[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Page 11033]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING ERIC SIMON, GRADUATING SENIOR OF NEW PRAGUE HIGH SCHOOL, NEW 
                               PRAGUE, MN

 Mr. COLEMAN. Mr. President, today I wish to honor a fine young 
man, Eric Simon, who will be graduating from New Prague High School in 
Minnesota on Friday, June 4, 2004.
  Eric Simon has earned my respect because of the extraordinary courage 
he has demonstrated in confronting one of life's most difficult 
challenges. Eric's father has AIDS, and he has lost his mother and 
sister to AIDS.
  During the early 1980s, Eric's father, Douglas Simon, served in the 
Army National Guard at Fort Benning, GA and during his service he was 
injured and required emergency medical surgery. During surgery, Douglas 
Simon required a nine-unit blood transfusion. The blood he received had 
not been screened as it should have been, and it contained the AIDS 
virus.
  Eric and his brother, Brian, were spared from the ravages of the 
disease, but they have had to shoulder adult responsibilities since 
they were children. Since he was a boy, Eric has handled the grocery 
shopping, worried about paying the bills and cared for his father.
  Sometimes Eric has had to listen to some unpleasant and even mean-
spirited comments from people who don't understand what his family has 
been through. As a young person, Eric has often been challenged to be 
the bigger man, and to keep from being hurt by unkind remarks. It has 
not been easy.
  Eric has also committed himself to his education. I understand at 
times that has been frustrating and, like all young men, Eric has 
sometimes been tempted to study less and hang out more. As the occasion 
of his graduation attests, however, Eric has risen to the challenge and 
succeeded.
  In closing, I would like to extend my best wishes to Eric Simon on 
his high school graduation from New Prague High School. His commitment 
to his education and family are commendable and greatly admired. I am 
very proud of this young man. I congratulate him on a job well done.
  I call upon my colleagues to join me in honoring Eric Simon of New 
Prague, MN on the occasion of his high school graduation.

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