August 1

On the 1st, in 1966, Charles Whitman decided to spend the day in the University of Texas’ library tower. Due to Whitman’s decision to do this, a new catch phrase entered the lexicon: ‘We’ll never get him out of the tower.’ I must caution you however: This is a dandy phrase that comes in handy in many situations but, should you decide to use it, you must never, ever use it with out first checking to see if any members of the victims’ families will hear you say it. Had I known that those people lost their sense of humor the instant Whitman opened fire, I might have restrained myself from using the phrase at a dinner party my parents held shortly after the shootings. My witty comment, needless to say, was not really appreciated.