special thing in the world. Tom Rogers gave us a vision 
to take risks and to go out on a limb, encouraged us to test our outer 
limits. By following Tom's way of life, we learned more about ourselves 
and we gained more than we ever thought possible. There are few people 
who are able to accomplish so much while still having an intense love 
of life. I can truly say that Thomas Wallace Rogers saw life in a 
hopeful light with sincere friends and true leaders.
  Mr. Speaker, it is an honor for me to be here as a tribute to Thomas 
Wallace Will Rogers, a man that lived life to its fullest with every 
obstacle in his way and shared so much with so many across this 
country.

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