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Paul Tsompanas

Reporter, Congressional Staff Member, Master Storyteller

By Meredith Spencer

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After ten years as a newspaper reporter and then man more years as a senior congressional staff member, writer Paul Tsompanas has written a biography of Juan Patron, a man often neglected in American history books but who could have become New Mexico's first congressman had he not died prematurely at the hands of a Texas cowboy, who outdrew him in a dramatic showdown.  Tsompanas' book, Juan Patron: A Fallen Star in the Days of Billy the Kid, was just published by Belle Isle Books, and has already been selected as an "official project" of the New Mexico Centennial Foundation.  The keen, well researched skill with which Tsompanas has written this historical account can clearly be attributed to his experience as a professional journalist.

As a newspaper reporter for various Pennsylvania, New Mexico, and California newspapers, Tsompanas has sharpened his skills over decades.  His career officially began when he was nineteen years old and had his first front page byline published in The Herald in Sharon, Pennsylvania.  He went on to receive a degree in journalism at Penn State University, then moved to New Mexico as a reporter for the Clovis News-Journal.  While working in New Mexico, he covered a powerful story about a young woman and her infant baby who were sent to jail because the woman was unable to pay a fine for driving with an expired license, which won him a New Mexico Press Association award.  When asked about one of his most memorable experiences a a reporter, he tells the story of how he interviewed President Ronald Reagan before he was elected president.  He says Reagan admitted his fear of flying, unless his wife, Nancy, was with him.  Though Tsompanas may not have known it at the time, this interview was one of the most significant to his life, and demonstrated his ability to gain peoples' confidence so they would openly share their stories.

Later, in 1962, Tspompanas began working for the San Diego Evening Tribune, a Copley newspaper.  He moved up the ladder, was assigned to Washington D.C. as a congressional correspondent for Copley News Service, and soon received a Copley Journalism Award because of his exhaustive coverage of a longstanding dispute over water rights between upper and lower Colorado River basin states.  After a few years of working as a Washington correspondent, Tsompanas was inspired to work in politics.  He served a chief of staff to a congressman in California for eight years until he was appointed to the staff of the House Armed Services Committee.

Tspompanas' career history does not end there.  He went on to join the Navy and served to tours in the Western Pacific as shipboard communications officer.  In 1980, he graduated from the National War College, making him the very first congressional staff member to do so.

After a distinguished career in journalism, Tsompanas was inspired to write his biography of Juan Patron, who was the grandfather of his ex-wife.  He carefully garnered information from published histories recounting the Lincoln County War in which Patron was deeply involved, from old government and church records, newspapers from the 1870's and 80's, and from personal papers from individual collections.  He says that the research, "while tedious and challenging, was pretty rewarding, for it enabled me to resurrect Patron's remarkable, but short, violent life and stage it on the pages of my book for others to witness."  He also says that one of his favorite parts of the writing process was developing the scenes in which gun battles took place.  He says the pure action and passion came easily to him and helped to energize his writing.

Tspompanas' experience writing this book, and certainly his previous career choices, has taught him a lot about discipline.  His only regret in producing this biography was that the five years it took for him to finish the project swallowed up all of his time for pleasure reading.  However, he was dedicated to telling this story that he genuinely felt deserved and needed to be told.  For him, the purpose of this work is to preserve Patron's rightful place in history and prevent him from being forgotten in the shadow of others.  "This story is not just for New Mexicans, but for anyone who has an interest in understanding how brave and hardy frontiersmen endured violence and numerous deprivations in the Old West."

Tsompanas' broad and varied career has taken him to all seven continents and seventy countries.  He and his wife Mary Ann split their time between their residence in Tarpon Springs, Florida, and their summer retreat in Colonial Beach, Virginia, where he served on its town council for eight years.  The couple is currently in the process of writing a unique cookbook centered on Virginia's colonial churches, which they plan on titling Food for the Soul.

Juan Patron: A Fallen Star in the Days of Billy the Kid (paperback, $16.95) can be ordered online at www.belleislebooks.com or by calling 804-644-3090.  It's also available from amazon.com, bn.com and will soon be available in e-book formats.

Living the Good Life- Scouting

By Scott Duprey

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Congratulations to those young men who recently earned their Eagle Scout badge, scouting's highest honor, awarded to only a few who dare to endure.  And congratulations to their parents who placed these fine young men early in their youth on the scouting path.  A particular greeting of gratitude goes out to all adult scout leaders who blaze the scouting trail, from Tigers to Eagles.  Your dedication to training the children of our community in character and life skills provides them the knowledge to face their futures with confidence and courage.  Your sacrifice helps ensure their understanding of how to live a life filled with purpose and service to mankind.

I remember when I was a scout.  Camping trips were definitely the most fun.  I remember that I enjoyed and became quite proficient at making fire.  I was always the first one back to the campsite after a long day of hiking in the woods just so I could gather the wood and start the fire.  The Scout Master would always scold me for making the fire too big.  Of all the merit badges I earned, the Fire Safety badge wasn't one of them

I remember spending all day in the woods hiking for miles through hill and dale, sportin' a coonskin cap, walking stick, and pocketknife.  We were expected to identify a variety of flora and fauna, something that can still be accomplished while throwing pinecones at the troop.  I spent most of my time stalking and catching snakes and lizards.  Only now-some forty years later-do I admit that it was I who put the lizards into the sleeping bags of the unsuspecting victims.  Lying in my sack, hand on head, I waited patiently for the show.  I was always suspected as the culprit for always laughing myself to sleep, but I never 'fessed-up.  Most of my buddies got to checking their sleeping bags before they jumped in, which is a good habit.  Reptiles like warm, dark places.

I never took to map reading much.  I took more pleasure in getting lost.  I remember that during one camp-out, we spent most of the day building a rope bridge across a fairly good-sized creek.  When it was completed, I took more delight in jumping off the bridge, than crossing it.

Scouting was the first time I had ever put together the series of words "helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent" in one phrase.  The most challenging part was saying, "I promise to be" in front of them all.  Like beacons from a lighthouse, the scout pledge, a lifelong gift to oneself, guides the scout through and around life's thorny path.

Scouting taught me that, together, we can do anything; that a chain is only as strong as the weakest link; that we are stewards of nature; that God dwells in my heart; that I should treat others as I want to be treated; that poison ivy and athlete's foot gets worse when you scratch it; that vinegar will sooth a bee sting; that leaves are no substitute for toilet paper; that if you find one tick on you, you've probably got more; and that being prepared helps to prevent "Charlie Foxtrot."

I didn't get too far in scouting-maybe to 2nd class-but I sure had fun.  As a Cub Scout Master and Boy Scout instructor and advisor, I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to re-walk my scouting path and that of my son Ian, who is, and will always be, a Life Scout.

I think that we need more scout leaders and other youth leaders now, especially in these days when culture is decaying our youth's morals while encouraging a "get it all while you can," culture and a lifestyle that values consumption over frugality, irreverence over reverence, greed over gratitude.  We need to teach more youth to value those virtues and that the current unbridled tech-frenzy will eventually strip away our humanity towards each other and will ultimately leave us looking for identity in the lens of a web cam.

We have a critical shortage of scout and other youth leaders in our community.  The Cub Scouts is a great way to start teaching our children what they're not getting on TV, with video games, iPods, or cell phones.  Without leadership, our youth will continue to walk a path provided by the mass media of pop culture that more often than not glorifies glamour and celebrity, rather than the skills of kindness and self-reliance.  Since fewer of our national leaders no longer serve as fit examples of those virtues, since too many of our professional athletes cheat to enhance their skills, and since too many pop music celebrities still sing songs containing lyrics that glorify violence, we have no choice now but to look to adults within our own community who still dare to take a stake in our community's future.

Volunteering our time for the youth in our community by scouting, Little League, our recreation department, and the many mentoring opportunities, is investing positive energy towards a task that makes our world-and even more relevant, our community- a better place to live.  Realizing the dividends, a caring community helps bridge the gap between the folly of youth and responsible adulthood.  Previous generations realized that if they didn't take an active and personal interest in their youth, the time would come when things just would just go "Ga-Ga."  Sure enough, the time has come, and sure enough, she's a star.

Getting our kids involved in community youth programs and leading the way-all part of living the good life.
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